I spent around eight hours taping and covering areas before the exterior coating work. This blue tape is one of my masking purchases for that preparation stage.
My van with masking around the exterior areas prepared for coating.
The item in my kit
I bought ScotchBlue Original Painter's Tape as part of my camper van equipment.
I spent around eight hours taping and covering areas before the exterior coating work. This blue tape is one of my masking purchases for that preparation stage.
Where it fits my build
I taped the boundaries and covered the areas that would not be painted with plastic sheeting. I then sanded the exposed areas with an orbital sander and 60-grit abrasive, blew away the dust with a compressor, and cleaned and degreased the surfaces.
I mixed clear bedliner with white tint and sprayed the van. After it dried, I removed the masking. The tape and sheeting stage alone took around eight hours, and the finished edges still needed some touch-up.
The side of the van during the white-bedliner project.
My build notes
The most useful detail in my diary is the result, including the problems. Rust-Oleum pooled and dripped in places, and trying to repair one area with a paintbrush made it worse. I wrote that I would use a foam roller for touch-ups and preferred the more consistent finish I had obtained with RAPTOR.
Masking, preparation and application method each became a substantial part of the exterior-coating job.
Alternative products
Two alternatives to compare
FrogTape offers another general masking approach. Scotch rough-surface tape changes the surface category within the masking-tape range.
FrogTape Multi-Surface Masking Tape
This masking tape is supplied on a narrow roll. The adhesive strip forms a removable boundary for painting work.
