Which Masking Tape Brand Wins?
In our test we compared 10 masking tape options head to head. FrogTape came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
FrogTape
Price shown in test: $4.99 for 60 yd
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3M Scotch Blue Painter's tape
Price shown in test: $5.67, the most expensive tape tested
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Duck Clean Release
Price shown in test: $2.97 for 60 yd
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“If I had a semi-smooth surface to paint, I would definitely choose Frog tape. It provided some incredibly clean lines and did a tremendous job.”
Best in 3 of 4 measurements, including Plexiglass Bleed 10 (min), Roller Bleed 10 (min) and Roller Bleed 4 (hr).
Placed top three in 3 of 4 measurements.
Placed top three in 2 of 4 measurements.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Plexiglass Bleed 10 (min)
- 1FrogTape1st place
not very much bleed under at all, extremely impressive
- 23M Scotch Blue Painter's tape2nd place
behind FrogTape
- 3Duck Clean Release3rd place
definitely the best of the four cheapest tapes tested at that point, very little bleed under
- 43M Scotch 2020 contractor's grade masking tape
did not do as well as Duck Clean but definitely better than most of the competition
- 5Painter's Mate
definitely not as good as Duck Clean
- 6Dollar General general purpose masking tape
left quite a bit of bleed through
- 7Duck Pro painter's tape
looked about the same as Duck General and Stik Tek
- 8Stik Tek Painter's tape
did just as good as the Stik Tek general purpose tape (poor)
- 9Stik Tek General purpose masking tape
about the same as Duck General
- 10Duck General purpose
quite a bit of bleed through
Roller Bleed 4 (hr)
- 1FrogTape1st place
again, near perfect job
- 23M Scotch Blue Painter's tape2nd place
did a decent job
- 3Duck Clean Release4th place
did a lot better than Duck Pro and far better than Painter's Mate
- 43M Scotch 2020 contractor's grade masking tape
did very well, 3rd place, not quite as good as FrogTape
- 5Painter's Mate
not quite as good as Duck Clean, slightly better than Dollar General and definitely better than Stik Tek Painter's
- 6Dollar General general purpose masking tape
definitely better than Painter's Mate, not as good as Duck Clean
- 7Duck Pro painter's tape
quite a bit of bleed through, far inferior to Duck Clean
- 8Stik Tek Painter's tape
not in the top five, though slightly better than Duck General, Stik Tek general purpose, and Duck Pro
- 9Stik Tek General purpose masking tape
quite a bit of bleed through
- 10Duck General purpose
a lot of bleed through
Residue On Plexiglass
- 1FrogTape
did a good job except for the tape line itself, where a lot of adhesive was left, especially on the side exposed to moisture
- 23M Scotch Blue Painter's tape
best of all tapes, no adhesive felt left behind
- 3Duck Clean Release
did a pretty good job, only a very small amount of adhesive felt
- 43M Scotch 2020 contractor's grade masking tape
did fairly well, no adhesive felt even along the tape line
- 5Painter's Mate
did fairly well, about the same as Duck Clean
- 6Dollar General general purpose masking tape
did not seem to have too much adhesive, did fairly well
- 7Duck Pro painter's tape
surprisingly did not do better than Duck General, quite a bit of adhesive left on the edge on the side exposed to moisture
- 8Stik Tek Painter's tape
a lot of adhesive left behind
- 9Stik Tek General purpose masking tape
pretty bad, especially on the side exposed to moisture, a lot of adhesive left on the plexiglass
- 10Duck General purpose
a little bit of adhesive felt along the edge of the tape line
Roller Bleed 10 (min)
- 1FrogTape1st place
- 23M Scotch Blue Painter's tape
did an amazing job with some bleed through in a couple of areas, 2nd place
- 3Duck Clean Release3rd place
- 43M Scotch 2020 contractor's grade masking tape
seemed to have a little more bleed through than the plexiglass test
- 5Painter's Mate
more bleed through than Duck Clean
- 6Dollar General general purpose masking tape
had some bleed through
- 7Duck Pro painter's tape
quite a bit of bleed through
- 9Stik Tek General purpose masking tape
a lot of bleed through
- 10Duck General purpose
