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green tape is lifting paint

martagon | Posted in General Discussion on August 6, 2007 07:43am

So, we’ve stripped the wallpaper, put on a coat of Zinsser Bin to stop waterstains (from leaking windows) bleeding through, put on a skim coat, and then primed it with a latex primer.  Coat of blue paint for the walls.   10 days ago

Now, my daughter wants to mark the wall for sponging purple stripes.  I told her to put a strip of green tape (8 day) horizontally, mark off her stripes, and use that as a “story pole”, but horizontally.

Well, she pulled the green tape off, and there are a few spots where the blue paint lifted.  We had the trouble initially, but the paint had only been on a couple of days.  We gave it a rest, but still the problem.

Did I screw up in mixing the leak sealer and the primer?

What do i do so that my daughter doesn’t think I’m totally clueless??

We can’t put the tape on to mark off for the sponging until I know what’s up.

Oh, we’re in humid southern Ontario.  Does that matter??

 

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  1. FastEddie | Aug 06, 2007 07:52pm | #1

    Is the sponging your daughters project?  Have her post the question here and we'll give her direct answers, that'll leave you out of the dummy loop.

    "Put your creed in your deed."   Emerson

    "When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it."  T. Roosevelt

  2. MikeHennessy | Aug 06, 2007 10:02pm | #2

    Sounds like you stripped the wallpaper, but didn't get all the glue off. The primer didn't bond to the wall through the glue, and the tape is pulling the glue, plus the paint on top of it, off.

    This can also happen if you try to paint drywall without first cleaning the dust from sanding off. DAMHIKT.

    Mike Hennessy
    Pittsburgh, PA

    1. martagon | Aug 08, 2007 05:02am | #9

      Mike -- I really hate to think that not removing the glue is the proplem -- it's under a layer of paint, primer, mud and sealer.  Oh, perish the thought that we need to go down a few layers.  Think maybe the dust isn't all off the drywall, though.  Next step????

      1. MikeHennessy | Aug 08, 2007 03:40pm | #13

        Cross your fingers and hope the other posters are right and the paint just needs to cure more. That will likely do it. If it doesn't, try the taping/tape removal tips that were posted and/or see if you can get some even less sticky tape. Failing that, just do the deed and touch up as needed.

        Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA

  3. DanH | Aug 06, 2007 10:13pm | #3

    No, your problem is you used the wrong color tape. For blue paint you use blue tape, of course.

    (You should exercise extreme caution when applying tape to fresh paint. It takes maybe a month for the paint to fully cure to where the tape is least likely to pull it off. And always remove the tape ASAP.)

    (Another thing is to remove the tape the correct way. Generally you should pull the tape back on itself rather than directly up. This minimizes the stress on the paint-surface bond and concentrates the stess in a small area of the tape, reducing maximum pull-off force.)

    So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin



    Edited 8/6/2007 3:13 pm by DanH

    1. FastEddie | Aug 06, 2007 10:22pm | #4

      Good point on the color Dan.  So if you are painting white walls, then you should use white duct tape, right?"Put your creed in your deed."   Emerson

      "When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it."  T. Roosevelt

      1. DanH | Aug 06, 2007 10:40pm | #5

        Or silver, since it will reflect any color.
        So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

    2. martagon | Aug 08, 2007 05:04am | #10

      O.K. Dan, the girls called me on my way home from work -- to let me know that I needed to pick up blue tape...  They'd read your message, and taken it to heart.

      But thanks for the hint about removing the tape  -- we'll be a little more careful in pulling it  -- and we're going to leave it for another week or so before trying to mark it again.

       

  4. seb | Aug 07, 2007 12:19am | #6

    Use some of the 3M blue tape with the Orange center on the spool.Its for faux painting and will probably work ok...Its much more expensive than reg blue tape. Can get it at Home Despot...
    Bud

  5. saulgood | Aug 07, 2007 10:08am | #7

    Funny thing about masking tape; the more expensive it is, the less it sticks.

    Two tricks I've learned (in addition to other responses):

    1. Before dispensing any tape, lightly rub the sides of the roll with wax - this helps the tape separate from the paint later. Don't use too much wax though.

    2. You need to press down hard when applying the tape to prevent "bleeding", but pressure can make the tape stick too well and pull up your paint. Leaving it on too long will do the same. If the tape is sticking too aggressively, use a hair dryer to preheat the tape a few inches ahead of where you're pulling. Go as slowly as you need to and be patient.

