How do I keep paint from bleeding under the tape?
Even though I clean the surfaces beforehand, apply the tape ever-so-carefully, and smooth every bit of it down tight—the paint still gets under there. Brand new blue painters tape & smooth surfaces. It’s very frustrating.
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Use the green tape - better hold
I have had good luck going over the blue tape with a throw away plastic credit card, to be extra sure the tape is down! You could use a putty knife as well. This works better than fingers, in my experience.
Use a credit card to smooth out the tape. Also paint a little along the edge to seal it and prevent the paint from creeping under it.
Your first coat of paint against the paint should be the original color of what you're painting against. So if I'm painting a black stripe on a white wall, I would paint white first. Let it dry, then paint the black as normal. Remove the tape when the paint is wet on the last coat. The line is perfect then.
If it's stain, try using polycrylic first.
I'm a huge fan of Frogtape and I really press down the edges. Also like Emy said, pull the tape when the paint is wet.
That can happen if the tape isn't pressed down well enough. I am also careful to use less paint close to the edges of the tape to prevent bleeding. If necessary, I'll go over it again after it dries.