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Painting Tip Needed - How to paint a straight line!
javeryh:
I need some advice. I'm a little unhappy with a tape line on my current cabinet - I taped off a section with the blue 3M painter's tape and had it secured to the surface as tight as possible yet the paint still bled underneath in a few areas ruining the nice crisp line I was going for. Does anyone have any tips in this area? I'm going to try to do some freehand touch up work when it's all said and done but any advice would be most appreciated. Oh yeah, if it helps, the color transition is in a corner (not on a flat surface) so one piece of wood is supposed to be black and the piece meeting it is supposed to be pink with a nice crisp line in exactly the corner where they meet.
THANKS!! :cheers:
unclet:
I never can get blue painter's tape to give me a clean line .... always bleeds underneath for me as well .....
SavannahLion:
Scale modelers sometimes apply a clear cloat (flat, semi-flat, gloss, or whatever depending on their project) to seal the edges of the tape. I've never had satisfactory results with this technique. Try it on some scrap and see how it works for you.
My brother once told me to use a type of caulking to create the straight edge. I'll call him about it.
Another solution I've heard is to apply caulking to the sticky side of the tape to seal the edge when you lay it down. That seems kind of messy though.
Obviously, I'm not the painter in the family. :banghead:
leapinlew:
I use the blue tape and have good luck with the lines.
After I apply the tape, I run over it with my finger a few quick times to generate some heat and create a better seal. I apply the paint and a few minutes after applying the tape I'd pull the tape off and it makes a good clean line.
pointdablame:
Go get some different widths of vinyl masking tape at a model shop. That's what I use for straight lines all the time, and I've never had a problem. "Normal" masking tape has given me good results in the past as well.