Scotch Wall-Safe Tape, Ideal for hanging reminders, decorations, kids artwork and posters, 16.5 m x 19 mm, Pack of 1,white

Product Information

If you have not used a low tack tape, you may need to rub a small amount of turpentine on any residue left behind,’ says Tim.

Therefore, the best thing to do is to decorate an hour before the event to ensure the walls stay intact. To remove masking or painter’s tape successfully, you should ‘wait until the paint is dry to the touch – if you are unsure of how long this will be, check the tin for the manufacturer's estimate,’ says Tim Warren, DIY expert at Adkwik.So, we asked the experts for their advice and thanks to them, we can’t wait to get started on our next easy DIY project. Since then, she has contributed to a variety of online and print publications, covering everything from celebrity news and beauty reviews to her real passion; homes and interiors.

But if we’re being totally honest, from trying it out ourselves many times, it can be tricky to judge exactly when to remove the tape. On the other hand, waiting too long can make the tape harder to remove, and even rip some chunks of paint off too. While it may be very tempting to pull all of the tape off at once, doing it in sections gives you more control over it and can often create better results. If you find that the adhesive from the tape is sticking, you can try pulling at a 90 degree angle instead, as this may make it easier to safely remove it. There are so many clever paint ideas using masking tape that can jazz up your home from painting a wall in two distinct colours, to painting a striking mural feature wall.

In doing so, she created opportunities to work with some of her dream brands and discovered the possibility of freelance writing, after always dreaming of writing for magazines when she was growing up. I mean, there’s nothing more satisfying than removing the tape to be met with a super sharp and clean result. Most painting professionals will advise that you wait until the paint is fully dry before pulling back the painting tape on itself at a 45 degree angle, that way it should peel away with ease and leave you with a crisp line. In this case, you should remove when the paint is only partially dry – although this will vary from product to product. Sign up to our newsletter for style and decor inspiration, house makeovers, project advice and more.

However, if your paint has overlapped onto the tape and you wait too long to remove it, this could lead to the paint from the wall peeling away with the tape.

Use a sharp tool to lightly score along where the painting tape and paint meet before removing, then sand this until smooth once removed. It can even be a clever secret for upcycling furniture with a smart design like this Farrow and Ball Harlequin dresser. We’re all probably familiar with using masking or painter’s tape to stop excess paint from getting onto skirting boards, door frames and ceilings but there are even more creative ways to use masking tape when painting a wall. If you haven’t let the paint dry most of the way before removing the tape, you can end up with a bit of a mess or paint that has bled into the areas that you were purposefully trying to keep paint-free. There are numerous products on the market, but in my opinion, the best one is Scotch’s Removable Poster Tape.

While many experts advise against using tape on the walls, sometimes, there isn’t a better solution. Which DIY paint project will you be attempting first, now that you know the best practice to get that professional finish? Though people usually associate it with painting, this type of tape does the trick when it comes to hanging decorations as well.