Wish I would have known about this earlier. I actually applied painters tape to the ceiling against the wall to give me a straight line and not only did it not work, some of the paint came off with the tape making it difficult to make the entire ceiling look like one layer of paint.
I'm glad all can use the insider technique. It's fun passing things along. One of my long time employees, Miguel, showed me. No telling who showed him along the way. I'm a big believer in, "Freely you have been given, so freely give"!
Caitlin, we don't use this method agianst the trim, for the tool will not leave this pencil like mark on top of enamel, only on top of a flat paint. Therefore we make all other lines freehand,
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one of the most time tested talents. At times, you can make these freehand lines straighter by wrapping a damp rag around the 5-in-1 and running it carefully down the corner while the paint is still wet. This technique is especially handy for crown moulding.
Roxanne, Peace is painting, because that's my name..hehe.
Leslie, for certain it's tougher with a texture. Try Frog Tape if you haven't.
One nice thing about making the line in the corner with the tool is that it's a point of reference in an otherwise 'white out' space where you can't discern the exact corner.
Beverly, don't have to paint the ceiling. You can achieve the same result using a fine pointed pencil dragging a faint line to follow. I hope this helps!
This is missing something important: when you dip your brush, scrape the paint off of the side of the brush that will be against the clean line. I have cut edges many times by doing that, not this line-scratching bit.
Good point Lindsay. We like to quickly tap or slap our brush on both sides of the inside of the can leaving the maximum amount of paint without dripping.
Almost makes me want to paint. lol I sure have a few jobs to practice on. My biggest problem is accidentally getting wall paint on the ceiling with the roller.
Kelly, if you are hitting the ceiling with your roller then try making a wider 'cut in' line with your brush so you don't have to roll so close. If you are using a small brush, try stepping up to a 3" straight bristle. I like this size because you need to do less dipping into the can and once you 'find your line' you can keep going longer.
What happens if you can't drag your 5-1 tool in a straight line? LOL!
Straight lines in my life evade me. I can't even shoot a straight-on pool shot. Back cut? Angle? Easy-peasy. So far, in an entire unpainted house, I've been considering walls and ceilings being the same color. I'm gonna try, but...
A straight cut brush will hold more paint for large areas like walls. Angle cut brushes work well for trim.
Color on ceilings looks great. Because ceilings don't get as much direct light as walls, use a fraction of the wall color formula to make it look the same. Clear as coffee?
This is a great idea if you have a straight line, but as a professional painter, I can tell you that ceilings seldom have perfectly straight lines and if you have sprayed stucco ceiling, this would not work.
Jacqui, you are right about the texture. The other question is 'why can't we get a straight drywall corner??' A product called Flextape works great for straight corners.
We would often scrape away the stucco in thin line where it met the ceilling in order to get a straight line. But if the ceiling had been painted and the stucco was hard, you are out of luck. Painters are often the ones that discover all of the substandard work done in newly built homes as we get up-close and personal with the walls, trim and ceiling. That builder's white paint hides a multitude of sins! Trim work has really gone downhill in new construction. It may be that properly mitering a corner is fast becoming a thing of the past.
Also another trick I used to use was to mark with a coloured pencil that was close in colour to what we where painting. If the ceiling was white and the wall was white, sometimes it got difficult to see the line so I would draw a line in coloured pencil to follow with my paintbrush. My poor eyesight is suffering!
Now I wear specs but they didn't seem to help with the "white on white" problem. Luckily, I went into painting furniture so it's not an issue anymore. Now my big problem is dealing with dust in the finishes! It never ends. Come visit me at www.facebook.com/portaverdestudio. We have many painted/refinished pieces for ideas.
Caitlin, we don't use this method agianst the trim, for the tool will not leave this pencil like mark on top of enamel, only on top of a flat paint. Therefore we make all other lines freehand, ...»
Roxanne, Peace is painting, because that's my name..hehe.
Leslie, for certain it's tougher with a texture. Try Frog Tape if you haven't.
One nice thing about making the line in the corner with the tool is that it's a point of reference in an otherwise 'white out' space where you can't discern the exact corner.
Best, Charles
Happy New Year, Charles
Best, Charles
Straight lines in my life evade me. I can't even shoot a straight-on pool shot. Back cut? Angle? Easy-peasy. So far, in an entire unpainted house, I've been considering walls and ceilings being the same color. I'm gonna try, but...
A straight cut brush will hold more paint for large areas like walls. Angle cut brushes work well for trim.
Color on ceilings looks great. Because ceilings don't get as much direct light as walls, use a fraction of the wall color formula to make it look the same. Clear as coffee?
Happy finding your line,
Charles
Deminishing eyesight, inevitable if we hang around here long enough. As Gilda Radner used to say 'It's always something'.