Masking Joints When Finishing Prior to Assembly

[George Bokros]

Looking for suggestions on what you may use to mask joints when finishing prior to assembly, things like dado, or tongue and dado, tongue and groove.

I have been using the blue painters tape but that stuff is a little pricey and I have gone through almost a roll finishing a cabinet 18x48x30 and the roll out shelves for the lower portion.

Any ideas are welcome.

George

[John TenEyck]

3M's fine line blue tape. Tape is cheap compared to the value of a project.

John

[Sam Murdoch]

For very precise masking I have come to like the green Frog Tape - applied properly it does seem to keep seepage to nil compared to the blue tape. The blue tape is used lots for less fussy detailing. Completely agree with John (begrudgingly) that tape is cheap compared to the value of the work. If I am masking off a surface - like a shelf that is receiving a different finish than the shelf edge - I apply blue tape on the perimeter only. I then use regular masking tape to attach newsprint or the like directly to the blue tape. Cover lots of surface that way with a minimum of expensive tape.

[Jim Becker]

I use blue painter's tape...and I really don't consider it pricy in the scheme of things. When you build projects using great materials and put all the work required into making it right, the end result is worth whatever it takes to get there.

[glenn bradley]

I'm another who doesn't consider the blue tape expensive. I have various widths. If I used 2" for everything it could become costly. One thing I have learned is that cheap blue tape is worse than worthless. It causes problems you wouldn't otherwise have. I just pick up the 3M stuff whenever I find it on sale or clearance; Big Lots, Overstock, etc. For mortises I stuff with paper towels or scrap foam rubber from packing materials at work.

[Mark Bolton]

One thing to keep in mind is there is no need to pay for blue tape when straight masking tape will do. We still use the 3M or equivalent high quality tape because the cheaper tapes are so thin they tear. Wasting the money on the blue tape is, well, just a waste.

Some ways we save on dado's is to use backer rod or foam weather strip. I keep pieces hanging at the booth and can just press them into the dado. The only thing you have to watch is buildup on the backer rod/weather strip flaking off over time. I simply run it through my pinched fingers and it seems to take care of it.

[Adam Petersen]

I'm another Frog Tape convert. I used it on some painting projects at my house and it is able to create a laser straight line. I couldn't believe I had done the paint job. It is spendy though.

[Mark Bolton]

For some reason I didn't see all the other replies. I assumed you were talking about masking bare wood joints for post-finish assembly (glue). This was what I meant with regards to blue tape being a waste. Your simply keeping finish/overspray off the bare wood and anything will do. Buying full sleeves 3M blue is more than twice the price of the plain (233) and if your doing a lot of masking that adds up quickly. Even the green 3M auto body grade of tape is half the price of blue. The foam/backer is the cheapest but doesnt take care of tongue's, rabbet's, etc.

[Myk Rian]

Waxilit. Lee Velley sells it, but not in the winter.
This explains it better than I could here.
http://web.hypersurf.com/~charlie2/EntryHall/Waxilit.html

[George Bokros]

I am masking to keep poly out of the dado's and drawer lock joints so it does not impact the strength of the glue joint. I am going to try foam weather stripping.

[Mark Bolton]

If you can find diameters that work for you the backer rod is handy and its cheap. Only thing is its round so you have to play around with diameters that fill the dado yet arent too big in diameter that they let the finish adhere at the finished edge. I just find they go in easier and are cheap in rolls. If you can get a size that nearly fills the dado, a little bit of finish/overspray right out at the edge of the joint isnt going to hurt anything.