We have all experienced
masking tape problems at some point, whether a weekend project at home or out
on the job site. Having experienced issues in the past, we’ve learned that it
all comes down to buying the right tape for the job. Easy, right? Not exactly! I work in the tape industry and
I still get confused walking through the tape section of a big box store. I
can’t imagine how overwhelming it must be for a DIYer or contractor searching
through an entire aisle of different brands, colors, sizes, prices, etc…where
to begin?!
Understanding Painter’s
Masking Tape
“Masking Tape” (a term
most often used categorizing paper tapes) comes from the act of protecting or
masking an area prior to the application of painting, coating or surface
treatment. But are all masking tapes created equal? Let’s take a closer look.
The composition of masking
tape at its most fundamental level is made up of three layers: backing,
adhesive and release coat. (See illustration, top of page.) The backing is
generally made from a saturated crepe paper. Crepe paper is known for its
ability to stretch, allowing the tape to bend and conform around curves.
Saturation helps enhance the paper’s physical properties and can also add color
if preferred. The paper can be smooth crepe or coarse crepe—smooth crepe is
used on high performance products, leaving a clean paint line and no
bleed-through. Coarse crepe has a rough finish and is commonly used in general
purpose applications where a clean line is not necessarily required.
The two types of adhesives
used are acrylic and rubber (or synthetic rubber). Acrylic adhesives can be water-based or
solvent-based and use synthesized polymers to formulate an adhesive structure
that is applied to the tape. Acrylics have medium initial adhesion, temperature
resistance, solvent resistance, UV resistance and durability. Rubber adhesives can consist of natural or
synthetic rubber. Natural rubber adhesives have a medium to high tack and are
used for general purpose applications. Synthetic rubber adhesives are formed by
mixing synthetic compounds with rubber.
These are medium tack and intended for indoor and outdoor painting
applications. Rubber and synthetic rubber adhesives have medium-high initial
adhesion, temperature resistance, UV resistance, and durability.
The release coat controls
the tape’s unwind values, its adhesion to backing values and adhesive
consistencies. In other words—the release coat allows the tape to come off the
roll easily and not stick to itself.
There you have it, lesson one in the books! Learning what masking tape
is and how it’s made is key to understanding how it works and why it works (or
doesn’t work—we will cover this later). In Part II we will learn about
applications—what to use, why to use and how to use—and break down acrylic and rubber
masking tapes further, discussing chemical additives that can give the tape new
properties and
characteristics.
Written by Brandon Paas, Consumer Marketing Manager, IPG
Written by Brandon Paas, Consumer Marketing Manager, IPG
No comments:
Post a Comment