Blue Dolphin Delicate Surface Washi Painters Tape 29mm x 25m

Standard masking tape assumes the surface underneath can take it. On fresh paint, wallpaper, lining paper or an old distempered wall, that assumption takes the surface off with the tape.

This is washi tape for delicate surfaces — 29mm wide, 25m per roll, low tack.

What washi actually gives you

Washi is a thin, dense Japanese paper, and two things follow from that. It conforms tightly to the surface, so paint can't wick underneath and the line stays crisp. And it's thin enough to tear cleanly by hand and to follow a curve without creasing into a series of straight segments.

The low-tack adhesive is the other half of it: enough grip to seal the edge, little enough to release without lifting what's beneath.

When to use delicate rather than standard

• Freshly painted surfaces. Emulsion that's dry to touch is nowhere near fully cured, and standard tape will pull it straight back off.
• Wallpaper and lining paper, where anything aggressive delaminates the face.
• Old or friable paint, distemper, and anything you'd describe as chalky.
• Timber with a delicate existing finish — waxed, oiled or french-polished.

Using it well

Press the edge down firmly with a filling knife or your thumbnail. The seal is what stops bleed, not the tape itself — most bleeding is a burnishing failure rather than a tape failure.

Pull it back on itself at a shallow angle rather than straight out from the wall. And remove it while the paint is still slightly soft rather than fully hard, which is when the film tears cleanly at the tape edge instead of chipping along it.

Ireland & Northern Ireland — 1–3 working days. Charged by total order weight, VAT included:

• Up to 30 kg — €6.99, or free on orders over €85
• 30–60 kg — €13.99
• 60–100 kg — €27.99
• Over 100 kg — pallet delivery €49.99

Great Britain — 2–4 working days. €13.95 up to 30 kg, then €27.90, €55.90 and €99.90 by the same weight steps. There is no free delivery to Great Britain.

Rest of Europe — non-liquid items only, from €11.75, priced by destination and weight at checkout. Paint and other liquids ship to Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain only.

Dispatch and collection — order before 12pm Monday to Friday and it ships the same day. Click & collect at Ballymount, Dublin 12 is free and often ready within the hour.

Returns — 14 days to change your mind and 14 more to send it back. Tinted paint is non-returnable once mixed.