How to properly prep your surface before putting down masking tape

C.W Hayden Co. How To Series

Prepping Instruction:

Sand your surface back to a 400 grit and wash your surface down with a lacquer thinner. Take your wipe or rag, fold it over several times, put a little bit of thinner on your rag and wipe the surface in one direction only. Turn the rag over, and when it gets dirty, change it around to a clean fold. Keep wiping down the full length of your panel surface.

Masking Tape Information:

There are many different types of masking tape depending on your needs or surface, lots of different colours, price points and applications.

Brown - your basic brown masking tape has largely gone away but you can still find it. It still works well, it just can't be out in the sun for very long.
Blue - the blue is taking the market by storm. This tape has up to seven days indoors and maybe two days outdoor exposure. Its thinner, a lot more difficult to start & can sometimes leave a residue if you're not careful about how you take it off and wipe down your surface afterwards.
Yellow - the yellow is a newer tape and is kind of in the middle of the other two. Not overly expensive and works well.
Green - the green is another great one, quite thin and non-creped. There are a lot of tapes out there that are quite thin without any creping at all which means they aren't intended to be able to bend. They are actually made out of rice paper and you can feel the difference when you run your finger over it. Tape that has creping on the back has been designed to stretch a bit. Some stretch more than others, so if your tape has creping, pull it tight and stretch it out a bit.
Red - the red tape is more expensive than most but it does things that most other tapes can't do. It's thin so it conforms nicely, it does beautiful work as far as bending, following curves and even divots. It's also acid resistant so great for aircraft paints and primers.

When you are finished laying down your tape, you should always follow up with a tape wiper. It'll flatten those edges out and make sure they don't pucker up and lift.

C.W Hayden carries all types of masking tapes & more. Visit our Masking Tapes page to see all of your options.