Masking that bleeds is usually the wrong tape
I taped a window frame in April, cut in the wall, and pulled the tape the next evening. The emulsion had crept under in a ragged tide. I thought I had not pressed hard enough. I had used a cheap roll from the bottom of the drawer, the sort that is shiny on the back and never quite sticks. The edge had sat off the wood. Paint found the gap. I spent longer picking the bleed off the frame than I had spent painting the wall.
Masking tape is a temporary edge. It has to seal along that edge and then come off without taking the paint with it. The wrong tape does one or the other, not both. A hard, cheap tape bridges dust and leaves a tunnel. A tape left for a week bakes on and pulls the new film. People blame their hand. The hand was fine. The roll was doing a seal's job with no seal.
Burnish the edge. I run a fingernail or a plastic scraper along the line I care about, not the whole width of the tape. The outer edge can sit light. The paint edge has to be down. Dust under that line is a bleed you built in. I wipe the frame first. Caulk that fails is usually a dirty joint is the same greasy film at a bath. Tape will not stick to soap or to a bead that is still tacky. Let the caulk go off. Then tape.
I peel when the paint is dry to the touch and not yet hard as glass. Back on itself, a sharp angle, along the line, not up into the wall. Leave it overnight on a warm radiator wall and you will lift flakes. Peel it wet and you smear. I have done both. The window in April was the overnight one. The tape had crawled as the room warmed up.
Filler that shrinks is usually the deep hole is why I do not tape over a crater I filled that morning. The face sinks, the tape bridges, and the bleed follows the dish. Sand first, then tape. Lining paper that bubbles is usually the paste is the wall I am often cutting in against. I do not tape onto lining that is still wet. The tape takes the face with it, or the paste lumps make a ridge the paint runs under.
UK year changes the stick, not the brand story. A cold room in January and the adhesive sits stiff. You think it is down. It is only touching. A hot spell in July and the same tape cooks onto gloss and rips. I use a tape meant for painted wood if I am on a frame, and I take it off the same day if I can. I will not invent a product name. I will say the roll has to match the surface. Delicate on new emulsion. Stronger on sealed wood you will wipe.
Skip packing tape, electrical tape, and the brown stuff from a parcel. They are not masking. Skip a long run you have not burnished because the wall is long. The middle of that run is where it bleeds. Skip two layers of cheap tape to "make sure". You have made a step. Skip leaving tape on over a weekend because guests are coming. You will pick it off with a blade.
I also look at the paint. A loaded brush shoved at the tape forces emulsion under even a good edge. I paint away from the line on the last pass, not at it. A little paint on the tape is fine. A ridge of paint against the tape is a scab you will tear.
I do not need a steadier hand because the last frame bled. I need tape that actually seals, an edge I have pressed down, and a peel I do not put off until Tuesday.
If I later add a buy link here, it will be a paid promo.