I have used blue painters tape in the past when painting different colors on adjacent surfaces and the paint always bleeds under the tape in spite of burnishing the edges.I have read that you can use acrylic gel medium to seal the edge of the blue painters tape when painting stripes or painting 2 different colors of adjacent walls. What kind of acrylic gel medium should be used for this technique? ~ Joelyn

The most frustrating thing about painting your walls is when you are all done and you go to remove the painter’s tape and you find that the paint has bled through onto your trim. You wind up spending just as much time touching up as you did doing the finish itself.

I have not used acrylic gel medium yet to seal the tape, but I do not that it could be used. Golden and Liquitex make great gel medium. According to the Liquitex website, It is translucent when wet and transparent when dry. It increases the brilliance and transparency of acrylic paint. It can also be used as a transparent ground for acrylic paint or as glue for collage and decoupage. So, I don’t see why you couldn’t use this. I would probably go with the matte or satin finish so there isn’t too much of a shine.

I like to use a water based varnish or poly. It dries quickly and keeps the paint from bleeding through. You may also want to try a new painter’s tape that just came out called: Frog Tape.

It is a lime green colored tape (as opposed to blue) and Home Depot just started carrying it. Otherwise you can click on the picture above and order it online. My favorite width is 1 1/2″. But I like to use 2″ for ceilings. There is little or no bleeding with this new tape. I usually use a paint stirrer stick to press down the edges of the tape onto the surface. I then use a water based varnish for the corners and other areas where I think the paint will bleed through.

Hope this helps ~ That Painter Lady, DAWN