# tape peeling paint



## racencase (Jan 26, 2010)

Let me start by saying that masking tape has never been a part of my tool kit but recently, my eyesight has gone downhill very fast and I can no longer see well enough to bead those crispy lines as I once did. I'm painting the addition I've built onto our home and other than the inside and outside corners of the walls, there are no 90's. My wife chose a dark green (shaded moss) for two walls to go with the white ceiling and Woodrow Wilson Maize on the other walls, all over 2 coats of S&W new wall primer. I decided to use masking tape for that crispy line I wanted and low and behold, the tape pulled the paint back off leaving an ugly, jagged line. I've only been successful doing this by immediatly pulling the tape off well before the paint dries. Is there something I'm missing here. Like I said, I'm new to this taping thing. The ceiling paint is your standard S&W flat latex and the Maize is Valspar Ultra flat interior latex. The green  is ICI latex enamal. Does not seem to matter which paint I am using, it peels if I let it dry the least little bit. Thanks in advancve for any help! BTW, nice place ya have here.:thumbup:


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## racencase (Jan 26, 2010)

This is what I'm working with. And Yes, all that crap has been moved out of the way to paint.


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

I know this will sound a little offish, but seriously, if your eyesight is getting that bad, you are not a professional painter, and you don't know about e-z release tapes, I would hire a professional to do your household projects. Maybe you can find one that needs some drywall installed and you can trade off some labor. :thumbup:

Not to be rude, but I'm sure you hate it when others work out of trade and make a mess of sheet rock and ask you for advice.


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## Dbo (Nov 29, 2009)

Get some better quality tape like 3m blue or green painters mate-delicate. You should then be able to re-tape it and paint again with better results. Might have to do some light patching to make it straight again. you can also score the tape first with a utility knife before you pull it off trim. hope it helps


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## racencase (Jan 26, 2010)

Hummm, don't know what my failing eyesight has to do with being a professional and I'm well aware of easy release tapes. I've been building homes, hanging and finishing drywall and painting succesfully since I was 17. I formally had offices here in Tenn. as well as an office in Charleston,SC and have worked on several of the Bay Street Historic homes there. I am now almost 59 and am not new to the game. I am now for the most part retired due to health issues. You certainly came to a lot of conclusions from a simple question about something I'm not used to using. Do you consider it a household project instead of a professional one when you paint you house?
Now, the problem in not tape release. It is the paint sticking to the tape and peeling off the fresh coat, not the paint it was stuck to. I am using the 1" Scotch blue. I tried my box blade with a new blade in the knife and that helped but that is almost as difficult as cutting it in. Seems the only way to insure a straight seem is to paint and remove tape asap. BTW, the photos above are from before the green was cut in to the ceiling.


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

Try some delicate tape with the removal time of 30 or 60 days. 
Could also be that you did not allow enough dry time before taping the surface.


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

racencase said:


> Hummm, don't know what my failing eyesight has to do with being a professional and I'm well aware of easy release tapes. I've been building homes, hanging and finishing drywall and painting succesfully since I was 17. I formally had offices here in Tenn. as well as an office in Charleston,SC and have worked on several of the Bay Street Historic homes there. I am now almost 59 and am not new to the game. I am now for the most part retired due to health issues. You certainly came to a lot of conclusions from a simple question about something I'm not used to using. Do you consider it a household project instead of a professional one when you paint you house?
> Now, the problem in not tape release. It is the paint sticking to the tape and peeling off the fresh coat, not the paint it was stuck to. I am using the 1" Scotch blue. I tried my box blade with a new blade in the knife and that helped but that is almost as difficult as cutting it in. Seems the only way to insure a straight seem is to paint and remove tape asap. BTW, the photos above are from before the green was cut in to the ceiling.


Sorry Dude, but I told you it was going to sound offish. I didn't lie

But there wasn't anything in your post or your profile that indicated you were an experienced professional painter. We get a lot of DIY'ers and other hacks here and we tend to steer them to hiring an experienced pro painter. "Masking Tape" to me means MASKING tape, not painters' easy release tape, 
"I'm painting the addition I've built onto our home", indicates a DIY job.
That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. :yes:

This is why we prefer people to introduce themselves in the introductions section. It let's us know what kind of professional experience a new member has.

