Hello:

Will be painting a portion of a ceiling, but not the whole thing.

So, I am faced with the problem of painting a nice, straight (junction)
line.

I thought I would just use the 3M Blue tape, but have read that this is
really only good for large "splatters" and protection, and not really good
for trying to define a line.

Reason apparently being, that no matter what one does, a little paint always
runs under the tape by capillary action if you paint over the tape in trying
to make the straight, smooth line.

So, how does one do this ?

Is there a special brush, or... ?

Special techniques, etc. ?

Any thoughts on this would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
B.

On Fri, 2 Jun 2006 11:10:27 -0400, "Robert11"
wrote:

Hello:

Will be painting a portion of a ceiling, but not the whole thing.

So, I am faced with the problem of painting a nice, straight (junction)
line.

I thought I would just use the 3M Blue tape, but have read that this is
really only good for large "splatters" and protection, and not really good
for trying to define a line.

Reason apparently being, that no matter what one does, a little paint always
runs under the tape by capillary action if you paint over the tape in trying
to make the straight, smooth line.

So, how does one do this ?

Is there a special brush, or... ?

Special techniques, etc. ?

Any thoughts on this would be most appreciated.

Paint it the best you can using tape, and then
draw over the edge with a permanant black magic marker.
If the idea of marker on your ceiling offends you,
use a small artists brush and black paint, or vinyl tape.
Even if the black line is just as sloppy as the original
border, it will LOOK like a cleaner line.

In article , Robert11 says...

Hello:

Will be painting a portion of a ceiling, but not the whole thing.

So, I am faced with the problem of painting a nice, straight (junction)
line.

I thought I would just use the 3M Blue tape, but have read that this is
really only good for large "splatters" and protection, and not really good
for trying to define a line.

Reason apparently being, that no matter what one does, a little paint always
runs under the tape by capillary action if you paint over the tape in trying
to make the straight, smooth line.

So, how does one do this ?

Is there a special brush, or... ?

Special techniques, etc. ?

Any thoughts on this would be most appreciated.

I used to cut in oh-so carefully, but on my last project I used the 3M painter's
blue tape on the ceiling to get a better line. As long as it's pressed
carefully to the ceiling so as to make a good line and adhere well, it's amazing
how well it does mask. So I've come to rely on it more and more.

My previous experience with masking tapes has been that a little paint runs
under the tape. Possibly, the blue tape has improved (adhesives is 3M's stock
in trade for decades!), or the folks advising you haven't taken the care to
press the tape on the edges for adhesion.

Banty


--

Robert11 wrote:
Hello:

Will be painting a portion of a ceiling, but not the whole thing.

So, I am faced with the problem of painting a nice, straight (junction)
line.

I thought I would just use the 3M Blue tape, but have read that this is
really only good for large "splatters" and protection, and not really good
for trying to define a line.

Reason apparently being, that no matter what one does, a little paint always
runs under the tape by capillary action if you paint over the tape in trying
to make the straight, smooth line.

So, how does one do this ?

Is there a special brush, or... ?

Special techniques, etc. ?

Any thoughts on this would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
B.

I have a fairly steady hand and feel I can paint freehand well enough
for this, so that is how I would do it.

If you want to use tape, start by doing the obvious things - get the
tape on straight, then go back over it to firmly press the edge down to
minimize the capillary action. But here is the secret trick to making
it work well: When you start to paint, set the brush on the tape and
drag across the boundary off the tape. Don't go the other direction
where you drag the brush from the ceiling onto the tape. And do this
with a *very* light coat of paint. Make sure there is not much paint at
all on the brush. Once you do this with the first light coat of paint,
that will create a seal at the edge between the tape and the ceiling,
so the next coat can be heavier.

Ken

"Robert11" wrote in message
. ..
Hello:

Will be painting a portion of a ceiling, but not the whole thing.

So, I am faced with the problem of painting a nice, straight (junction)
line.

I thought I would just use the 3M Blue tape, but have read that this is
really only good for large "splatters" and protection, and not really good
for trying to define a line.

Reason apparently being, that no matter what one does, a little paint
always
runs under the tape by capillary action if you paint over the tape in
trying
to make the straight, smooth line.

So, how does one do this ?

Is there a special brush, or... ?

Special techniques, etc. ?

Any thoughts on this would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
B.



Apply the tape & press/roll the edge down tight.

(Here's the trick!)
Seal the edge of the tape with a light coat of paint
that matches the color of the current ceiling color,
and let it dry. The color match doesn't even have to
perfect, though the-closer-the-better, obviously.

Paint with new color and let dry.

Carefully remove tape. If you inspect the line carefully
(you might need a magnifying glass) you will probably be
able to tell that wicking/capillary action has occurred,
but it's the same color as the old paint and is nearly
invisible. The new paint has a nice sharp edge.

I've used this trick many times and have had people ask
me how I get such perfect edges (see above).

Caveat - if you don't press the tape down to the surface
you can still wind up with blobs of paint getting underneath,
but it will LOOK like a BLOB, rather than the feathery
pattern that you get with wicking/capillary action.

Regular white masking tape seems to work just as well as
the blue stuff.

You might want to practice on a piece of scrap just to see
what you can expect.

Good luck

Charles Mulks wrote:

(Here's the trick!)
Seal the edge of the tape with a light coat of paint
that matches the color of the current ceiling color,
and let it dry. The color match doesn't even have to
perfect, though the-closer-the-better, obviously.


Charles,

Excellent tip about sealing the edge with the existing color! I never
thought of that!

Ken

In article , Robert11
wrote:

Hello:

Will be painting a portion of a ceiling, but not the whole thing.

So, I am faced with the problem of painting a nice, straight (junction)
line.

I thought I would just use the 3M Blue tape, but have read that this is
really only good for large "splatters" and protection, and not really good
for trying to define a line.

Reason apparently being, that no matter what one does, a little paint always
runs under the tape by capillary action if you paint over the tape in trying
to make the straight, smooth line.

So, how does one do this ?

Is there a special brush, or... ?

Special techniques, etc. ?

Any thoughts on this would be most appreciated.

The proper way to do this is to use the blue painter's tape but paint
the edge you want using the paint color on the _other_ side of the
tape, let this dry, then paint the new color.

For instance, if the portion of the ceiling you don't want to paint is
blue, and the new section is green, put your tape on the line where you
want the new color to start and paint a narrow strip of blue. Let the
blue dry, then paint the rest of the ceiling green, overlapping the
tape as you would normally.

The theory is that any paint creeping under the tape will be the same
color as the old surface, and this color coat will seal the edge of the
tape against paint creep from the new color.

-Frank

--
Here's some of my work:
http://www.franksknives.com/

Robert11 wrote:

Hello:

Will be painting a portion of a ceiling, but not the whole thing.

So, I am faced with the problem of painting a nice, straight (junction)
line.

I thought I would just use the 3M Blue tape, but have read that this is
really only good for large "splatters" and protection, and not really good
for trying to define a line.

Reason apparently being, that no matter what one does, a little paint always
runs under the tape by capillary action if you paint over the tape in trying
to make the straight, smooth line.

So, how does one do this ?

Is there a special brush, or... ?

Special techniques, etc. ?

Any thoughts on this would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
B.



You can use tape if the surface is flat, smoothe and CLEAN. Need to be
sure the edge of tape is pressed down and adhering. Just don't pull the
brush across the edge of the tape. I have a passthrough between my
dining room (flat wall paint) and kitchen (semi-gloss) and used tape for
the line where the areas meet. Very similar color, so it isn't
obvisous, but tape worked fine. Take the tape off as soon as the paint
is on, before paint dries.