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1. Tape what? Taping is NOT required for most painting… learn how to Brush and Cut and you will not need to tape, except for perhaps certain areas, like carpet along the base or around hard to paint fixtures… taping molding is NOT required for trim painting or even for cutting in window sash… or for cutting in ceilings or walls… and if and when you do tape some area, use regular 1 inch masking tape… not the "blue painter's tape" they try to sell you at stores…

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2. You can learn to hand cut quite nicely but NOTHING beats a beautiful tape line! But never tape unless you seal the tape, the paint will work its way under the tape. If you are bumping up against stained woodwork or counter tops etc, use caulk. A real fine bead and smear it out very thin, almost to the point where you've wiped it off. Anything else, ceilings, casings, base or bumping one color up to another (accent walls) use this technique – tape it, then use a (preferably) flat paint of the same color you are bumping up against, to seal it. Let it dry, do your wall color, let it dry and then pull your tape.

   Example, if you are painting a wall and your ceiling and wood work are white, tape off ceiling and wood then use a flat white paint, very light too run along tape line. Let dry, do your wall color, let that dry and then pull tape. I agree with the other poster, you can get by with regular masking tape in most cases. The only time you should use "painter's" blue tape is on fresh paint or if it's going to stay for more than a couple of days. It's low tac and you can actually have a problem getting it to stick sometimes.

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