"chris" wrote in message
m...
I am a bit of a novice as far as DIY is concerned, but I am tackling
our smallest bedroom )

The walls are painted blue and the ceiling white. I am finding it very
difficult to get a smooth line where they meet. Are there any
techniques to doing this? Or do I just need a steady hand?

Any help appreciated


Ah, cutting in.

Afraid that there's not much more to it than practise and a steady hand.
You need to load the brush so that there is just enough to create a small
"bead" as you're painting - not too little so that you dont have sufficient
to cover up to the join, and not too much so that it bleeds and catches on
the ceiling.

A slightly used brush is best for this - new brushes often need the stray
bristles trimming.

If you use masking tape to stop you catching the ceiling then either use the
expensive low-tack stuff, or alternatively pull off the desired length from
the roll and push it onto some fabric first to reduce the adhesion.
Otherwise you end up pulling off the ceiling emulsion. Don't try and rely
on the edge of the tape to produce the nice clean edge because it never
works perfectly IME.

Finally, it helps to paint using a steady motion - too slow and it's
difficult to get a nice straight edge. When things have dried and if there
are small areas of white on the walls still, then be prepared to go round
and touch up carefully with a small artists brush.

--
Richard Sampson

email me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk