Let's say you need to paint a room and there are areas with wood trim that you don't want to get any paint on, like window sills. You could get a high quality slant edge brush and with an extremely steady hand get as close as you can to the wood; still not really perfect. Or, you might have thought about using painter's tape to give you a straight edge, no, the paint will seep under the tape and onto the wood.
So how do you accomplish this task and get a perfect straight edge? First, make sure the wood that you will be painting against is completely finished, you don't want to have to work on the wood again after the surrounding surface is painted. My tips on refinishing teak wood will be available in a few days.
Using painter's tape, tape off all the wood that comes in contact with the surface to be painted, affixing the tape as close to the edges as possible.
Then run a very fine bead of white "paintable" latex caulk in the crack between the tape and the wood.
Run your finger along the caulk, pressing it as thinly as possible into the crack.
The caulk prevents the paint from running under the tape and onto the wood, and whatever color of paint you choose, will completely cover the caulk.
The area must be painted quickly before the caulk dries, so working with one small section at a time is suggested. Once you are happy with your paint job, carefully remove the tape.
You now have a professional looking edge!
Helpful hints for above project:
1. Moistening your finger spreads the caulk better and and a moist rag makes cleanup easier.
2. If you wait too long before applying the paint the caulk will dry and pull the paint off when you remove the tape, so caulk a little, paint and remove the tape.
3. Watch the direction you pull the tape off in being careful not to mess up your perfect paint job.
4. Getting the caulk into the crack and as smooth and thinly as possible is the biggest hint I can give you.
5. You must use paintable caulk, paint will not adhere to non-paintable caulk.
Remember, practice makes perfect!
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