Renovation

Remove the cover tape once the paint is touch-dry but before it has dried out completely. If the paintwork is still too fresh on e.g. wall paper – especially older wall paper – might separate, and the top layer of paper could stick to the masking tape.

We generally advise against masking off natural stone. Most natural stone types have a porous exterior. When removing the masking tape, tiny particles of stone are removed as well, which can lead to unsightly stripes on the stone surface and adhesive residues are more likely to remain on these types of substrates, which a solvent would wash deeper into the stone, where they can no longer be removed.

Our specialist low-tack tesa® Masking Tape for wallpaper – the masking tape PRECISION SENSITIVE – is ideal for sensitive surfaces. It has less adhesion than other tesa® masking tapes and tesa® Masking Tape for wallpaper is the right choice for sensitive paper or silk wall papers, as well as for surfaces with multiple layers of paint, which have aged and could flake. Test an inconspicuous area with a strip of tesafilm® to judge the sensitivity of the overall area. The sensitivity is very high if paint flakes off when the strip is removed. The best choice for woodchip paper or other less sensitive wall coverings is our tesa® Masking tape PERFECT.

You can use our tesa® Masking Tape PRECISION OUTDOOR, as it can be easily removed for up to eight weeks after application without leaving any residue. For short-term use and paintwork done away from direct sunlight, you could alternatively use the paint-resistant tesa® Masking Tape Gloss Paint. It comes with a very thin foil backing for perfect paint edges.

We recommend using our UV-stable tesa® Masking Tape PRECISION OUTDOOR. This masking tape is weather and UV-resistant and can be easily removed for up to eight weeks after application without leaving any residue. It is extremely tear-resistant and flat for high-precision paint edges.

tesa® masking tapes are generally very tear-resistant. Try peeling it off evenly in a 45 to 90 degree angle away from the paint edge. When peeling the tape at a greater angle or too hastily, some difficult surfaces may retain adhesive residue and the cover tape may tear.

Use our tesa® Masking tape PERFECT or tesa® Masking Tape PRECISION INDOOR for smooth and unstructured surfaces. Both masking tapes are extremely thin and adapt to the substrate perfectly, which means the paint edge will be completely straight and without any paint running underneath the tape. Use a lighter colour to paint along the painters tape where a darker colour will be painted later. This "pre-painting" will seal any remaining hollow spaces under the tape and the result will be a perfect paint edge whatever the substrate.

That can happen if the surface is anti-adhesive. Some anti-adhesive surfaces are tiles with a special anti-adhesion coating, structured or vinyl wall papers, materials with a high silicone content, silicone resins or plasters.
Surface moisture, dust or grease could be another reason why the tape won’t stick. Make sure to clean and dry all surfaces before applying painters tape.

The carrier of the cover tape is easier to remove when heated with a hair dryer; once warm, it can be peeled off diagonally. When adhesive tape is left in place for too long or is subjected to direct sunlight, the adhesive can become brittle and hard to remove. We recommend repeatedly applying benzene with a brush if the adhesive is on a water-proof surface. This will cause it to swell. The adhesive can then be removed with a plastic spatula. Any residue is easily wiped away with a cloth saturated in benzene.

Our tesa® Masking Tape Heavy Duty will be needed here. This tape has a very robust foil backing and was developed specifically for plastering. It is also extremely weather and UV-resistant, which means it can be left applied for up to 6 weeks during external work.
For interior paintwork, we recommend tesa® Masking Tape PERFECT, which can also be used around windows and doors.