Let's talk about it. Short answer, absolutely worth it.
A little bit, well actually a lot of prep work makes painting or envisioning a space so much easier for me, personally. I need to see what I'm planning to do and try to leave little cleanup afterwards.
There are so many ways to paint and not every paint job needs to be taped off. For instance, if you're starting over or from scratch and everything in the room is of no concern, get the painting done first. It can literally get on everything.
Otherwise, you should definitely take the time to prep the areas that don't deserve paint. I will not say there may have been times I repeatedly bumped the ceiling with the roller after already cutting in, before I started taping off ceilings.
A tip to getting a crisp line with minimal bleed-through is to use a damp cloth or finger to press against the tape edge. I assume it helps the adhesive adhere to the surface better and closes those small air pockets.
You can also tape off for caulking too. With this wall and my fireplace, I needed to caulk and paint opposite surfaces. Caulking can be messy and
leave a textured lip that will show through paint. Therefore, taping before you caulk will leave a clean, crisp line for both. I however, made the mistake of putting the tape too close to the shiplap on the fireplace (basically under it) causing the caulk to lift a bit when I peeled the tape. I wasn't painting right and didn't want the tape sitting on the mantle.
They say you should peel before either completely dries. Luckily, I saw my error beforehand and was able to place the next round of tape with a bigger gap so the paint would hide that small imperfection :), the workarounds. The overall goal is natural separation and a clean line.
Tape gives you (well, me at least) a little breather to not be as precise or clean. I can paint on the tape if I need to. I don't have to hold my breath or purse my lips making sure I don't mess up, especially when on a ladder reaching overhead. I'm short...be out of breath, pits and forehead sweating all because I don't want to get an overlap of paint on the opposite wall. Yes, I'm that person, lol!
Tape is often used for designs and geometric patterns as well. My sister gave my niece and nephew a fresh look to their bedrooms and it turned out absolutely adorable. She'd never done anything like this before (me either), just a plan and a vision. I was soooo proud of her when she finished because I knew I would NOT have wanted to do that! Lol. Just kidding! (kinda). But most importantly I knew she was more than capable and did a phenomenal job. Self-gratification is a high I tell ya.
Just go for it. Now of course, this is not the end all be all. Do what feels the most comfortable. I look around at the paint job that was done on my entire place by professionals and see areas where they were "not" professionals. It's not enough to complain about, but my eyes have a hard time not zooming in on the details.
Last, but not least, tape out your vision. Whether it's on the floor to see where your furniture should go or on the wall for spacing, make it come to life. A part of my design phase now includes this step. It saved me during my kitchen renovation when determining where I could use end panels for the upper cabinets. Turns out, I could not at all due to the range hood.
When in doubt, tape it out :). If you haven't already perused through my YouTube Channel, check out my videos below putting these tips to the test.
Board & Batten Wall
Faux Shiplap Fireplace
And soon to come, AN ENTIRE KITCHEN RENOVATION!!
I'm sure there's more, so if you have any of your own I'd love to hear them. Hope you found this helpful. I'll continue to share as I learn.
Until next time, Later peeps <3
Tips Summary:
Frog tape has performed the best when it comes to bleed-through and clean lines.
Draw lines on the wall first or use a level to tape for geo patterns
Use a damp cloth or finger to run along the tape edge (allow to dry)
Tape for caulk, too!
Attach tape to a roll of brown paper or plastic when you need to cover a large area (ie. baseboards & floor, the roller sprinkles never fail to get on the trim that's not taped)
Peel tape shortly after final coat to avoid stripping
Remember when taping a geometric wall, the base color should be what you want under the tape. You don't want to go back and re-tape your pattern to paint your lines.