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Oscar_Lives
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?

How do you keep the painted line straight at the top of the wall next to the
ceiling?

Masking with tape doesn't work for me. Using a shield looked like crap.
Cutting in freehand with a brush is the best I can do and it still looks
bad.

Any tricks?


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Edwin Pawlowski
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?


"Oscar_Lives" wrote in message

Cutting in freehand with a brush is the best I can do and it still looks
bad.

Any tricks?


Practice.

Always paint the ceiling first.

Next you cut in using a good quality brush. Load the brush and start about
an inch away from the ceiling. As you pull the brush across, you bring it
to the ceiling line and just drag it straight across. As the brush runs
dry, pull it down and away.
Stand high enough on a ladder to get a fairly straight line of sight. When
you've done four or five feet, get down and go to a normal seated spot in
the room and it will look just fine from there. It is also better to be
slightly shy of the ceiling rather than go up on to it as it is less visible
that way.

Practice inside a closet first.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/


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dnoyeB
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?

Oscar_Lives wrote:
How do you keep the painted line straight at the top of the wall next to the
ceiling?

Masking with tape doesn't work for me. Using a shield looked like crap.
Cutting in freehand with a brush is the best I can do and it still looks
bad.

Any tricks?



Wallpaper.

--
Thank you,



"Then said I, Wisdom [is] better than strength: nevertheless the poor
man's wisdom [is] despised, and his words are not heard." Ecclesiastes 9:16
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kevin
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?

The part about not letting wall color up on to the ceiling is
important, I find. Better to let the white from the ceiling white go
just slightly down onto the walls.

Just from experimenting, I find that the same rule is important for
trim around windows, trim along the floor, etc. It has to do with which
color is darker, how the natural or artificial light will hit the area,
etc., I suppose. But in any case, in most of my rooms, letting the wall
paint go slightly onto the trim always looks much better than the
reverse. In other cases, it needs to be the reverse or it looks like
crap.

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BiloxiBoy
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?

And painters who have finally come out of the closet - well,
nevermind.....



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RicodJour
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"Oscar_Lives" wrote in message

Cutting in freehand with a brush is the best I can do and it still looks
bad.

Any tricks?


Practice.

Always paint the ceiling first.

Next you cut in using a good quality brush. Load the brush and start about
an inch away from the ceiling. As you pull the brush across, you bring it
to the ceiling line and just drag it straight across. As the brush runs
dry, pull it down and away.
Stand high enough on a ladder to get a fairly straight line of sight. When
you've done four or five feet, get down and go to a normal seated spot in
the room and it will look just fine from there. It is also better to be
slightly shy of the ceiling rather than go up on to it as it is less visible
that way.

Practice inside a closet first.


Good advice and a clear description. I use an angled sash brush for
most of my painting. It holds slightly less paint, but the tip comes
to a point naturally and makes it easier to control the line of paint.
Depending on how heavily the brush is loaded and the viscosity of the
paint (I rarely thin paint and just deal with it as is), I may run the
first brush stroke a 1/4" away from the ceiling line and leave a little
rope of paint. On the next stroke I'll push that rope of paint up to
the ceiling line. I find it easier to lay the paint on with the first
stroke and finesse it into place with the second. One other trick is
to kind of shake your hand a little bit as you draw the paint along the
cut in line. It deposits more paint and fills in any little
imperfections better than if you just drew the brush along.

Eventually you'll find that cutting in is enjoyable (as long as there's
not too much of it).

R

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willshak
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?

Oscar_Lives wrote:
How do you keep the painted line straight at the top of the wall next to the
ceiling?

Masking with tape doesn't work for me. Using a shield looked like crap.
Cutting in freehand with a brush is the best I can do and it still looks
bad.

Any tricks?


Because of the way the joints between the walls and ceilings are
finished (tape and spackle), there never is an absolutely sharp corner,
so there is usually a paint overlap at the joint, either on the wall or
ceiling. If it bothers you that much, bring the ceiling color down a
bit onto the walls and use a wallpaper border, or just install crown
moulding.

--
Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
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Banty
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?

In article .com, kevin
says...

The part about not letting wall color up on to the ceiling is
important, I find. Better to let the white from the ceiling white go
just slightly down onto the walls.

Just from experimenting, I find that the same rule is important for
trim around windows, trim along the floor, etc. It has to do with which
color is darker, how the natural or artificial light will hit the area,
etc., I suppose. But in any case, in most of my rooms, letting the wall
paint go slightly onto the trim always looks much better than the
reverse. In other cases, it needs to be the reverse or it looks like
crap.


Yes. With the exception of one room where I have painted trim and a textured
wallpaper, I bring the wall color up the sides of the trim pieces onto the trim.
When I did bring the wall paint only up to the trim, the trim color 'shines' a
bit onto the wall next to it. Doesn't look right.

Banty

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Frank Boettcher
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?

