how do you paint stripes without the paint bleeding?

the last time I attempted this is went horribly wrong and looked awful, unless you were 200 feet from the wall.

Re: how do you paint stripes without the paint bleeding?

I painted stripes on DD#1's walls and I have been told that it looks like wallpaper. It takes time and pacients(sp?). This is what I did, I used a ruler and a level and alot of blue painters tape. I marked everything with a pencil, then applied the tape, then I took a spackle knife and ran it along the edges of the tape firmly so the paint could not bleed. It worked like a charm.

ETA: I am so.. anal and it took me like 2 days but it was well worth it

Message edited 7/1/2009 10:59:41 PM.

Re: how do you paint stripes without the paint bleeding?

I agree with ChrisDee... once you tape your lines out, go over the tape with something flat to push it down as flat as possible.

Then once you paint a stripe, take the tape off RIGHT AWAY. Don't let it dry. If you're doing two coats of paint, stick with a few stripes at a time to ensure the paint doesn't dry before doing the second coat. Then take that tape off right after doing the second coat.

Never done it, but we plan to for our master bath and this is what i've heard works best.

Re: how do you paint stripes without the paint bleeding?

you can also "dry brush" the tape line which is when u have a very little paint on the brush and do a light coat on tape line, let that dry then paint/fill in the full stripe, the thin dry painted line prevents bleeding of paint under the tape for a crisp line....good luck

Re: how do you paint stripes without the paint bleeding?

we used blue painters tape and had some bleeding that you could see up close....eventually we painted the wall 1 color.....i cant remember if we pulled the tape when the paint was wet or dry.....

Re: how do you paint stripes without the paint bleeding?

Check out this blog. They always have ideas for every project. HTH!

this young house.com

Re: how do you paint stripes without the paint bleeding?

Posted by JldDolphin

Check out this blog. They always have ideas for every project. HTH!

this young house.com

Re: how do you paint stripes without the paint bleeding?

Like some other posters said.. it helps to get the tape pressed down well. Pull off the tape when the paint is still wet. If it dries on the tape it sometimes pulls it off the wall. You can also fix some imperfections after with a little paintbrush.

Re: how do you paint stripes without the paint bleeding?

You have to remove the tape while it's still wet.

Re: how do you paint stripes without the paint bleeding?

From HGTV, tape the wall and press down VERY WELL.

But apparently the secret is clear glaze. You put the blue tape then paint the clear glaze on the seams. Once it's dry you can paint with you choice of colors then remove the tape. The glaze is supposed to seal the seam so it does not bleed.

Re: how do you paint stripes without the paint bleeding?

Re: how do you paint stripes without the paint bleeding?

I also heard that if you go over the edges of the paint with the color that is the base, it will seal it down and then you can paint over with the stripe color.

Re: how do you paint stripes without the paint bleeding?

Re: how do you paint stripes without the paint bleeding?

bump for elbee

Re: how do you paint stripes without the paint bleeding?

thank you soooo much!