Video Tutorial: How to Reduce Bleed While Stenciling

Learn How-To Reduce Bleed While Painting a Stencil

Happy Friday, my stencil loving ladies and gents!  So what’s everyone stenciling this weekend?  I’m sure you have grand plans and we can’t wait to see all your stenciled projects come Monday!  But before you jump right into that project, I have some stenciling tips.  You see, one of the biggest questions (or sometimes freakouts) that Cutting Edge Stencils gets from a  first time stenciler is about paint bleed. So to help out, Cutting Edge Stencils has put together a quick informative video that discusses the tips and tricks to reduce bleed for your next stenciling project.

If you’re a visual sort of person then you’re going to enjoy this video.  It’s a bit on the long side (10 minutes) but it’s jam packed with great information and we think it’s a “must watch” for any DIY stenciler.

See didn’t I tell you that was an easy watch with fab stenciling tips!  It’s going to make your project go SO much smoother.  And for your convenience, I’ve added in a quick tip recap!

Here’s What You Need To Remember:

1. The condition of your walls is very important.  Your wall should be smooth in order to minimize bleed.  Of course you can stencil on a textured wall however you have a greater chance of having more bleed.  If you stenciling a textured walls then select an organic stencil that is more forgiving such as leaves or birds.  The organic nature of the stencil will make any bleed less noticeable.

2. Your base wall should be painted in a flat sheen. It has a better porosity to absorb the stenciled paint better and therefore you will have less bleed.  When you’re dealing with a semi-gloss or high-gloss you have more opportunity for bleed because of the longer dry times.  We highly recommend Benjamin Moore ben paint or folk art acrylics craft paint when stenciling.

3. Reducing the contrast in colors (ex. beige on darker beige) will make any bleed less noticeable and therefore give you the best result.  If you choose two high contrasting colors (a black on top of a white) then your bleed will be more noticeable.

4. Make sure you properly load off the paint on the brush and roller.  Too much paint on the roller/brush will cause more bleed. Be sure you off-load onto paper towels before you begin painting.  Then build up your paint coverage on the wall slowly.

5. A brush will give you a better result than a roller.  It’s just not realistic when painting a whole wall.  Use a dense foam roller when painting a wall and then touch up small areas with a brush to make your life easier! (Both items can be found in our Stencils Essentials Kit)

6. If bleed does occur then you can touch it up with a baby wipe.  The other option is to keep some of your base coat available and using a liner tip brush touch-up areas that have excessive bleed.  How do you know what to touch-up?  Basically just fix the areas that really bother you or that your eye seems to travel to.

7. Remember bleed is NORMAL!  It’s gonna happen and while you may see the very small imperfection close-up; you’re not going to notice it from two feet away especially once you move all your furniture into the space!

At the end of the day, it’s really about getting the color and the stencil design in the room.  You’re going to feel like a stencil rockstar after you complete your project!

For more on stencils:

• Shop our stencil designs and find the perfect one for your space!
• Check out our other stencil videos!
• Once you complete that stencil project, come share it on Facebook!

Thanks for watching and reading! Happy stenciling, DIYers!
Michelle and the Cutting Edge Stencils Crew