whats the cheapest 12" wide masking tape that yall have found? I’ve seen it range from $39 to $139.
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$40 is what i spent.
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I use this:
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Like shop, UScutter is where I buy and TransferRite Medium Tack is what I buy. It is very good quality.
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Like @jbmanning5, I get perfectear plus from signwarehouse.com for $40 for a 300 foot roll, shipped. I’ve used both perfectear and transferrite, I prefer perfectear, but they aren’t that different.
I was also tipped off to this one:
Update: Tape Man Blue’s quality was hit or miss for me, where the tape would unexpectedly separate into multiple layers when unrolling. Maybe I got a bad batch but just something to consider when shopping – sometimes the cheapest option is more expensive in the end.
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I think the perfectear is the one I’m gonna go with. I see the 100ft roll for 40, I assume that is the one your talking about.
No, there’s a 100-yard one. Let me see if I can find the product link.
It’s pretty good stuff, tacky but not too tacky, cuts clean without any “gumminess”. I’m on my second full roll. I got a 10% discount for a small survey, which pretty much offset the shipping which was $10.
If you end up liking it, I might recommend getting some thinner sizes too, the 6.5" size is handy sometimes when you don’t want to mask an entire sheet of goods.
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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DF7TDSF/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I just bought a roll of this. Only tried it once yet but it worked very well. $19.99 for 100’
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That’s 50% more expensive that the other options were mentioned, since they are $40 for 300 feet versus 20 for 100 feet. Adjusting to get equal amounts, the amazon tape would come to $60.
Normally I wouldn’t mention that but this was specifically asking about the cheapest option, and yours technically is in terms of initial cash outlay but it is much more in the long run.
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The one you linked to was 100’ and $10 shipping. Mine was free shipping. Plus OP said that the cheapest they had seen was between $39 and $139, no mention of length.
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Nope look closer, 100 yards. All told with shipping it was almost exactly $40.
Keep in mind most masking tapes have a 6 month useful life. After that they don’t unroll properly and tend to break. The glue causes havac with the paper. Basically you don’t want to order too much at a time. You may have to pay more per foot for a shorter roll but if you waste too many feet because you couldn’t use it in time for a cheaper longer roll, your better off spending more for a shorter roll.
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That’s a good point. I’m not sure what the shelf life this stuff has, and I only have a sample size of one. Let’s see how long it took me to get through that 300 foot roll…
checking my orders…
December was the first one, June was the next, right at 6 months. I had zero problem.
This stuff is somewhat different from the standard masking tape, the glue is “gluier” in some way (yes that is now the technical term). I know what you mean about masking tape getting old and janky, this stuff feels a bit more durable, but I can’t say for sure. Caveat Emptor, Good advice from @wilsonpf!
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Also seems harder to weed if it has been on a board for a long while.
So that tacky glue eventually sets is my guess.
I have been masking on demand ever since I noticed that.
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I tried to use my preorder proofgrade leather a couple weeks ago (received in november of last year). It’s basically useless, the masking is so adhered to the leather that it’s ridiculously hard to get it off.
I only mask right before I cut for the same reasons you do.
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well, that plus whether you mask or not often depends on what you’re going to do to the material. many engraves are not masking friendly.
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I have a 12-inch roll, I don’t remember the brand, from sign warehouse and it is older than 6 months, younger than 12 and I’m not having any issues with it tearing or sticking to itself, actually the opposite. It seems to be less tacky. I squeegee it on nice and hard and it has issues staying stuck.
My pre-order proofgrade leather masking is becoming one with the leather as well.
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It might be your material. Check it:
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I use a wide variety of materials, so I am not willing to completely call out the masking material - not enough repeatable data. I threw it out in case others were suspecting it. I normally sand to 320 grit for wood products.
Yeah I also use 320 for light sanding prior to masking and get good adhesion to wood. I cater how much sanding to just how stuck I need that masking to be, more sanding → better adhesion. It’s a tricky balance with soft things like Baltic birch, if you stick it too well, it pulls stray wood fibers up from the surface when you remove it.
Anyway, I am not sure why I’m explaining this… you sound like you got yourself dialed in, I could probably learn a thing or three from you.
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