Preventing paint bleed while using masking tape

[BigFella1956]

G’day All, I am painting a door With 2 colours and have experienced paint bleed through masking tape. See pictures attached. I have to retouch the paint but want to avoid further bleed. Any suggestions would be welcome. Many thanks in advance. Chris

Community manager's note: Check out How to use painter's tape for expert advice.

[Jason]

Hi Chris (@BigFella1956),

Great to have you join us. Another experienced handyman is more than welcome in the community, especially one with plenty of carpentry experience. We're sure you'll find plenty of like-minded people in the community to connect with and share ideas and advice.  

There's plenty of experienced painters in the community, but let me tag @Simon who might like to kick off the discussion.

Please let me know if you ever need a hand gettting the most from the Workshop site, or have any feedback about how we can improve Workshop for you.

Welcome,

Jason

[BigFella1956]

Thanks Jason. I look forward to helping and being helped. All the best. Chris

[Isobel]

@BigFella1956 

What's the surface of the walls? Were you using plain old masking tape or a dedicated painter's tape like this? - https://www.bunnings.com.au/scotchblue-24mm-sharp-paint-lines-painter-s-masking-tape-with-edge-lock_...

Remember that when you remove the tape is also important - wait until it's dry to touch. Scoring the edge with a knife can also help you to get a clean line.

[Brad]

Couple of similar ideas for you and Frog Tape.

Frog Tape

[BigFella1956]

Hi Isobel, thanks very much. I’m painting a solid wood external door and while I use the blue painters tape, I see the one you recommended has 2093 on it, the number on mine is 2090. Yes, I wait till the paint is dry before peeling it off. Nice tip about the scoring. Cheers, Chris 

[BigFella1956]

Hi Brad, I have viewed the videos in your response so it looks like tape and caulk. Off to bunting’s I go. I appreciate your help. Cheers, Chris

[Jason]

That's a great tip about using chaulk, many thanks for sharing those videos @Brad.

@ProjectPete - I think I recall you saying your wife painted the kids room below. Maybe she could share her secrets for getting such beautiful sharp lines with no bleeding?

Jason 

 

[BigFella1956]

My thanks to Isobel and Brad. I re-did the paint job and it worked out a treat. I used painter's tape (Frog) and then scored it when dry and got lovely straight lines with little bleed. Because I was using 2 colours, I used the primary colour to also seal the tape edge and then painted over with the secondary colour.

[Jason]

Fantastic. Many thanks for letting us know @BigFella1956. It would be great if you could share a picture or two as I'm sure there will be community members keen to learn from your experience for their painting jobs. 

Jason