Fucked Up -Help please!

[StupidUsernameUnavailable]

Posting for traffic, but I desperately need advice.

Decided to take the initiative and start cutting in DDs bedroom (against DHs advice) but I've got a whole day off to myself tomorrow and wanted to get cracking....despite being 39 I have never decorated before and as it turns out, I'm no Bob Ross 🙄

It looks so shit I actually cried. I've managed despite being really really careful to get bright turquoise on brilliant white. We have plastic electrical trunking which doubles as coving (it does look good I swear!) so I can't sand it and repaint.

My only option is to now tape over the turquoise and repaint the coving/trunking but after reading some blogs the majority say tape is crap as it just peels off the paint when you remove it and just do it free hand.

Well, yeah I've tried thar and look where it got me! DH won't be angry, but he will be so disappointed because it looks so awful.

Are there any seasoned decorators on here that can help a very upset, desperate and hormonal 39 year old?!

Is the issue 'just' paint on the white plastic?

Is the paint emulsion? If so it’s water soluble and will wash off.

If it's just the odd bit of paint on smooth white plastic you should be able to just chip it off gently, or use white spirits to clean it off?

What sort of paint did you use? Surely you can just clean it off plastic with water/white spirit?

No, you are fine to use a low tack tape, that's what it's designed for!

You can use paint stripper?

And I always use tape.

Can you try rubbing it off with white spirit or rubbing alcohol, using a pan scrubber or similar?

@Moobootoyoutoo

I need a recommendation on how to rectify it without going on to the turquoise now.

Decent tapes etc that won't pull off what I've already done.

You can scrape it off ? Probs with a finger nail?! Or use a green scourer that shouLd shift it. Next time you try cutting in use a bigger brush than you think, it’s hard to cut in with a small brush, also the round brushes with a point at the end are really good. Put tape on the plastic next time👍 Because yes it does very often peel off the paint .

The tape us low tack. It has to be or it rips paint off.

Paint on plastic can be removed with anything you were going to use to clean the brushes, even soap and water.

Keep going. It's the only way to learn.

A low-stick masking tape which is made for that purpose shouldn't pull off paint unless the paint hasn't been dry for long enough. Also, if you've got emulsion on something that's plastic, you should be able to scrub it off or chip it off with a scraper. Emulsion is water soluble and fairly easy to get off when it's fresh.

Its just plain old white satin paint. The difficulty is it's not large strokes. It's literally just where I obviously haven't been mm perfect , or I've just moved my hand. Looks very wobbly and awful!

Thank you all. Trip to B&Q tomorrow!!

I think for your first job you might want to use a more forgiving colour than bright turquoise. Such as pale lemon or peach.

You can still brighten up the wall with some brightly coloured pictures or other decorations, or use turquoise as an accent colour, eg for a chest of drawers or a small table.

As other people have suggested, the paint should rub/scratch off the white plastic. Have you tried this?

Have you got a picture to show it, it should be easy ish to remove, tomorrow buy some paint wipes and wipe as soon as the error is made, even rough kitchen towels scrunched would work, once dried satin is a bit of a bugger.

@Evoll671

No not yet. Just been sitting looking at it and dwelling on my own incompetence!

I will have to find something small enough to rub it off with though.

If it's only on the plastic OP, and just tiny bits, I would suggest wrapping a damp cloth around the end of a knife, and then gently rubbing only the plastic with that. If you try with just a wet cloth of a green scrubby, you're likely to take your paint off the wall, which you don't want. I also recommend using a brush like this for cutting in. www.screwfix.com/p/harris-trade-angled-sash-cutting-in-paintbrush-1-/2316X?tc=SA3&ds_kid=92700052136101812&ds_rl=1243321&ds_rl=1241687&ds_rl=1245250&ds_rl=1245250&gclid=CjwKCAjwxOCRBhA8EiwA0X8hi8Nfsa6rc2uPaTe1GQoGJbQOWt_Hl9x9uXnNlj6bdQh1-wSHDPtYSRoCI10QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Try watching a couple of vids on YouTube to see the technique too, but please don't be put off, with the right tools and a bit of practice you'll be fine.

Use Frog Tape op and smooth it over with a credit card after its on the wall, its more expensive but youll get a much better result without the paint bleeding through.
I've wasted many hours trying to correct crap results from general masking tape!

Picture for reference. Imagine, but half a rooms worth 😔

Didn't post!

Try as I might I also cannot paint. I feel your pain! Your pic looks like my own unhandy work.

I’d just scrape that off with a knife.

Go back and scrape it off with a blade would be easist I reckon. Always paint with a clean damp rag nearby and wipe off any mistakes as they happen.