quite a bit of bleed through
- 8Stik Tek Painter's tapenot tested
Spray Bleed 4 (hr)
- 1FrogTape
did well, though 3M Scotch Blue beat it this time; FrogTape is designed for latex paint, not the oil-based spray paint used in this test, so this result is a harder test for it
- 23M Scotch Blue Painter's tape
beat FrogTape on this particular test
- 3Duck Clean Release
beat Duck General, Stik Tek, and Duck Pro
- 43M Scotch 2020 contractor's grade masking tape3rd place
- 5Painter's Mate
did not do as well as Duck Clean; Dollar General actually beat it
- 6Dollar General general purpose masking tape
beat Painter's Mate
- 7Duck Pro painter's tape
quite a bit of bleed through
- 8Stik Tek Painter's tape
quite a bit of bleed through
- 10Duck General purpose
quite a bit of bleed through
- 9Stik Tek General purpose masking tapenot tested
Brush Bleed 4 Hr
- 1FrogTape
the best, very clean lines with one tiny imperfection
- 23M Scotch Blue Painter's tape
did pretty good, a couple of areas with some bleed through
- 3Duck Clean Release
did really well, a far superior job to Painter's Mate
- 43M Scotch 2020 contractor's grade masking tape
some areas of excellence and some areas with quite a bit of bleed through, not too bad overall
- 5Painter's Mate
did about the same as Dollar General, a far inferior job to Duck Clean
- 6Dollar General general purpose masking tape
about the same as Painter's Mate
- 7Duck Pro painter's tape
did not do very well, a lot of bleed through
- 8Stik Tek Painter's tape
did not do quite as well as Dollar General or Painter's Mate despite costing more
- 9Stik Tek General purpose masking tapenot tested
- 10Duck General purposenot tested
Cornstarch Residue Test
- 1FrogTape
left quite a bit of adhesive residue on the plexiglass
- 23M Scotch Blue Painter's tape
best of all tapes, very little adhesive left on the plexiglass
- 3Duck Clean Release
did fairly well, though some adhesive was left behind
- 43M Scotch 2020 contractor's grade masking tape
did fairly well, a little better than FrogTape
- 5Painter's Mate
did fairly well
- 6Dollar General general purpose masking tape
did better than Stik Tek
- 8Stik Tek Painter's tape
large chunks of adhesive left behind, especially on the moist side; not recommended
- 10Duck General purpose
did fairly well
- 7Duck Pro painter's tapenot tested
- 9Stik Tek General purpose masking tapenot tested
Release After 72 Hr
- 1FrogTape
released from the drywall just fine
- 23M Scotch Blue Painter's tape
released from the drywall just fine
- 3Duck Clean Release
released from the drywall just fine
- 10Duck General purpose
the only tape that struggled a little, it pulled away some of the underlying paint
- 43M Scotch 2020 contractor's grade masking tapenot tested
- 5Painter's Matenot tested
- 6Dollar General general purpose masking tapenot tested
- 7Duck Pro painter's tapenot tested
- 8Stik Tek Painter's tapenot tested
- 9Stik Tek General purpose masking tapenot tested
All measurements (1 more)+
Caulk Edge Test
- 1FrogTape
needed some help from the caulking; some bleed through occurred even with FrogTape
- 23M Scotch Blue Painter's tape
needed a lot of help from the caulking, a lot of bleed through underneath
- 10Duck General purpose
even the cheapest tape produced a perfect line on the caulked edge, very impressive, though there was a lot of bleed through on the non-caulked underside
- 3Duck Clean Releasenot tested
- 43M Scotch 2020 contractor's grade masking tapenot tested
- 5Painter's Matenot tested
- 6Dollar General general purpose masking tapenot tested
- 7Duck Pro painter's tapenot tested
- 8Stik Tek Painter's tapenot tested
- 9Stik Tek General purpose masking tapenot tested
How it was tested
- paint bleed through on plexiglass after 24 hours with half exposed to moisture
- paint bleed through at 10 minutes and 4 hours using a paint roller, paintbrush, and oil based spray paint
- adhesive residue left behind after 24 hours, by feel and with a cornstarch dust test
- bleed through on a caulked edge to simulate a rough surface, 3 tapes tested
- ease of release from painted drywall after 72 hours and heat exposure
“If I had a semi-smooth surface to paint, I would definitely choose Frog tape. It provided some incredibly clean lines and did a tremendous job.”
