My Dallas Painting

Painting walls is one of the largest jobs when painting the interior of a place. This article is going to help throw some light on some tips and tricks to using masking tape to paint nice looking walls.

With interior house painting, having nicely painted walls is important. The typical way of painting walls is to first ‘cut-in’ the sides 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 usually done using tape to hide off the edges 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 outcome is less than desirable and the difficulty can at times be credited to the tape being applied incorrectly, luckily there are a few ways to improve the results of tape when used for interior house painting work.

When applying the tape, use it gently without stretching or over-pulling. This gives the tapes adhesive an improved chance to do its job and stick more fully to the surface it’s being applied to, reducing the amount of paint that will seep under the edge. Once the tape has been gradually applied, press the tape onto the surface using a rag. Occasionally 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 comparatively smooth so there should not be a difficulty. The rag helps to disperse the pressure and again permits the adhesive to more completely stick to the surface and stop paint seepage.

When painting your wall with a brush, start brushing and spreading the paint next to the tape before painting immediately 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 instead of brushing right into the tape. This will reduce the possibility of paint seeping under the tape and / or paint being forced under the tape by the brush.

There also are a couple of tricks to painting with masking tape, these tricks are only actually applicable to interior house painting but can really make a difference and will change most races viewpoints of tape I think. If you have the same color of paint the tape is shielding, you can paint this color onto the tape before painting your new color. This will fill in any openings in the tape, so when you apply your new color all the gaps and paint seepage areas have recently been stuffed 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 gaps and impedes paint from seeping under the tape.

When removing your tape, pull it slowly and at a sharp 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 are only doing one coat ) as the paint has still to dry and create a seal. It’s smart to always invest in decent quality products, some tapes have stronger adhesives or are made for specific uses, never be afraid to ask for recommendation from a rebuilding home-improvement or paint store. Typically you will find folks versed in the ways of interior house painting working at these places, especially a paint store!

Do not forget to be safe, read about your products and adhere to all safety and cautionary procedures . I’m hoping these tips help to boost your interior house painting projects!

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