Create Clean Paint Edges on Interior Walls

Everyone wants to make a house a home. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this task is to repaint the walls in colors that are representative of your likes and style. Many people believe that painting is a messy yet easy process. The result is a room with paint splotches in the carpet and paint marks on the ceiling and trim. Painting a room does not have to be an ordeal and the result should be something you can be proud of. If you follow these steps, the result is a quality paint job, that you and your guests will be impressed by.

Steps

  1. Clear the room! If that is not an option, move everything to the center of the room. Remove pictures and nails and anything that you do not want painted.
  2. Use drywall spackle to fix bigger holes, or use painters putty to fill in nail holes. Nail holes are obvious after you paint so take the extra time and make the room look good by filling the holes.
  3. Wipe off the trim edges with a damp cloth to remove any dust so that the tape has a good surface to adhere to. Go around the room and wipe any baseboards, door trim, window trim and crown molding on the edge that butts up to the wall surface.
  4. Use painters blue tape to mask off all trim. Using regular masking tape can cause the trim paint to pull up and you may be stuck repainting trim. Use the 1” tape. The secret here is to tape slowly and carefully, leaving a small gap between the edge of the tape and the wall surface to be painted. A 1/16” to 1/8” gap will suffice. Remember that the walls will be painted to this point so the finished product will only be as good as the prep you put into it. If the tape is not straight, then the final result will be a curvy paint line.
  5. Using the 2” tape, mask the ceiling along the walls. This gives you forgiveness if you accidentally roll the roller onto the ceiling. It also allows you to make a true straight line at the joint between wall and ceiling instead of trying to feather a straight line with the edge of a brush. Use the same gap as listed in step 4.
  6. Run a thin bead of caulk along all the edges you have just taped, using a caulk gun and paintable caulk. (Note: make sure the caulk being used is paintable.) Using your finger tip, wipe the caulk edge down so that the caulk is a very thin film over the edge of the tape into the corner of the wall and trim. Remove any excess! This is a critical step and separates an alright looking room from a professional job. This stops paint from seeping under the tape edge and gives the room a superior clean edge when the job is done and the tape is removed. The reason for the small gap when masking is to allow an edge for the caulk to remain on the same plane as the tape. If the tape were butted into the corner, the caulk would sit above the tape and when it came time to remove the tape, the caulk would actually be in the way and rip up sections of wall paint. Take your time in doing this and the results are well worth the effort.
  7. You can use a paper hand masker, which combines a roll of masking paper and a roll of tape so that you can cover a wider area to protect from paint splatter. This is totally optional; it just saves clean up time in the long run. As long as you are careful, the 1” tape along the trim and 2” tape along the ceiling will suffice.
  8. Let the caulk dry for 20 minutes. It should be very thin in the first place so it should not even need to be that long. Better to be safe than sorry. While the caulk is drying lay out tarps along the walls you are going to paint.
  9. Brush in the borders of the wall up to the taped edges, using your brush.
  10. Carefully paint the walls, using a roller and a roller pan. If you roll the roller too quickly paint drops will go flying everywhere. Also be careful when rolling up to the ceiling edge. Depending on the nap (thickness) of the roller you are using you may unintentionally bump part of the ceiling. Take your time and pay attention and this will not be an issue.
  11. Paint the room and let it dry as per the manufacturer’s instructions. You are not done yet. You need a second coat to get full coverage. So go around the room again and repeat the brush and rolling steps. Don’t race! You are already committed; why not get a good product out of it.
  12. Let the paint dry overnight. Yes, overnight. Do not pull the tape off yet. Letting the paint dry completely lessens the elasticity of paint build-up along the edges.
  13. Remove the tape by pulling the tape off at least a 90 degree angle from the trim surface. This allows the point of release to act like a single point rather than over a longer area. The paint edge should be a perfect line with no bleed through. If you are having problems with the tape pulling up and stretching the paint, the fault lies in over application of caulk. Making sure the caulk is thin is a very crucial step. If you find yourself with this difficulty, use a razor blade to get past the build-up. If you follow the instructions carefully you will remove the tape and find a beautiful room with perfect edges. Everyone who sees the room will be amazed at how clean and professional a job you have done.



Warnings

  • Read all instructions before beginning!

Things You'll Need

  • Painter's blue masking tape
  • Paintable caulk

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