Where's the best deals on painters tape?

Where can I get the most for my money? I plan on doing a fair amount of painting moving forward so I don't just want to pick it up anywhere.

P.S. I live in a fairly big city so we probably have most stores you might have in mind.

 

Honestly I never use the stuff, too expensive !

Depending on what application your painting there are ways to use good ol masking tape without issues!

 

Yeah, an angled brush does wonders. However, I'd imagine Walmart to be cheapest. I don't personally shop there since there's none anywhere close to me, but whenever I do a search for something, they always come up cheapest.

 

Masking tape would be fine I assume. Today, I want to cover balluster bottoms so that painting around them will be more efficient.

 

I agree with the others, tape is too expensive and mostly takes too much time. You also need to remove tape before the paint is fully dried or it will often lift the paint.

As shadeladie suggests, an angled paint brush (properly called a sash tool) along with a little care is the best way. It will take a fraction of the time of just taping and result in a better job. Don't use a 79 cent brush but get a quality one from a paint store.

 

Good stuff, thank you all!

 

Never ever use just masking tape!
You need real painters tape.

 

The blue tape is superior to the old 'white' masking tape.I always buy mine at the paint store although you can find it at a reduced price at the different clearance stores BUT sometimes that tape is old and doesn't come off of the roll correctly.

I agree there is no substitute for a quality brush!

 

Harbor Freight, if you have one, might be a shopping option.

 

It's cheaper if you buy the contractors packs... quantities of 6 or more, and it's hard to beat Amazons prices.

But as some alluded to, tape doesn't mean you can just go wild with the paint and brush up against it without the edges bleeding under the tape. Painters tape is used so that it doesn't harm the surface it's put on, and will release cleanly after X amount of days with out pulling off/damaging the paint that it's on. You use tape to keep roller splatter off the baseboard and trim, and maybe to prevent an accidental hick-up while carefully cutting in with your sash brush. But it's often better not to use tape at all- as mentioned, it costs time and money and might give you a false sense of security.

 

I would like to say that I can cut in by hand, but I can't. I'm just not that steady. So I do use tape. In my experience, you get what you pay for. I got a contractor pack of the store-brand blue painter's tape at the Big Box once, and I cursed it every time I used it. So now I happily pay a premium for a name brand.

That said, I prefer the look of edges that have been hand cut. Especially in an older home, with nothing exactly straight, plumb, or 90 degrees, a taped line appears very artificial and stands out like a sore thumb.