Lawn Care

Painting walls is one of the biggest jobs when painting the inside of a home. This article will help throw some light on a few tricks to using masking tape to paint nice looking walls.

With interior house painting, having nicely painted walls is significant. The typical way of painting walls is to first ‘cut-in’ the edges with a brush and then fill in the center areas by rolling the paint on. For the beginner or average DIY person cutting-in is typically done using tape to hide off the sides of the painted wall ; paint is then applied without much accuracy in hopes that when the masking tape is removed the freshly painted wall will have a clean edge. Typically the end result is less than desirable and the problem can at times be credited to the tape being applied badly, luckily there are a few ways to improve the result of tape when used for interior house painting work.

When applying the tape, use it carefully without stretching or over-pulling. This gives the tapes adhesive a better chance to do its job and stick more entirely to the surface it’s being applied to, reducing the amount of paint that can seep under the edge. Once the tape has been gradually applied, press the tape onto the surface using a rag. Often with some uneven or bumpy surfaces the tape can be punctured by the surface irregularity but in most interior house painting applications the surface is relatively smooth so there should not be a difficulty. The rag helps to disperse the pressure and again allows the adhesive to more completely stick to the surface and forestall paint seepage.

When painting your wall with a brush, start brushing and spreading the paint next to the tape before painting without delay onto the tape. Once you have spread some paint on the wall next to the tape line brush the paint in-line with the tape rather than brushing straight into the tape. This will reduce the likelihood of paint seeping under the tape and / or paint being forced under the tape by the brush.

There also are two tricks to painting with masking tape, these tricks are only actually applicable to interior house painting but can really contribute and will change most races viewpoints of tape I think. If you have the same color of paint that the tape is shielding, you can paint this color onto the tape before painting your new color. This could fill in any openings in the tape, so when you apply your new color all the gaps and paint seepage areas have already been filled with the color underneath.

Another trick is to use caulking in an identical fashion as indicated. Take clear caulking, mix it 4:1 with water and apply this mix to the tape before applying your finish top-coat. Be certain to let this dry, what this does is equivalent to the double paint layer, it fills in the openings and hinders paint from seeping under the tape.

When removing your tape, pull it slowly and at a pointed angle away from the painted surface. It’s best to remove the tape when the paint is fresh ( after a second coat or if you’re only doing one coat ) as the paint still has to dry and create a seal. It’s sensible to always invest in decent quality products, some tapes have stronger adhesives or are made for explicit uses, never be afraid to ask for advice from a reconstruction home-improvement or paint store. Typically you’ll find people versed in the manners of interior house painting working at these places, especially a paint store!

Remember to be safe, read about your products and adhere to all safety and cautionary techniques. I’m hoping these tips help to improve your interior house painting projects!

My Dallas Painters has been in the field of painter for a long time and maintains a website about painter dallas where you can get answers to the rest of your questions.