Alternate to masking tape when painting

Man of Honour
Joined
20 Sep 2006
Posts
33,883
I painted a single wall in the kitchen, and while the majority is decent around the edges, there's a few bits to tidy up. I found masking tape to be pretty difficult to use to get the edges right, it was hard to get right up to the corner and when I peeled it off, sometimes it took some of the paint with it. While I don't need to do another coat, I'd like to fix the edges and wondered if there's another tool or method to use? It's a new build so one would hope all the walls and fixings are straight!
 
Soldato
Joined
14 Dec 2013
Posts
2,589
I think you can get a roller or a painting sponge with a plastic guard on the side which allows you to cut in the edges more easily. I have not used one though so can't recommend a particular product unfortunately.
 
Man of Honour
OP
Joined
20 Sep 2006
Posts
33,883
I have a paint guard thing, works pretty well, still have to be careful and keep the guard regularly clean/wiped. As long as your edges are fairly straight.......

Paint is water based now isn't it? So should be easy to clean off. I'd hope the edges are straight, the house is 2 years old. :)
 

v0n

v0n

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
8,130
Location
The Great Lines Of Defence
Frogtape works, but it's stupidly expensive though, it quickly becomes the most expensive part of the job.

Dooksy, don't buy those blades, they're good in theory, but in practice not a single wall, architrave or skirting in UK is straight, so you can't just press it against the feature and run with brush against it - it won't work. You can do exactly the same with piece of thin but rigid plastic, like those found on office binding covers for less than a quid.
 
Associate
Joined
14 Feb 2007
Posts
676
I can now cut in without tape. You need a good brush and the correct amount of paint on the brush along with a reasonably steady hand.

Have a damp cloth handy so you can wipe away any minor mistakes, very easy on gloss.
 
Soldato
Joined
20 Oct 2010
Posts
4,168
It's a new build so one would hope all the walls and fixings are straight!

That's very optimistic!!

As mentioned by a few people a steady hand is the best bet but I found the best thing for me was post-it notes as they are extremely low tack however a paint guard is useful but you do have to keep it wiped otherwise you end up dragging paint about
 
Caporegime
Joined
8 Jan 2004
Posts
31,993
Location
Rutland
Found a paint guard useless, Frog tape worked ok but would peel off the paint it was stuck to or allow a bit of seepage underneath too frequently to justify the cost.

Easier just to do it by hand in the end.
 
Back
Top Bottom