Ask the Expert Question-and-Answer Archive

by Ron Joseph

September, 2003

Painting "Bricks" on New Concrete

Q. I am painting fake bricks on a large concrete space along the joints. I bought expensive tape for the "mortar joints", took four days to tape; painted the base color on the concrete, the paint bled all the way under the tape. Used a new latex paint by Porter, was assured it would work. Have "marbelized" two other concrete floors before with no bleeding under the tape. Any suggestions on how to fix the mess? Paint store owner told client to use stain on rest of project, but that will not cover the painted joints.

A. I too do not have an easy way to fix your dilemma, the smoothness of the surface. I am sure, is the culprit in the bleeding of the paint, underneath the tape. The concrete floors tend to smoother and would allow the tape to stick to the surface more fully. My only suggestion is that you try using a paint remover that you can purchase in a paint store, but this might cause only an even bigger mess.