Now back to your issues. If it's not an overly aggressive tape, or the paint has fully cured, it could be a bonding issue. 

How long a drying time before each coat of paint?

How long had the paint dried before you put the tape on?

How did you dust the walls before each coat?

Did the tape pull of the finish coat only? or some of the primer?

And welcome to the golden years, I'm 60 and find I need lots of light and work glasses to get good cuts. And the hands aren't as steady as they once were either :thumbup:


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## racencase (Jan 26, 2010)

daArch said:


> Sorry Dude, but I told you it was going to sound offish. I didn't lie
> 
> But there wasn't anything in your post or your profile that indicated you were an experienced professional painter. We get a lot of DIY'ers and other hacks here and we tend to steer them to hiring an experienced pro painter. "Masking Tape" to me means MASKING tape, not painters' easy release tape,
> "I'm painting the addition I've built onto our home", indicates a DIY job.
> ...


Guess we got off to a rough start daArch and I should have introduced myself first. My bad but at least you know I stick up for myself now!
Ok, the addition has been an ongoing part time/ sometime/ every now and then project when I have the time or inclination to work on it. Before I became ill, it sat idle for almost 2 years as there were simply not enough hours in the day.
Using tape is an entirely new issue with me and remember, different areas use different terms for the same product. You say painters tape, we say masking tape. The problem IS NOT the older paint but the fresh. It sticks to the tape and comes back off the wall.
1. The green dried for nearly a year before I applied the masking....uh painters tape. (the green in the window was painted and the tape removed as I went. No issues)
2. I waited about 4 hours before removing the tape.
3. No primer, just finish coat.
4. Walls wiped with a water only damp rag after being vaccumed and allowed to dry for a couple of hours.

I don't like this getting old business. I have to use 2 haligons to see almost anything now. 14 months ago I had what's called a COPD Exaserbation caused by a lung infection my Dr. says I had been carrying around 10 to 12 years without knowing it. It was steadily getting worse. I smoked, worked long hours and contributed my breathing problem of my aging and lifestyle. Wrong. When it slapped me in the face, my lungs slammed shut and Thank GOD my wife was home. I managed to get my breath after a long struggle then she went and got an oxygen bottle from my mom who lives across the field and has COPD. My Dr said I was a very lucky man to be on the right side of the dirt. Spent 3 months in bed before I could even do the most meanial tasks. Ladders still get me bad but as long as I take it easy, I can be productive. I've cleared my calender, got all previously contracted work completed, have taken on no new work and do not plan to until I finish this house. Either that or my wife who is 13 years my JR is going to kill me in my sleep. Sorry we got off on the wrong foot.:thumbup:


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

If I were you I would put in ad in Craigs list for a painter and pay him a decent hourly rate for the short time it would take him to cut that in for you on his day off.


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## racencase (Jan 26, 2010)

It's a matter of my wanting to know AND principle but Thanks! I know several painters. The ones I've talked to seem to think it's the base paint because it peels in a fashion like polyurethane that didn't adhere.


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

Hey racencase, good to meet you :thumbup: 

My apologies for my part of the ill start :yes:

Damn, with an introduction like that, you cleared up a lot misconceptions and now I look forward to helping you find a solution.

Unfortunately, I have less of a clue now what went wrong than before. 

It sounds like you did everything proper. 

Unless it's the no primer part.

Then again, taping lines was always foreign to me also. The only time I needed to do it was back in the day when oils were good and I was creating some interesting graphics. 

BTW, the paints are 100% acrylics, right ? No vinyl crap ? Which would always farck-up.


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## Wolfgang (Nov 16, 2008)

I can totally relate to the health and eyesight issues. Over the past few years I've had to change so many of my application techniques, I've probably lost track. Sometimes our bodies will tell us when enough is enough before our minds will...at least in my case.

Back to your original question; I've tried the Frog Tape, both green and yellow, and have become quite a believer in it. Pricey, but it gets built into the bid. Another thing that I've always done is to lightly scuff between coats to ensure adhesion of the final coat.


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## Dbo (Nov 29, 2009)

A little caulk and paint will make a carpenter what he ain't


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