Any idea for effective masking when painting walls? - General

Hey FP I just recently found the perfect apartment for my needs. It's a nice 3 room, 63 squaremeters and has a nice big living room. My plans are, that I want to paint the Rising Sun on one of the walls. I figured it won't be too hard, but I need ideas on how to initiate the process. The wall is white already, so I guess I'll only be needing red paint. I chose a dark red/maroon color like this: [img]http://gyazo.com/a1e677a8bacbf0ae01971f32163773de.png[/img] I was thinking maybe to use a pencil attatched to a string and draw the circle, and then just use masking tape to make the lines, but I really have to experience with handyman stuff/DIY, so any advice or tip will be welcomed. This is the rising sun [img]http://www.pixfans.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/rising-sun.gif[/img]

You've got it pretty right on there- Marking the line lightly with Pencil and mark with tape- Just make sure the tape is placed right before hand (As in make sure the tape is lined up with your drawn line- the rest of the tape should just cover any white space to prevent any mess ups. I've seen stupid mistakes with it before.) As for masking tape your best off using "Painters tape" It's a less sticky blue tape that looks similar to masking tape, the adhesive won't smudge paint and it comes of clean.

You might be best off using spraypaint rather than trying to roll/brush it on. You can buy vinyl decals that you just stick on too. They're obviously more expensive - but if you get sick of them you can just peel it off. [url]http://www.decalsground.com/item-869-japanese-imperial-army-flag.html[/url] I've got one of these in my house and it was really easy to install.. [img]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_01d7Z9tMgjg/TWkWoqWwYCI/AAAAAAAAX4A/W5RQpYxte_A/s1152/IMG_2056.JPG[/img]

Garry is right- that is an option. Also at first I didn't see the red ballon hidden by the stairs and it really creeped me out for a moment. I see those floors are looking nice too :)

Just a tiny hint, be absolutely sure that you're in love with a red tone. Because that can be pretty intense, and remember your furniture will all need to match that shade.

Yea. Also remember. The darker the tone the harder it is to change later...

Hmm, about the vinyl Garry, isn't it a huge pain in the ass to install?

No it's a lot easier than you'd think

[QUOTE=garry;28417233]No it's a lot easier than you'd think[/QUOTE] Okay, I might consider that then. But then it'd be tempting to have more complex designs, I just chose rising sun because it's cool and easy to do. [QUOTE=ConvolutedLogic;28407342]Just a tiny hint, be absolutely sure that you're in love with a red tone. Because that can be pretty intense, and remember your furniture will all need to match that shade.[/QUOTE] That kind of sucks. Isn't it just to paint it over with white a couple of times?

Well, it can depend on what type of paint you get. If you decide to cover the red and you're using a cheaper paint, chances are you'll need 3 coats of white. I have a lot of experience with painting walls, so. I think another problem you have is that you only want the one color. If you wanted to keep the warm color, you could use a darker red, turning into a lighter red, moving into an orange and then into a yellow. That way your furniture would match more.

Actually, you guys answers has been to great help. I don't think I'm gonna get the rising sun done after all. I'd rather get some nice paintings/art to put on the walls.

Good luck! I hope it all comes out well (Post some after pictures let us see what you chose :D)