How to Make Shiny Stripes on Walls

Spread the drop cloth over the floor beneath the walls to minimize messes from painting. Apply painter’s tape around the adjacent surfaces to keep paint from spreading onto walls, ceiling, baseboards, doorways and windows.

Load the 2-inch angled trim brush with flat latex paint and paint the perimeter of the wall. Pour the flat latex paint into the paint tray and load the paint roller. Apply the flat paint to the entire wall in a thin and even layer. Allow the flat paint to dry for the time recommended by the manufacturer.

Measure the wall with the tape measure to determine the total width. Once you know the width of the wall, determine the width of the stripes to make them even on the wall. For example, if the wall is 12 feet wide, you could make 12-inch-wide, 6-inch-wide or 4-inch-wide stripes. You could also vary the widths of the stripes, if you desire.

Measure and mark the stripes using the tape measure, level and pencil. Place the tape measure at the left edge of the wall, measure to the right the desired width of the first stripe and place a small pencil mark. Repeat the same process about 2 feet below the first mark to make two marks. Place the level between the pencil marks to ensure that you draw a vertical line. Connect the lines with the pencil, using the level as a straight edge. Repeat the same process to draw the entire line from the ceiling to the floor. Repeat the same process to draw each stripe line across the wall.

Place painter’s tape along the stripe lines you drew to enable you to paint the glossy paint between the lines. To create the stripes, you must place the painter’s tape on the outside edges of the lines. Press the painter’s tape firmly onto the wall to prevent paint from seeping beneath the tape.

Pour the glossy latex paint into the paint tray and load the paint roller. Apply the glossy paint in the spaces between the painter’s tape to create the shiny stripes on the wall. Remove the painter’s tape after the paint dries.