2019 test10 productsAdhesives, Glue & Tape
Which Masking Tape Brand Wins?
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.
Winner
FrogTape
Price shown in test: $4.99 for 60 yd
Check price on Amazon
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Runner-up
3M Scotch Blue Painter's tape
Price shown in test: $5.67, the most expensive tape tested
Check price on Amazon
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Budget pick
Duck Clean Release
Price shown in test: $2.97 for 60 yd
Check price on Amazon
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Plexiglass Bleed 10min | Roller Bleed 10min | Roller Bleed 4hr | Brush Bleed 4hr | Spray Bleed 4hr | Residue On Plexiglass | Cornstarch Residue Test | Caulk Edge Test | Release After 72hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1FrogTape$4.99 for 60 yd | 1st place, not very much bleed under at all, extremely impressive | 1st place | 1st place again, near perfect job | the best, very clean lines with one tiny imperfection | 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 | did a good job except for the tape line itself, where a lot of adhesive was left, especially on the side exposed to moisture | left quite a bit of adhesive residue on the plexiglass | needed some help from the caulking; some bleed through occurred even with FrogTape | released from the drywall just fine |
| 23M Scotch Blue Painter's tape$5.67, the most expensive tape tested | 2nd place behind FrogTape | did an amazing job with some bleed through in a couple of areas, 2nd place | 2nd place, did a decent job | did pretty good, a couple of areas with some bleed through | beat FrogTape on this particular test | best of all tapes, no adhesive felt left behind | best of all tapes, very little adhesive left on the plexiglass | needed a lot of help from the caulking, a lot of bleed through underneath | released from the drywall just fine |
| 3Duck Clean Release$2.97 for 60 yd | 3rd place, definitely the best of the four cheapest tapes tested at that point, very little bleed under | 3rd place | 4th place, did a lot better than Duck Pro and far better than Painter's Mate | did really well, a far superior job to Painter's Mate | beat Duck General, Stik Tek, and Duck Pro | did a pretty good job, only a very small amount of adhesive felt | did fairly well, though some adhesive was left behind | not tested | released from the drywall just fine |
| 43M Scotch 2020 contractor's grade masking tape$3.99, tied for 7th most expensive | did not do as well as Duck Clean but definitely better than most of the competition | seemed to have a little more bleed through than the plexiglass test | did very well, 3rd place, not quite as good as FrogTape | some areas of excellence and some areas with quite a bit of bleed through, not too bad overall | 3rd place | did fairly well, no adhesive felt even along the tape line | did fairly well, a little better than FrogTape | not tested | not tested |
| 5Painter's Mate$3.27 for 60 yd, sold at Menards | definitely not as good as Duck Clean | more bleed through than Duck Clean | not quite as good as Duck Clean, slightly better than Dollar General and definitely better than Stik Tek Painter's | did about the same as Dollar General, a far inferior job to Duck Clean | did not do as well as Duck Clean; Dollar General actually beat it | did fairly well, about the same as Duck Clean | did fairly well | not tested | not tested |
| 6Dollar General general purpose masking tapesixth least expensive tape tested, exact price not stated; notably a general purpose tape, not a painter's tape | left quite a bit of bleed through | had some bleed through | definitely better than Painter's Mate, not as good as Duck Clean | about the same as Painter's Mate | beat Painter's Mate | did not seem to have too much adhesive, did fairly well | did better than Stik Tek | not tested | not tested |
| 7Duck Pro painter's tape$2.79 per yard | looked about the same as Duck General and Stik Tek | quite a bit of bleed through | quite a bit of bleed through, far inferior to Duck Clean | did not do very well, a lot of bleed through | quite a bit of bleed through | surprisingly did not do better than Duck General, quite a bit of adhesive left on the edge on the side exposed to moisture | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 8Stik Tek Painter's tape$3.99, tied for 7th most expensive | did just as good as the Stik Tek general purpose tape (poor) | not tested | not in the top five, though slightly better than Duck General, Stik Tek general purpose, and Duck Pro | did not do quite as well as Dollar General or Painter's Mate despite costing more | quite a bit of bleed through | a lot of adhesive left behind | large chunks of adhesive left behind, especially on the moist side; not recommended | not tested | not tested |
| 9Stik Tek General purpose masking tape$1.74 for 60 yd, sold at Harbor Freight | about the same as Duck General | a lot of bleed through | quite a bit of bleed through | not tested | not tested | pretty bad, especially on the side exposed to moisture, a lot of adhesive left on the plexiglass | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 10Duck General purpose$1.39 for 60 yd, the least expensive tape tested | quite a bit of bleed through | quite a bit of bleed through | a lot of bleed through | not tested | quite a bit of bleed through | a little bit of adhesive felt along the edge of the tape line | did fairly well | 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 | the only tape that struggled a little, it pulled away some of the underlying paint |
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.”