The Property Brothers Have A Much Handier Alternative To Painter's Tape

When the Property Brothers talk about paint, we put down our brushes and listen up. If anyone knows the tricks of the trade, it's these guys. They are chock full of good advice about how to get your paint to last longer, take care of your brushes, and get the perfect finish on your trim. The most complicated part of a good paint job is keeping your edges sharp or your fixtures covered — usually done with a sticky roll of painter's tape. Well, the Property Brothers have a trick for this too.

On a visit to the Today Show, Drew and Jonathan Scott said that some aluminum foil works in a pinch if you run out of painter's tape during a project. Use the foil instead of the tape, and voila, you can continue your project as planned.

Venturing outside of what you know — especially during a pricey and time-consuming home improvement project like painting — can be intimidating. To make sure you've got all the facts, we've laid out exactly how to substitute painter tape for aluminum foil below.

Aluminum foil is best used in place of painter's tape when trying to protect your home's fixtures. This means doorknobs, pendants, lamps, or anything else affixed to your doors or walls. Generally, the problem of these pesky unpaintable fixtures would be addressed with painters, masking tape, or some other type of not-too-sticky tape that can be easily applied and removed. However, you'd need a lot of tape to cover one doorknob, for example, thoroughly, and when you also need it for other parts of your project, you'll run out of supplies fast — likely faster than you finish your project. So, enter the aluminum foil. To use the aluminum foil hack to succeed, you'll need to measure the sheets carefully to ensure the foil perfectly fits the fixture. Once you've done this, wrap the fixture in the aluminum foil and keep the edges tight — no painter's tape necessary!

Aluminum foil allows you to cover anything oddly shaped that you need to prevent from getting dirty. It will protect just about any fixture from smudging or drips and can be left in place for hours. Another bonus? Aluminum foil is sinch to remove. Simply unwrap the fixture, ball the foil, and toss it out. If you want to be thrifty, and the foil isn't too dirty, run it through the dishwasher during your next cycle; it will give your silverware a bit of a boost.

The aluminum foil hack is great in a pinch, but it's unsuitable for every situation. Namely, aluminum foil can only work for oddly shaped fixtures that would be a pain in the butt to cover in tape. It is not a suitable substitute for painter's tape when used to protect floorboards, molding, or section off other parts of the wall. For jobs like these, tape is a necessity.

You'll also want to carefully check which type of painter's tape you're using. Certain types are better for certain projects. For example, very sticky painter's tape is best for the outdoors, while more mild painter's tape can tackle just about anything inside. Unlike the aluminum foil used to cover fixtures, painter's tape needs to be removed immediately after you finish painting a section so that it doesn't become too adhered as the paint dries. However, there are some other ways you can use (or re-use) aluminum foil in your projects. Per the Property Brothers, it can also be used to line your painting tray to make clean-up easier. Simply flatten it over the tray and use your roller as you normally would. Moral of the story, no matter how you use it, aluminum foil almost certainly has a place in your next DIY project.