Striped walls can be refined and subtle or bright and playful, but in order to get the effect you want they can not be blurry. Painting stripes takes a lot of work and time, and pulling off the tape to reveal wobbly borders is simply disheartening. Fortunately, there are few simple tricks that will help ensure crisp, clean edges on your stripes.
Sweep your walls meticulously from ceiling to floor, or use the upholstery brush attachment on your vacuum to remove all dust and cobwebs. This helps your painter’s tape to stick tightly to the wall.
Dissolve 2 to 4 tablespoons of dish liquid into a small bucket of warm water. Wash the walls with a sponge hardly dampened using the sudsy water. This removez any airborne grease and oils in addition to taking off skin oils that can interfere with the tape or paint sticking properly.
Dry the walls thoroughly using clean, lint-free towels like shop cloths. Make sure the walls are completely dry before continuing.
Apply a coat of your foundation color over the entire wall. Allow it to dry completely based on the manufacturer’s recommendations. Add 60 to 90 minutes if you stay in a damp climate or it’s raining.
Put on the painter’s tape on your desired pattern of stripes. Cut or tear the tape into strips that are no longer than 2 feet each. Do not stretch the tape since you stick it to the wall.
Run your finger over every edge of the tape to press out little bubbles and make sure the tape is perfectly flat against the wall.
Paint over the edges of the tape with your base colour. This seals the tape into the wall and guarantees your lines are sharp. Let the base coat dry thoroughly.
Paint your stripes on the wall. Remove the tape once the paint is still damp.