Frog Tape: Better Masking Tape for Painters

Unlike the common blue masking tape used to edge spaces you intend to paint, the edges of the light-green "Frog Tape" bond with latex paint to prevent bleeding. I'm not entirely sure what it is that they're doing differently—probably some new adhesive—but it's only six bucks a roll, so pick some up and let us know how well it works. If nothing else, it looks convincing in the demo videos on their site.

Product Page [FrogTape.com via PopSci]

[#1 posted by pork musket , October 31, 2007 9:25 AM]

Oh man, I'm gonna order some of this stuff. Too bad it didn't come out 4 months ago, I already painted one level of my house - use painter's caulk to stop bleeding, and I swear it makes prep time (masking, caulking, cutting) take twice as long as the actual painting time.

[#2 posted by sexyrobot , October 31, 2007 5:17 PM]

the trick to painting a straight line with paint is to put down the tape, then paint it the color under the tape first, then paint the new color. any irregularities that would cause paint to be wicked under the tape (boo, capillary action!) are then sealed and this will minimize any of the new color getting under the tape.

HOWEVER, the best method (and i end up painting approx 1 apartment a month or so) is to just trust in the force, luke, and go tape free. even using the above method, or this fancy new tape, there will be some wicking no matter what, leaving you with a 'sketchy' line. using an angled brush and going freehand, with a little practice, yields a very straight line with only a slight wave to it (unless you're a robot...like me). now stand back. the hand-done line looks perfectly straight, while every imperfection of the tape line snags at the eye. plus, ditching the tape saves time (2-4 hours per room), money ($5-6 per roll x ~2 rolls per room) and keeps all that tape out of the landfills. try it!

the really awesome product for painting are these painters wipes. they're like baby wipes with a lightly abrasive (spun plastic) side. latex house paint will dry in under an hour, but takes a day or two to 'cure' or completey dry. these will clean up paint thats wet OR dry (after a day or two, tho, YMMV)...they're great for every 'oops' moment.

[#3 posted by sexyrobot , October 31, 2007 5:27 PM]

those wipes also work wonders on those tiny little speckles you get from rolling...

[#4 posted by Anonymous , March 16, 2008 10:32 PM]

i used the frog tape to paint tone-one-tone stripes on my walls and it worked great. no seepage/bleeds/leaks at all!w

[#5 posted by Anonymous , July 6, 2008 2:16 PM]

I just tried this tape and found that it works incredibly well. I painted an interior hallway, including all trim and doorways, and had almost no edge bleed. I was really impressed - it's such a great feeling to pull the tape off after finishing a job to discover that virtually no touch up is required!

[#6 posted by Anonymous , August 13, 2008 9:17 AM]

I agree 100% with the 2 comments above. Green Frog Tape *rocks* compared to the legacy blue tape. I painted one room a year ago using blue and it bleed fairly significantly even after standard prep including brushing all the edges down to get the best seal possible. I just painted another room using the green tape and got very little bleed and it also released easier with no residue. I just wish green tape were available long ago. To get a sharp cut-off line, I used the trick above regarding painting a light coat of the under-color over the green tape edge, then painting with the top color. Worked like a charm!

[#7 posted by memark , August 24, 2008 2:21 PM]

I hear that Frog tape is great for smooth walls. Unfortunately my walls are textured. I found a great product that works on all types of wall surfaces! No painting over the tape necessary... Online searching brought me to a product called Tape Seal. The Website is http://www.perfectpaintlines.com/. It took me about 10 minutes to apply the product to a 10X10 room and the results were amazing. I finally painted a room with getting paint all over the ceiling. When you apply the product you only have to use a small amount so the jar lasts a long time.

[#8 posted by memark , August 24, 2008 7:31 PM]

To clarify... I I finally painted a room without getting paint all over the ceiling.

[#9 posted by Anonymous , October 14, 2008 9:11 AM]

I used Frog Tape and it leaked. The walls were not perfectly smooth, slightly textured. I wonder if the moisture lock system can backfire actually, it seemed to such the paint under the tape in places! I find old fashioned yellow masking tape works the best actually. I'm not yet experienced enough to go tape free!

[#10 posted by Anonymous , February 1, 2009 8:13 PM]

My first time using the product went very well. The lines were straight and the tape came off fine. However, the second time there were noticable gaps in the coating that forms the seal on the tape. As a result every few inches on my wall had noticable paint leak. Bummer.