# What will concrete stain do to masking tape? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 27, 2017, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-concrete-stain-do-to-masking-tape/787543 "2017-05-27T16:27:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-concrete-stain-do-to-masking-tape/787543/1 "2017-05-27T16:27:50Z")
I am creating a shuffle board court on the concrete slab in front of my home. The plan is to stain a 6 foot wide green strip in the center of the slab 50 feet long ( the width of the slab). Before the staining, I want to “tape out” the shuffleboard court lines with some kind of tape that will not deteriorate when the stain is applied. I imagine that concrete stain is highly corrosive and might destroy whatever kind of tape I use. Is there a kind of tape that will survive the staining? Would another type of material be better for the lines? Any other ideas for my court? Stenciling kits for shuffleboard courts run hundreds of dollars. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-concrete-stain-do-to-masking-tape/787543/2 "2017-05-27T18:50:44Z")
Tape will survive fine. Your issue will be the stain will bleed under the tape. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-concrete-stain-do-to-masking-tape/787543/3 "2017-05-29T22:48:45Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > Tape will survive fine. Your issue will be the stain will bleed under the tape. Yes, this will be an issue. And the tighter you put the tape down, the harder it will be to get it up completely. Blue painters tape might be better for that reason. A couple of alternative possibilities. - before staining it, mark the shuffleboard design with something like melted candle wax – that may keep the stain off better than tape, and can be removed afterwards leaving the unstained markings. - just stain the whole are, and then put the markings over the top with white paint & a 1" finishing paintbrush. But you may have to redo them every couple of years, depending on the amount of wear the area gets. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-concrete-stain-do-to-masking-tape/787543/4 "2017-05-30T00:09:05Z")
Scotch makes a [masking tape specifically for concrete](http://www.scotchblue.com.au/wps/portal/3M/en_AU/APAC_Scotch-Blue/Home/Products/ProductCatalog/~/Scotch-Masking-Tape-for-Concrete-Brick-Grout-2060?N=4336+3294340403+3294529197&rt=rud). But I think the difference between this and regular painter’s tape is this tape adheres better. I’ve never used it so I don’t know if it would actually prevent bleeding if the concrete surface is irregular. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-concrete-stain-do-to-masking-tape/787543/5 "2017-05-30T00:27:06Z")
Maybe[marking spray paint](http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/professional/inverted-marking-paint-spray) instead of stain. It probably won’t last as long as the stain but it’s pretty inexpensive and easy to apply if you want to redo it and you don’t need tape, just some boards for masking. ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2017, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-concrete-stain-do-to-masking-tape/787543/6 "2017-05-31T17:35:52Z")
Agree that bleed under the tape will be your biggest issue. When I use masking tape to get a clean line when painting walls, etc., I generally “seal” the edge of the tape with the same color that’s under the tape, so that any bleed matches what’s under there anyway. Then you paint the actual second color that you want, and it can’t bleed under the tape. To do that on unpainted concrete, maybe you could seal the edge with some clearcoat or clear concrete “stain” of some sort, but I don’t know if that will affect how the actual stain will go down around the tape.