On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 03:49:07 GMT, "Oscar_Lives"
wrote:

How do you keep the painted line straight at the top of the wall next to the
ceiling?

Masking with tape doesn't work for me. Using a shield looked like crap.
Cutting in freehand with a brush is the best I can do and it still looks
bad.

Any tricks?



Professional painters and decorators will tell you that the line is
much more important than the overlap. Most people worry so much about
the overlap that they don't concentrate on the line. For wall to
ceiling stay about 1/8" below the ceiling and just pull a wet,
straight line. You will never "see" the 1/8"

Purdy or Woosters, or equal if you believe there is one, best trim
brush. Expensive but worth it.
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Newfie
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?

RicodJour I could not have said it better myself! Lay a layer of paint
on first leaving a little rope of paint and then go back over it. A
paint brush will slide easier on an already wet painted surface than on
a dry surface thus giving you better control.



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Steve B
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?


"Oscar_Lives" wrote in message
news:TaRKf.571234$084.270708@attbi_s22...
How do you keep the painted line straight at the top of the wall next to
the ceiling?

Masking with tape doesn't work for me. Using a shield looked like crap.
Cutting in freehand with a brush is the best I can do and it still looks
bad.

Any tricks?


Buy a good brush. I like one that is one inch wide with tapered bristles
and an angled head.

When you put the paint on the brush, wipe off the paint that is on the side
of the brush that will go up.

Have your ladder in the right position. This is a trial and error thing.
You will know what it is for YOU when you feel that you are comfortably
pulling the brush in a straight line.

Start a little below the line you want to end up with and stroke slightly
upward to the line you want to make.

A good brush with the right bristles and angle that is properly loaded with
paint will lay down a beautiful line as straight as you are steady.

It just takes practice.

And better is the enemy of good. If you just get it good, leave it alone
and go on. Don't keep trying to make the same spot better because you are
just laying down more paint. Let it go and come back. Look at it from eye
level, and see if you can notice if by looking at it from six feet away. If
you can, try to straighten it. If you can't notice it from a distance,
leave it alone.

Just a few things I learned from doing a lot of wall/ceiling transitions.

Steve


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Suzie-Q
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?

In article TaRKf.571234$084.270708@attbi_s22,
"Oscar_Lives" wrote:

- How do you keep the painted line straight at the top of the wall next to the
- ceiling?
-
- Masking with tape doesn't work for me. Using a shield looked like crap.
- Cutting in freehand with a brush is the best I can do and it still looks
- bad.
-
- Any tricks?

I found a great little, cheap tool for this exact thing. It's square plastic
with two little wheels on one side. A pad that slides into the plastic holder
holds quite a bit of paint. You fill the pad with paint and run the tool --
wheels to the ceiling -- along the top of the wall. It may take a little
practice to get it right, but it's well worth it. It saved me a lot of time
and frustration. Just make sure you don't get any paint on the little wheels,
and don't put the pad right up to the ceiling right away. Put it on the wall
a little below the ceiling and stroke upwards until the wheels touch the
ceiling.

The thing will only cost you a few dollars at Wal-Mart.
--
8^)~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail)
~~~~~~
"I reserve the absolute right to be smarter
today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson

http://www.suzanne-eckhardt.com/
http://www.intergnat.com/malebashing/
http://www.intergnat.com/pussygames/
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jeffc
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?


"Steve B" wrote in message
news:iI0Lf.353$V27.23@fed1read06...


Buy a good brush. I like one that is one inch wide with tapered bristles
and an angled head.


That is the wrong brush. You a big brush, 3" at least, and then turn it
sideways to get a good line. If you like, you can take a metal
scraper/spatula and run the edge along the corner. This will leave a
metallic gray line that is very easy to follow with your paint line.


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jeffc
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?


"Suzie-Q" wrote in message
...
I found a great little, cheap tool for this exact thing. It's square
plastic
with two little wheels on one side. A pad that slides into the plastic
holder
holds quite a bit of paint. You fill the pad with paint and run the
tool --
wheels to the ceiling -- along the top of the wall.


Junk, IMO.


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Goedjn
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?


How do you keep the painted line straight at the top of the wall next to the
ceiling?

Masking with tape doesn't work for me. Using a shield looked like crap.
Cutting in freehand with a brush is the best I can do and it still looks
bad.

Any tricks?


Yet another reason to invest in crown molding.


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Suzie-Q
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?

In article ,
"jeffc" wrote:

- "Suzie-Q" wrote in message
- ...
- I found a great little, cheap tool for this exact thing. It's square
- plastic
- with two little wheels on one side. A pad that slides into the plastic
- holder
- holds quite a bit of paint. You fill the pad with paint and run the
- tool --
- wheels to the ceiling -- along the top of the wall.
-
- Junk, IMO.


Well, you've got to be smarter than the tool.
--
8^)~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail)
~~~~~~
"I reserve the absolute right to be smarter
today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson

http://www.suzanne-eckhardt.com/
http://www.intergnat.com/malebashing/
http://www.intergnat.com/pussygames/
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maxinemovies
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?

