To tape trim or not to tape trim, that is the question.
When I first started painting, I got very nervous every time I needed to use my brush to create a nice clean line. I would take a tremendous amount of time to carefully and slowly run my brush alongside a piece of trim. And I certainly wouldn't get it right the first time, so I would go over it again and again. With my inexperience it would take me several attempts, and it usually got worse before it got better. Even after all those tries it still wasn't quite the perfect line that I had dreamed of. (Yes, sometimes I dream in paint) but I digress.
After all this paint dreaming, I learned that there is a better way. An easier way. A faster way. A beautiful thing called painters tape! Hallelujah!
At first I was hesitant, I thought, "surely my painting skills would produce something superior compared to some piece of tape." Boy, was I wrong.
Without a doubt, taping trim was one of the best skills I learned as a painter early on in my career.
Now I know you might be thinking, taping off all your trim can seem like a lot of work, especially if it's a big room, so here are my three reasons you need to tape off your trim before painting.
1. Better Results:
Taping off trim (whether it is baseboard, door casings, or kitchen cabinets), will give you crisp and clean lines. Cutting in the edges with a brush is inconsistent, it usually comes out with wavy lines and those lines spill onto the trim. Trying to clean those lines up is a pain, usually it means wiping it off with a wet rag (while the paint is still wet), or touching up the trim with the trim paint and then trying to make a straight line again with the wall paint.
Painters tape is factory edge straight (which means it creates perfectly straight lines) and can give you the perfect, professional, finished look you're going for.
2. Better Speed:
You may think that taping is just another task to do before you can get to the fun part; painting. However, while it may take time initially to invest in taping off, the time you save not having to go over and over the trim with your brush will be worth it.
First of all, it takes twice as long to brush in the edges without tape. You have to get on your hands and knees and then slowly and carefully use a brush to make a line, going over it again and again (and the results still are not great).
Second, it makes the process faster when it comes to rolling the walls. You can bring the roller all the way down and touch the tape, instead of trying to find just the right spot to stop at.
Third, when you roll down and touch the tape with the roller you get better coverage which saves you time. It saves you time because you may not even have to brush the taped edge on the second cut. The reason is that when you brush the taped line once, it gets a coat of paint. When you roll all the way down to the tape it gets a second coat of paint. And usually at that point the color is covering well along the baseboard, so much so that you don't have to brush it in again because when you roll your final coat of paint you're going to tap the tape again applying a third coat of paint to the baseboard.
3. Better Protection:
Taping protects your trim in 2 ways:
First, tape protects your trim from you. If you're attempting to brush in your baseboard without tape then inevitably you are going to get some paint over the edge and onto your baseboard.
Second, tape protects your baseboard and trim from the roller spray. Have you ever noticed tiny little specks of paint splattered on your trim? Or maybe on your bathroom countertop? Stop and go take a look at your baseboard trim and you may see tiny little specks of the wall paint that were sprayed onto it. Whenever you are rolling, the speed of the roller spinning is actually important. The faster you roll the more paint you're spinning off the roller into the air. Even if you roll slowly, there will still be paint that flings off of it. If you tape your baseboard and other trim, the tape will catch all the little specks of paint and when you remove your tape you will have a clean baseboard.
I hope you have come to the same realization that I did all those years ago. Taping off your trim is a must!
Next week we will cover exactly how to tape your trim, what kind of tape, and the secret tool for making the perfect tape lines. We will show you how the professionals do it so you no longer have to be a wanna-be painter.