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I painted newly wallpapered walls with white color (2 times). Now I want to paint a rectangular part of the wall in a different color. To accomplish that, I used tape to get exact, well-defined outlines.

The problem is: Removing the tape also removes (parts) of the white color underneath.

How can I apply the white paint such that it won't get removed when I pull off the tape?

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  • did you prime first? and let the paint fully dry?
    – Steven
    Commented May 8, 2013 at 20:57
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    The white paint dried more than 24 hours. I did not prime first (can you explain what you acutally mean with "prime"?). Commented May 8, 2013 at 21:01
  • do you mean new sheetrock or wall paper? why would you put up wall paper to paint it???? Confused!!! Commented May 8, 2013 at 21:14
  • No, I mean wallpaper. Sorry, I am not a native speaker, so I will try to describe it: It is some sort of paper (53cm wide) with small woodchips in it. Its gray, so you definetly want to paint it. Perhaps an image helps Commented May 8, 2013 at 21:20
  • It is also called Ingrain wallpaper. But the one I use is not "real" ingrain wallpaper, i.e. instead of paper it uses fleece like most modern wallpapers (also called non-woven wallpaper). Commented May 8, 2013 at 21:26

2 Answers 2

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I would guess that your issue is that you didn't prime first.

From Wikipedia:

A primer or undercoat is a preparatory coating put on materials before painting. Priming ensures better adhesion of paint to the surface, increases paint durability, and provides additional protection for the material being painted

You buy primer from the same store you would buy paint. Primer goes on first, dries, and then you paint your final color on top.

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  • It can take weeks of curing before paint develops its full strength. In addition, some tape has overly aggressive adhesive and is inappropriate for painted surfaces even when fully cured. It can be difficult to get a clean line with tape on textured surfaces because tape weak enough to not pull up paint will allow bleed under. You may be better off practicing until you can obtain a clean line by hand.
    – bcworkz
    Commented May 8, 2013 at 23:04
  • What we call a pigmented sealer should be applied first over the wallpaper.
    – hookenz
    Commented Dec 5, 2013 at 23:22
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The original white paint was dry to the touch, but not dry. It takes a solid month in a low-humidity atmosphere to allow the paint to dry fully. Even then, I would use a low-adhesion Frog-brand tape to create that line. Regular Frog or Scoth Blue tape can be used for a surface that's been drying for a much longer period of time.

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