what is masking tape?

Masking tape is a type of adhesive tape made of easy-to-tear paper backed with a weak adhesive.

It is used mainly in painting, to mask off areas that should not be painted. The adhesive is the key element to its usefulness, as it allows the tape to be easily removed.

The tape is available in several strengths, rated on a 1-100 scale based on the strength of the adhesive.

Most painting operations will require a tape in the 50 range.

Household masking tape is made of an even weaker paper and lower grade adhesive.

Masking tape was invented in 1925 by 3M employee Richard Drew.

Drew observed auto-body workers growing frustrated when they removed butcher paper they had taped to cars they were painting.

The strong adhesive on the tape peeled off some of the paint they had just applied.

Touching up the damaged areas increased their costs.

Drew realized the need for tape with a more gentle adhesive.

For its original use of marking off areas where auto body paint is not desired, a special grade of painter's masking tape is needed. With this special grade, very clean lines can be produced. Without it, the paint bleeds under the edges of the tape, producing a fuzzy or varied line.

When constructed with polymer films instead of paper, masking tapes can be used for some more rigorous applications. Polyester based tapes are used to mask off during etching and plating, for example. Tapes based on polyimide films can resist molten solder in electronics applications.

Well here in the UK we use masking tape for projects such as painting...for instance: If I wanted to paint a window frame then I would use masking tape on the glass next to the frame in case I was careless enough to get paint on the window as well as the frame...the tape is masking the glass! When the paint is dry, I then peel the tape away from the window. It's best to get it off as soon as the paint is dry because it can be a bit of a devil to get off otherwise, although there is a masking tape that can be left on a bit longer...this costs a bit more. Masking tape is generally found in the DIY stores in the same place as Duct tape and it is normally a creamy yellow colour, it also comes in different widths.

It is that rolled light Brown colored paper-like tape that we used to use when painting... we would put masking tape around certain things we did not want to paint.. Now we use a blue masking tape.. We also use masking tape when wrapping packages To send by UPS, etc. It is sort of good.. we can tear it with our hands or teeth and that makes it handy

Well Masking tape is adhesive tape used in painting to cover areas on which paint is not wanted. You can create lot of artworks with the help of masking tape, it also majorly used for painting purpose. If you planning to buy one you can visit here http://www.mttape.com.sg/ and browse through many options for masking tape.

You may go to a hardware store or even a supermarket - hardware isle and ask for it. It is a very common tape, most often in vanilla color, costs about a couple of bucks a roll. "masking" means it is not transparent compared to "scotch" tape.

its that tape is a cream color and you dont need scissors to cut cause you can rip it