My husband and I just bought our first house and are starting the painting this coming weekend. From past experiences I have had trouble when removing the painter's tape. Last time the painter's tape pulled the paint off the wall when removed. Why is that and how do I avoid it?

 

Easiest way to avoid tape pulling paint off is to not use tape. Learn to paint without it. Its not a tough as it sounds.
1. Use quality paint from a paint store. Avoid the cheap paints from the big boxes. Quality paint flows and covers better with LESS effort. Less effort translates into easier hand work.
2. Use quality tools. Quality tools hold more paint AND release that paint to the surface better than cheap tools.
3. Search this forum for tips on cutting in by hand. The techniques have been covered several times.

If you must use tape, remove it the same day. Retape the next day if applying another coat.

 

Speaking of green tape, what's the difference between the standard green tape and the shiny one ?

 

Shiny green tape? Do you mean green duct tape?

 

The different colr tapes have different levels of adhesion, some are stickier than others.

 

Here in Ontario, at Home Depot and most other hardware stores, there are 2 types of green tape. One has the regular feel like masking tape, and the other has a shiny feel to it......maybe just a tad lighter than the other. I also know there's a blue colored tape.

 

When you removed the paint with the tape, had you only taped once? In other words, did you prime and paint two coats with the same tape lines? If so, that's your problem, as the primer adheres to the tape and when you paint over it with the base color, the primer will lift when you remove the tape.

While cutting in is easier, some of us just never can "get it". If you choose to tape, get a low adhesion tape (delicate surface--disregard tape color, as there are different levels of tackiness in several tape colors). Tape, then burnish each point of masking. When painting, practice cutting in and don't let paint pool on the tape. Remove the tape, at an angle, before each coat dries. If it dries, gently cut a line in the dried paint with an exacto knife.