Customer Reviews

Frog Tape 82021 Pro Painters Masking Tape, 1-1/2-Inch by 60-Yards, Green

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

I've done quite a bit of painting over the last few years. First in a condo unit that was our home, then a rental property, and currently an older home that we are remodeling. I have always used the blue tape, with varying results. Sometimes I'd get a very nice line, and sometimes it would inexplicably bleed and require additional "touch ups". About a month ago I saw this Frog Tape in Home Depot and thought I'd give it a shot. Put it to use for the first time yesterday. I am not exaggerating when I say the results were unbelievable. We used the Frog Tape on baseboard trim until we ran out, and then used the blue tape on the crown molding and some door frames. The Frog Tape produced a virtually perfect straight line, with the exception of a very minor spot or two. The blue tape, as usual, did OK in some areas but still left ragged edges, and bled through significantly others. Just not nearly as clean as the Frog Tape. Unfortunately my local Home Depot has discontinued the Frog Tape (of course they still have a wall of the blue tape). When I asked why they said "yeah we have a lot of people asking about it but we were just giving it a trial). I guess they didn't sell enough of it to keep it on the shelf. So I did an online search and was happy to find it on Amazon. I highly recommend this product.

By the way, through the school of "hard knocks" I've found that the following technique works best when painting:

Step 1: Prime first (very important for adhesion)

Step 2: Paint trim and doors with a good semi-gloss (I recommend Valspar from Lowe's); I recommend allowing at least a couple of days to dry really well really well before applying any tape.

Step 3: Now here is the trick for smooth lines: Once tape is applied and you're ready to do the walls, paint a first coat (I use a roller) onto the walls, WITHOUT PAINTING NEXT TO THE TAPE. In other words, leave about an inch or so bare next to any taped trim at this point.

Step 4: Once your first coat is on, now go back to the point you started (best to wait about 2 hours before doing the second coat). Take a small roller and hit the 1" or so area next to any trim, but just do in sections at a time (i.e. one wall, or the section between a window and a wall, etc). Once you've done this go back with the large roller and apply the second coat. Go back over the taped areas one more time.

Step 5: Now pull the tape for that section (the key here is to remove the tape before the paint has time to dry and possibly bond with the tape).

Step 6: Move on to the next section of wall and repeat Steps 4 and 5, until you've gone all the way around the room.

Step 7 (very important): Pop a cold one or other beverage of your choice and enjoy your new room!

Disclaimer: I am no pro and there may be better techniques, but through trial and error (and a couple of re-do's) this is the technique I've developed that seems to produce the best results. Good luck!

** Update -- see below **

My local Benjamin Moore dealer recommended I try this stuff since the blue tape was prone to bleed-thru. Well, I must say that the green stuff does a much better job at preventing bleed-thru. However, the main problem is that the adhesive on the green frogtape tape is too strong that it often pulls up the original paint and drywall paper underneath it. So the cleanup/repair work you need to do with Frogtape is far more extensive than the bleed through with blue tape. After several tries, I just threw the entire roll in the garbage.

Regarding the Blue Tape known bleed-thru issues, a paint pro recently told me that after they do their tape ups with the blue stuff, they will first paint a layer of the same paint underlying the tape right onto the tape itself. Then any of the new colored paint that might get onto the tape doesn't bleed through. I finally got around to trying out this tip and found that it worked like a charm -- I got perfect lines without any bleed-thru.

BTW, I went up to their website to inquire about these problems, but unfortunately their Contact page does not work nor is there any email address to send feedback. One needs to ask themselves what kind of customer service is this and whether they should even use this product.

** Update: I've been working on a few paint projects and essentially relegated the Green Frogtape for use only on unpainted wood. I had tried contacting the company several times because of their adhesion problems that caused paint and dry wall to peel off. I never received a response, however, the company now has updated their web site with directions on using Frogtape with the following:

"If the tape begins to tear the wallboard when it is being removed, this likely means you have masked on a poorly bonded surface. Try softening the tape's adhesive with a blow dryer."

Who is really going to use a blow dryer on the tape -- what a waste of time. So without a true admission that their product is faulty, they instead need to put up this lame warning and recommendation.

Well, the news is NOT all bad. Recently, the Frogtape folks came out with a Yellow tape that is labeled for use with Sensitive Surfaces. I have been using the Yellow tape for a few weeks now and will say that I am quite impressed so far. The Frogtape folks should just label the Yellow tape for "ALL Surfaces" and get rid of the Green tape entirely because it really is garbage. So Yellow Tape Good, Green Tape Bad!!!

I am constantly repainting rooms in our house and have suffered through the "blue tape" for years - always bleeding and paint sticks to it, so that when I would peel it off, paint would peel off with it.

I found Frog Tape last year and LOVE it - I have NEVER had any bleeding or peeling whatsoever. Though it is more pricey than the blue stuff, it is far superior. You won't ever have to worry about touch ups or fixes ever again.

I was running low on blue tape and picked up a couple rolls of this stuff for everyday use. The first time I used it, Frog Tape peeled paint off the wall. I used it two more times, both on top of wallpaper, and both times it peeled a significant amount of wallpaper off the wall. Now I only use the leftovers on wood and tile.

I used this to mask around some painted black metal brackets supporting a floating shelf. This was not a critical application, since you can't see the cut line, but it was a good test project. The tape was pressed into place carefully. It bled through. My conclusion is, it really didn't live up to the claims. I won't waste my money again.

There one feature was stopping paint from bleeding. After using it on a wall abutting a wooden balcony post, I can assure you it doesn't stop anything. A smooth, square, wooden surface and it bled through as bad if not worse than any blue tape I have ever used in the rest of the house.

I bought this tape over the 3M blue tape on the recommendation of a friend. I am going back to 3M and tossing the Frog in the trash. On a clean surface, using quality paint, the Frog would not stick to the trim and curl up in spots. It doesn't keep paint from seeping underneath even though it is supposed to have a "paintblock microbarrier". I also made the mistake of allowing the paint to dry before removing and the tape pulled the latex right off the wall and trim. There are few tips for using the tape on the packaging too. Only by visiting their website afterwards did I learn that you need to remove the tape right after painting. I've left the 3M tape up for days and the paint didn't pull up.

Does not work much better than blue tape. If you remove the tape immediately after painting, the lies are pretty sharp but if you let the paint dry, you will not have sharp lines unless you score the edges of the tape with a blade and there is still paint bleed. Seems like a gimmick. All they did is add more glue, or stickier glue, to the tape and made it green instead of blue. I won't buy again.

I have painted my whole house, inside and out using the traditional blue painters tape.(yes, it is annoying to get the under-tape seepage) So, I was working on a small touch up project and thought I'd give this product a try. What a huge dissapointment! I was using the tape on a matte, smooth finished wall, and the tape would not adhere to the wall for more than a few minutes. ( It wasn't humid in the room either) The tape isn't nearly as sticky as the blue tape. This tape only seems to work if used on a very glossy, or glass surface. One of the surfaces taped was a glossy varnished surface, and it did work well there, but on the matte painted wall, it made a way bigger mess than I ever had with the blue tape! I am going to stick with the blue tape, I know it's not perfect, but at least I can get more predictable of a result.

This tape sounded great, but was an absolute disaster when it comes to performance. I will give it some credit: it didn't bleed. Unfortunately it it pulled paint off underneath it, even well-cured, well-applied semi-gloss on my trim. Now I have to go back and repaint areas that didn't need painting. Will never buy again.