Used to tape bed every job no matter what. Now I skip it half the time.

For the first 5 years I was hanging board, I masked everything - floors, trim, windows, you name it. Took forever but I thought that's what professionals did. Then I got a job doing a full house for a builder in Phoenix who didn't give a damn about tape. Just wanted it done fast. So I tried it without taping anything and just scraped drips off the concrete after. Saved me about 2 hours per room easy. Now I only tape if there's carpet or finished hardwood I can't fix. For baseboards and windows I just run a knife clean and wipe with a damp sponge before it dries. Has anyone else found that tape is more of a habit than a necessity for most jobs?

3 comments

3 Comments

alicecraig1mo ago

Is it really worth that extra 15 minutes when you could be moving on to the next job and making more money? I've painted hundreds of rooms without tape and the only time I regretted it was when I was rushing and not paying attention. A good brush and a steady hand beat tape every time, especially if you're using decent paint that actually hides well. Plus tape can pull off fresh paint if you're not careful, and then you're fixing a bigger mess than a little bleed-through.

aaron_perry1mo ago

Those 2 hours per room sound nice but I've had too many painters charge me back for bleed-through on baseboards to skip tape completely. A damp sponge works until it doesn't and then you're fixing someone else's mess. I'll stick with the extra 15 minutes of taping, it's cheap insurance against a pissed off homeowner.

the_leo1mo ago

You know, @aaron_perry, that line about "cheap insurance against a pissed off homeowner" really got me thinking. I used to be in the camp that tape was mostly a waste of time, figuring a steady hand and a good brush was enough. But you're right about that bleed-through on baseboards, especially with cheaper paint that doesn't have the body to hold a clean line. I've seen enough trim jobs get messed up by a wet sponge pushing paint into the grain that I'm starting to come around to your way of thinking. Fifteen extra minutes of taping sounds like a small price to pay for not having to go back and touch everything up later.