Pro tip: painter's tape before you start, not after you mess up

I was patching a hole in drywall last month and got joint compound all over the outlet cover. Tried cleaning it with a damp rag and just smeared it worse. Next time I taped off the outlets and switch plates before mixing anything, cost me 2 dollars for a roll and saved about 45 minutes of scraping. Has anyone else had luck with those little plastic outlet masks, or is tape still the better move?

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ivanb412mo ago

Skip the tape debate entirely and grab a cheap plastic putty knife to hold over the plate while you work, it catches the mess before it ever touches anything. Saves you the peeling hassle and doubles as a scraper for the next project.

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