The Masking Master Story
Hi, I’m Ronald, industrial designer for 35 years and a handyman at heart.
While painting my house like the window frames, door frames, walls, ceilings, etc., I discovered that applying masking tape is a horrible, annoying and time- consuming job.
To mask accurate, you need to see and follow the space you’re masking up close which is only possible by constantly bending, stretching, kneeling, crawling, stepping up and down a ladder, etc. This is very unpleasant and not very ergonomic!
Even if you manage to perform all these unpleasant actions, your own fingers block the most of your view, especially in the corners causing an uneven cut of the tape and inaccurate lengths. Furthermore, the use of a knife or scissors to cut the masking tape often results in damaging the glass, frameworks, walls, wallpaper, ceilings, etc. and physical injuries. Mostly, the glass, frameworks or wallpaper acts as a cutting board for the knife!
Also the use of a step-up or ladder is risky because applying masking tape always requires two hands leaving no hand free to hold on secure. Finally, the biggest and most annoying masking problem is the unpleasant surprise that – despite all the efforts and annoyances that has been overcome – the accuracy of the applied masking tape is still disappointing. Therefore, the end result of the paint work as well!
Frustrated and to save time, I started painting without masking tape. Bad choice! It resulted in an even worse paint results. This “masking experience” got me to start thinking about developing a masking tool that overcomes all these annoying masking problems.
I started by making an inventory of all masking problems that occur in practice and all relevant consumer wishes for such a masking tool. More than a hundred problems and wishes formed the design requirements.
The most imaginative and most challenging wish I heard, came from a retired painter. He said;
“You've only found the ultimate masking tool if you can mask a window blindfolded!”
Other design requirements were
- Accuracy from corner to corner and in both corners
- Large scoop of application
- Left- and right-handed operation without change over
- Safety / one hand operation one hand free to hold on secure
- Safety / no chance of injury
- Safety / no chance of damaging the environment
- Saving time
- No need for knifes or scissors
- Tape width and brand independent, etc.
It took us three years of developing and testing various prototypes, materials and tapes, to solve all masking problems and to fulfill all masking wishes with one single tool.
In these three years we tested the prototypes with kilometers of masking tape and visited professionals and renowned manufacturing companies of masking tapes and painting tools to optimize our design and scoop of applications.
The result…the “Masking Master”…an all-in-one masking tool that masters all your masking problems and that turns all your masking annoyances into masking fun!
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work"
The Masking Master is now ready for production. We ask for your support to realize this production and to make all masking problems a thing of the past! Join us!
Ronald