    1. User avater
      McDesign | Aug 07, 2007 02:07pm | #8

      Two good tips I've not heard - thanks

      Forrest

    2. martagon | Aug 08, 2007 05:05am | #11

      Thanks for tips, Saul

      1. User avater
        Matt | Aug 08, 2007 01:43pm | #12

        As said above paint takes at least a month to cure.  You can expect problems if you put tape on it prior to that.  Other than that, use the best tape you can find and don't leave it on for more than a few hours.  Also, you might want to try some of that brown masking paper - it's similar to tape but is actually paper and has less glue on it - it's more like "sticky notes" than tape.

        I always get a chuckle when I see a DIY use tape on newly painted surfaces to help cut in and make up for lack of skill.  The pro paitners I use never put tape on a surface they have painted.  Tape is just used for masking things you don't want any paint to get on like hardware and cabinets and even that is heald to a minimum - they more just rely on their skill and it always amazes me when I see them cut in with a 3 or 4" brush.  I have no idea what those faux finish painters do. 

      2. peteshlagor | Aug 08, 2007 04:12pm | #14

        OK, another big idea:

        I don't care what color masking tape you use, other than the pulling off you describe, you're going to get runs under tiny high spots in such tape.  The edge lines are going to look crappy.  Especially over a whole wall.

        Use that Scotch Frosted tape to do the edge.  Then go backover it and run a tool along the edge to make the tape invisible.  Nothing will creep behind it.  Then place the colored masking tape over the frosted to continue your pattern.

        I always edge with the scotch and top that with masking, especially on woodwork.

         

    3. MGMaxwell | Aug 08, 2007 07:52pm | #15

      Careful with the hair dryer. It will soften the paint. Same prinicple as heat guns for removing paint. Adhesives soften with heat.

      1. saulgood | Aug 14, 2007 06:07pm | #20

        That's true about the hair dryer softening paint. The suggestion was more applicable to tape on adjacent surfaces like glass, metal, etc. when someone has left tape for so long that it's coming off like confetti. I guess if you're sponging or applying stencils or something you might need the tape. But
        personally I try to avoid using tape altogether. A nice strong brush stroke (even one that's a little wavy) will almost always look better than the pulled- up or bleedy line lefy by tape. And on an exterior, tape just compromises the water tight seal when it pulls up.Just my two cents, MG, not directed towards you... just yakkin'...

  6. maverick | Aug 09, 2007 12:22am | #16

    I'm always careful to not apply too much pressure to the masking tape. I know this will invite bleeding. to combat bleeding apply a thin coat of the wall color to the edges of the masking tape. only the wall color will bleed under, then topcoat your faux finish. remove the tape while the faux is still wet

  7. IdahoDon | Aug 09, 2007 04:44am | #17

    Some green tape is the extra sticky stuff for hard to tape surfaces.  It will definitely pull paint if you aren't careful.  Why not use blue tape?

     

    Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.

    1. martagon | Aug 09, 2007 04:58pm | #18

      "cause I didn't know the difference between blue & green.  

      1. DanH | Aug 09, 2007 05:01pm | #19

        Blue-green colorblind?
        So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

  8. RW | Aug 14, 2007 07:11pm | #21

    I'm replying without having read ALL of the responses. But wrong tape is accurate. I'm not going to pretend that somewhere out there Joes Tape Inc differs from everyone else and makes what I'm going to say inaccurate in some scenario, but . . .

    TYPICALLY, green is lacquer tape. You put that on stained and lacquered woodwork. It wont muss up the lacquer. The blue painters tape, the stuff with texture, will. Theres also a green, semi textured coarse surface tape ultra high adhesion you can make stick to concrete and blockwork. But one is thick and coarse, one is thin and smooth.

    Regular masking, ivory-ish in color, is for most of what you mask, especially if its cured. Like painting a room after ten years. You can put that on varnish or poly, glass if you're not leaving it very long, its medium adhesion and doesnt mess with lacquer. Now a weak finish, it can pull that and I've had it happen. By weak I mean this gal had a furniture piece in her bath with shellac on it and dumb me . . . I refinished the thing gratis.

    Blue has two varieties that you'd find at the paint store. The textured is supposed to be a lower tack version of masking that you can put on a cured painted surface but in practice it tends to be harder to make seal down and avoid leaks. The blue "designer" tape is thin, smooth, low tack, usually orange core. Thats what you should be using. It goes on easy, comes off easy, you can put it on day old latex and it wont pull it unless theres something wrong underneath.

    Theres also the blue, still 3M that you get at autobody places but thats plastic tape and thick, even if narrow. Thats used for running pinstriping or curves. I dont know I've ever used that in a house.

    Real trucks dont have sparkplugs

    1. IdahoDon | Aug 15, 2007 04:31am | #22

      Good rundown on tapes.  Another thing I don't think anyone here has mentioned is that how the tape has been stored and how old it is makes a huge difference in how sticky it is.  Leave even blue tape out in the truck in 100+ degree temps and it's going to stick hard to everything. 

      Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.

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