On Thu, 23 Feb 2006 11:14:43 -0500, Goedjn wrote:


How do you keep the painted line straight at the top of the wall next to the
ceiling?

Masking with tape doesn't work for me. Using a shield looked like crap.
Cutting in freehand with a brush is the best I can do and it still looks
bad.

Any tricks?


Yet another reason to invest in crown molding.


We have raised ceilings, going up to the center of our house. Can we
use crown molding at an angle like that? And our style is
contemporary. Do they make crown molding in a contemporary style?

We want to paint one wall in the dining room and are concerned with
the top edge that meets the ceiling so I've been following this
thread, hoping to get some tips for that.


Maxi

Email addy upon request.
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Goedjn
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?


We have raised ceilings, going up to the center of our house. Can we
use crown molding at an angle like that? And our style is
contemporary. Do they make crown molding in a contemporary style?



I can't help you with style, contemporary or not. My understanding
of the various "styles" is limited to two categories: Things I like,
and Things I don't like.

But physically, yes, you can put (crown) molding anywhere, it's
just a matter of cobbling together a profile that fits.

If that's a big problem, put picture-molding a few inches down
from the ceiling, and paint the ceiling color down the top of the
wall to meet it.


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John Willis
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?

On 23 Feb 2006 15:23:33 -0800, "Hopkins"
scribbled this interesting note:

Someone mentioned using a 3" or bigger brush. No -- a 2 1/2" angle sash
brush is the best all-around thing to use for interiors.



Yep. I've cut in many a corner and this is the brush to use.

Of course others may have a different preference, but this one works
best for me. And I've tried straight brushes, narrow brushes, wide
brushes, but for cutting in that 2 1/2" angled brush can't be beat.
Keep it clean and buy the best one you can afford. It'll last you
years and years if you keep it in the original package or otherwise
keep the bristles wrapped up and protected.


--
John Willis

(Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)
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RicodJour
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?

Hopkins wrote:

Someone mentioned using a 3" or bigger brush. No -- a 2 1/2" angle sash
brush is the best all-around thing to use for interiors.


Agreed.

You going to have to experiment a bit with how to load the brush.
Obviously you want to scrape off the excess paint, but how hard to
scrape [i.e. how much paint to leave in the brush] is something to be
determined -- as you get used to cutting in you may want to carry more
paint per brushload.


Scraping off the paint is the worst thing you can do for the brush.
Paint should be poured from the can into a smaller container than can
be easily held. The brush is dipped into the paint about halfway up
the bristles, then it is lightly slapped against the side of the
container to knock off the excess paint. You want the brush fully
loaded, scraping the brush takes off too much paint and damages the
bristles of the brush. If you've ever seen someone's brush that has
all of those short hairs sticking out from the sides, they're scrapers
and not slappers.

R



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Hopkins
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?

You want the brush fully loaded, scraping the brush takes off too much paint and damages the bristles of the brush.

I've never had a problem with damaged bristles by scraping. Point
taken, but for someone who can't cut a straight line I think starting
with less paint is a good idea.

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RicodJour
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?

Hopkins wrote:
You want the brush fully loaded, scraping the brush takes off too much paint and damages the bristles of the brush.


I've never had a problem with damaged bristles by scraping. Point
taken, but for someone who can't cut a straight line I think starting
with less paint is a good idea.


I just did a quick search to back up my opinion and ran across this:
http://tinyurl.com/kvghc
It's almost spooky how closely this guy's painting technique and advice
mirrors my older post! It sucks that his was a few years earlier and
is more complete, but that's life!

R

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Hopkins
 
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Default Painting straight line at top of wall and ceiling?

"Put the paint in a relatively large container, so that there's lots of
container
wall above the surface level of the paint. This is so that after you've
dipped the brush in the paint you can tap the flat edges of the brush
against the inner wall of the container to drive the paint into the
fibres,
whilst knocking off the drippy excess from the surface of the brush.
This
method is a lot more effective than scraping the brush across the edge
of
the container, which removes far too much paint for the purposes of
emulsioning."

1 -- I don't know what qualifies as a "relatively large container", but
even paint pots have openings wide enough that can promote drying out,
leaving you with a lot of half-dried crud to deal with. I prefer paint
cans, using a paint pot [covered with a wet rag] to hold the excess.

2 -- I don't know what he means by "emulsioning" as it relates to
painting a straight line.

I didn't see any mention of damaging bristles... of course I got hung
up on how he got 105 degrees out of a right angle.

Mind you, I rarely find a need to scrape but it does occur. I still
think that if someone can't cut a straight line they should start slow
and carry a little less paint until they get the feel [sorta like
training wheels]. Then they can carry more paint and work on speeding
things up.

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