How To: Clean & Crisp Paint Lines

Here’s a hack that actually works! It took me a while to feel comfortable putting paint on my walls. The paint was purchased months before I even had the courage to begin. I don’t know what it is, but there was something about potentially messing up that scared me. Yes, of course, you can easily paint over your mistakes, but ehhhhh, I was intimidated about painting a brand new wall with painting skills that are zero to none. Not to mention I wanted to use a bold statement color, which was new for me. In the past I’ve been drawn to a neutral decor style, but here I am exploring with color. TikTok is my favorite search engine (I sound so Gen Z for saying that), so I searched how to prep before painting a wall. I’m no professional painter and I didn’t want to hire one, so I had to put whatever DIY skills I had to the test. When I came across this hack it didn’t make sense to me how it would work, and I’m not sure that it still does, lol, but it works. It really works!

The first thing you want to do is use any left over paint (or purchase a sample size) that is the same color as your wall. My wall color is ‘Blank Canvas’ by Behr. It was Behr’s 2023 color of the year and I’m still so in love with this color. When I was deciding on a color for the walls throughout my home, I wasn’t quite sure what my design style would be, so I needed a color that would compliment whatever I chose. With a touch of a creamy warm undertone, this off-white hue has a drop of the palest yellow without being too warm or too cool and gives a neutral base for any design style.  

My search then led me to discover Frog Tape. Let me tell you, this stuff is absolutely amazing! Each color of the tape (green, yellow, orange, blue or beige) serves a different purpose, so I opted for the yellow since it works well with delicate surfaces and newly painted walls. All you have to do is tape off the perimeter of the area you are painting. Then, you’re going to paint over the inner seam of the tape using the color of your wall. The under color (or color of the wall) is going to seal off your tape and ensure that if any paint bleeds through, it’ll be the original wall color. I found that the 1 inch Wooster Pro angled brush (purchased from Home Depot) worked really well for this hack. Major key: be sure to peel off the tape while the paint is still wet.


I’ve used this hack on three different walls so far in my home. The end result is a clean and crisp paint line every time!

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