A: At Shurtape, we completely appreciate the skills of long-time pros who have mastered the ability to cut in, but we also like to tell them that tape is a tool that gives them a leg up. Here are a few examples of how tape does that.

Customer confidence

Tape can help eliminate rework on the back end, but we’ve also found that it gives a little bit of confidence to the customer, and it says you care about the project and choose to go the extra mile. Our research found that 80% of customers like to see painter’s tape used on projects. So, I always say building customer confidence is the first reason to use tape.

In addition, if you work on high-end homes, you not only want to use tape to protect surfaces and create crisp lines, but you’ll also want to make sure you’re using the highest quality tape. Don’t opt for a $5 roll when you could spend a couple of dollars more and get the best performance with the sharpest paint lines for customers who demand perfection.

Older homes

Older homes present many situations where tape can help a pro who likes to cut in. In these properties, you tend to have lots of detail features like molding, fireplaces and built-ins, where tape brings added assurance. If, for example, you’re going around an arch, there is great potential to have paint go where you don’t want it to. Tape is good for these more complicated situations. Our new FrogTape Advanced^TM Painter’s Tape with PaintBlock® Technology, is great for those curves and details. You can really mold it to what you need to mask.

Wallpaper

If you are painting a wall or ceiling adjacent to a wallpapered wall, tape allows you to protect the wallpapered walls. Some pros assume the vinyl wallpaper surface will be easy to wipe off, and it often can be, but if brush or roller marks are overlooked and allowed to dry, you’ll have to work hard to remove them. This may potentially damage the wallpaper.

Striping & delicate surfaces

Some work is a little more complicated or elaborate. Striping is one of those more complicated requests. In these situations, you may find yourself creating a striped design over a freshly painted wall, but you can’t wait several days for the paint to cure. You definitely need tape in these situations, more specifically, a delicate surface tape. Our FrogTape® Delicate Surface Painter’s Tape allows you to get those crisp lines without having to wait days for the paint to cure. It’s also a great option for protecting other delicate surfaces, such as cabinets.

Don’t forget your crews

We have found that, while there are many skilled pros out there who can cut in successfully, there are more young pros coming into the field. That means that as you’re staffing up and trying to build good teams, you might end up with employees without much experience. Tape allows you to provide professional results from day one without having to worry if a team member hasn’t yet mastered the skill of cutting in. Taping helps ensure that you are going to give your customers the quality they expect.

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Mary Kate Hearns is a senior product manager for Shurtape’s Painting/Masking Tapes business and leads product management for FrogTape® Brand Painter’s Tapes. She works with Shurtape’s research and design team to develop products for the consumer market and provide the best tools possible for both pro and DIY customers.