Ten Ways to Use Masking Tape

Masking tape is one of those incredibly useful inventions that everyone is familiar with but no one uses to their full potential. Of course, masking tape – when used correctly – can make it easier to paint (or putty) with crisp, clean lines. But stop for a moment and think of masking tape’s triumph: it has the perfect level of tack that allows it to stick to most surfaces with reasonably reliable hold, but it’s not so tacky that it requires a puncher and a bit of sweat. justice to remove it.

Add to that the ability to write, and you have a recipe for something useful in many other situations besides drawing. Everyone should have a roll of masking tape in their toolbox and/or kitchen drawer because there is so much to be gained from this material.

Paint can spout

First, a small additional use of masking tape related to painting: keeping paint cans clean. Yes, you can buy a plastic paint can nozzle, but why bother if you have a roll of masking tape? Simply attach two strips of arrow-shaped tape to the top of the can and you can pour as much ink as you want without smearing the grooves or smearing it all over the label.

Timestamps

The most obvious non-painting use of masking tape is as a temporary label. Professional chefs use this kind of tape all the time to label ingredient containers, and you can do the same. Cut off a piece of tape to mark leftover food in plastic containers, tidy up the fridge , mark jars with loose screws or other small items, mark lunch at work, whatever. This eliminates the need to scratch out the permanent marker or scrape off the tacky residue of other, stronger adhesives, with little to no side effects.

Layout markup

Whether you’re moving into a new apartment or trying to figure out how to arrange pictures on the walls, masking tape is the perfect tool for creating geometric patterns on flat surfaces. Measure your items and mark them on the floor to get an idea of ​​how things will (or won’t) fit and what usability issues might be. Similarly, you can mark up photo frames on the wall to see what the end result will look like without having to drill a single hole in the wall.

Migration Templates

If you’re hanging pictures or anything else on the walls, arranging nails, hangers, or mounting brackets on the wall can be tricky. Sometimes everything seems to be aligned, but the screws do not fit into the slots in the back, or the bracket can be placed perfectly, but it turns out to be slightly crooked. Your answer is masking tape . Place a strip of tape on the back of what you are trying to hang and mark the slots for mounting screws or nails. Then transfer the tape to the wall, make sure it’s level, and drill holes or drive in nails.

Spacers

If you’re working on a project that requires the use of spacers, trying to get the spacers to sit in place while you’re manipulating other parts can be maddening. Masking tape can be used to temporarily hold coins, scrap wood, or plastic spacers in place while you drill or wait for the adhesive to set. This is especially useful if you only have one or two clips and need to hold something in place that you want to remove easily once you’ve completed this stage of the project.

Saw protection

Sawing something with a finished edge can be maddening. You mark the line, use the right saw blade, work deliberately and carefully, and the sawn edge looks like something has taken a bite out of your wood or tile, with a billion tiny chips on the surface. Masking tape is your solution: Apply a strip of tape to the area you will pass through a table, fixture, or circular saw, which will greatly reduce the number of chips and jagged edges in your finished cut.

Emergency pile roll

Lint is the most common material in the universe, and somehow it knows exactly when you’re in a hurry to an important event and don’t have a lint roller handy. If your last visual check before leaving the house reveals that you are covered in three different shades of dog fur, then masking tape flipped and wrapped around your arm is the perfect lint roll that will quickly remove all debris from your clothes and clean them. you’re on your way.

Hold screws and small parts

If you’ve ever assembled a piece of furniture or taken apart a small appliance to clean or repair it, you know how easy it can be to lose tiny screws or other small parts. Watching a small unique clasp roll into a gap between deckboards or disappear into a sewer can add some gray hair to your head, but there’s an easy fix: a piece of masking tape will hang over tiny screws and the like until they’re back to you. won’t be needed. It can even be folded up and hung on a wall for easy access, or folded in half to form an outlet that can then be attached to a disassembled appliance for future use.

Quick child lock

Staying at a hotel or visiting a childless friend? Or suddenly accepting a family with young children in your house, which is 100% unsafe for children? Masking tape is a quick and effective way to disguise outlets and other items you don’t want tiny fingers to poke into, creating quick virtual “fences” kids can be instructed not to cross (to keep them away from hot stoves or outdoors). ). restricted areas) and mark sharp corners to prevent screaming babies from crashing into them.

Temporary wallpaper

Whether you’re trying to see what your wallpapered room will look like, or you’re renting a room and don’t want to risk a deposit, masking tape can be used to temporarily wallpaper the wallpaper . Create a masking tape grid on the wall, then attach double-sided tape or carpet tape to the masking tape. Then glue the wallpaper, pressing it against the tape-covered walls. This won’t result in a perfect wallpaper, and it probably won’t hang around forever, but if you’re just trying to check your wallpaper selection or don’t intend to save it forever, it will allow you to delete it. later without any damage to the walls (or days spent in tears of frustration trying to steam off the wallpaper paste).