The best masking tape to use?

1. The best masking tape to use?

2. You have stumbled upon this article to find out the best basking tape for you. Allow us the liberty of assuming that you’re looking for a tape to help you with a painting or a DIY project. You wish to give it a proper finish and a touch of a professional. • To help you find and select the best tape, it is essential to first understand the types of tapes available on the market.

3. General Purpose Masking Tapes • These tapes are made with a rubber-based adhesive glue applied on a light plastic sheet. General purpose masking tapes are ideal for holding polythene or masking paper together for a short period of time, however they should not resort to as a first choice for any other applications. These masking tapes can withstand up to 75C depending on the brand. • The only drawback of this tape is that it can remove paint from surfaces when pulling it off and due to the nature of the adhesive used, they tend to leave behind a residue that can spoil your painting. It is a general rule that a general-purpose masking tape should never be left on a surface for more than 2 days.

4. High temperature Masking Tapes • These tapes are made for high temperature applications and do their job just as their name suggests. They can withstand high temperatures up to 200C for certain speciality projects. However, it is necessary to understand that the tapes cannot withstand continuous thermal stress and can only do so in cycles. • The unique property of this type of masking tape is due to a critical factor called latex saturation of the tape. In addition to this, the adhesive used on this masking tape also influences the thermal resistibility of this tape. The silicone-based adhesive imparts the ability to withstand the thermal stress applied on the tape, making it suitable for projects that require curing in oven. It is to be noted that these tapes, however, do not offer a sharp line like general purpose tapes.

5. Sharp Edge Masking Tapes • Sharp edge masking tape is the ‘go to’ choice for most of the painters and artists: Simply because it offers a crisp line on your painting. The ability to drop a crisp line is due the speciality paper that is used to make this masking tape. The tape also offers an additional property that ensures that the paint does not bleed, which makes it an absolutely perfect choice for highly specialized projects.

6. Take care of your Tapes • Tapes are generally sensitive to changes. For example, some tape doesn’t work well in cold surfaces and some don’t do well at high temperatures. So, the selection of the type of tape one wishes to use in their project depend on the type of project one is working on and how does one plan to take it further. What are the conditions to which the project will be subjected to? All of these factors ultimately help you find the perfect tape for your project.