Tips for Painting Clean Lines Between Two Colors

Some of the most exciting and beautiful rooms often feature more than one color of paint in interesting stripes or linear patterns on the walls. However, if you've ever tried to get clean lines between two colors of paint you know just how frustrating it can be.

You put down your first color, wait for it to dry and then spend hours carefully measuring and taping off for the second color, making sure your lines are in the perfect position and are totally level. Then, you carefully apply the second color of paint.

After anxiously waiting for the second paint to dry it's finally time to pull off the tape and reveal your handiwork. With much excitement you start gently pulling off the tape only to find that your second color has bled or seeped under the tape wherever there are imperfections in the wall and what should have been clean lines are actually anything but.

So what's the answer? How do people get perfect, straight, clean paint lines between two colors of paint? Well, since I had an upcoming painting project that was going to use two colors I decided to call my dad and ask him for advice. He's a carpenter and all of his painting projects always come out looking great so I figured he would have an answer for me. Fortunately, he did have some great advice that worked like a charm. Here's what he told me to do.

For this example let's say that you are going to paint half of a wall white and the other half pink. First, start by measuring the wall and finding the halfway point. Using your white paint, paint half the wall white and extend the paint just beyond the halfway point so it crosses into the pink section. Apply as many coats of white as you need and allow them to dry.

Now, using a level and your blue painter's tape, tape off a line at the halfway point to separate the white and pink halves of the wall.

Now, here's where it gets interesting. Don't jump right in with your pink paint just yet. Instead, take your white paint and paint over the blue painter's tape on what will eventually be the pink half of the wall. Then allow it to dry.

What does this accomplish? Well, we know from past experience that anywhere there are slight imperfections in the wall paint can seep under the blue painter's tape and ruin your clean line, right? When you paint over the tape with the white paint first, the white paint will bleed under the tape and will fill in any of those little imperfections. Since the white paint is seeping onto the white side of the wall it won't be visible. Then when you do start painting with the pink paint the white paint will already have filled in those tiny imperfections will prevent the pink paint from bleeding under the tape. That means you'll wind up with a perfect line.

Once the white paint that you just painted on the pink half of the wall is dry you can start applying your pink paint over the top. When all of the paint has dried simply peel off your tape and reveal your perfect paint lines.

Pretty neat trick, isn't it? I hope this helps you with your next painting project!