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I'll tell you a subject that's really pretty boring, in a way it's not, masking tape. I know
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what you're thinking, Tim, masking tape's masking tape. Well, up until about six years ago, I would
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have agreed with you. You would have been right, but now it's completely different. What manufacturers
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discovered is that one masking tape can't do all things because now we've got all kinds of neat
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things we do with, for example, faux painting, where maybe you're putting two different colors
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on a room just hours apart and you can't use a traditional masking tape. It's too sticky
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I mean it'll just pull the paint right off the walls. So now we've got all different types
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of tapes. What's the difference? Traditional masking tape, the adhesive on it is actually
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made from rubber and it's very sticky. It's typically got a solvent base to it and what
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happens is that sunlight actually activates it and if you leave masking tape, traditional
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stuff on a surface for too long, you can't get it off. That's a problem. So what manufacturers
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did they came up with new tapes that are made with different adhesives They lightweight very gentle acrylic or water based adhesives You can actually put them on very delicate surfaces and they will peel off without harming
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them. But they still also have time bombs. Some of these tapes can only be left on surfaces
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for so many days. And how do you know which that is? Simple. Look at the label. Frequently
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on the inside roll of the tape, it will tell you what the tape is to be used for and how
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long the tape can stay on the surface. Here's a really unique tape. This one is actually
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a masking tape, but it's a ruler at the same time. It's got that really friendly acrylic
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adhesive on the back so that you can peel it off without damaging the surface. You might
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use this in case you're creating vertical painted stripes in a room, and you want to
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make sure that the width of the stripes is the same. So you'll put a strip of this top
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and bottom and use it to chalk your lines and make your marks. Really a good idea. I
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I really like this measuring masking tape. I'm Tim Carter, on tape, for Ask the Builder
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If you want to discover more home improvement tips, go to askthebuilder.com
