Home DIYers: Painting a Room without Painter's Tape

In My Humble Opinion
21

Cutting in with a good brush in a semi-practiced hand leaves a nice organic line that is not unpleasant to see. In fact, you can clearly tell that the line was painted with care without painter’s tape.

I don’t have the skill to do it perfectly in one go, but using the same technique it is trivial to touch up the ceiling or wall depending on which color intruded on the other.
I take it as a point of pride to not use any painter’s tape for cutting in.

22

I have never found those straight edges work well. They have to be wiped clean each time. Ditto for those paint pads. Great in theory, bad in practice.

Since I started this thread, I have a few points to share:

  1. If you’re going from a dark color to a light color, you will likely need TWO coats of paint. If so, taping will likely be faster than cutting in.
  2. It makes sense to pay an extra $25 per gallon and get a true one-coat coverage paint. Having to paint an entire room (or many rooms) a second coat is a huge, time-wasting hassle.
  3. I like the HG TV Showtime brand interior paint by Sherwin Williams, among others. Per gallon, a flat interior sells for about $45 at one of the big boxes. A couple years ago, I went from a deep red to light gray in one thick coat, which is phenomenal.
  4. There is no justification for the huge run–up in paint prices in recent years. It’s crazy.
  5. I have never met a professional who uses Behr brand paint. Pros hate “call backs,” so they typically go with a quality paint.
  6. I seriously doubt $80/gallon interior paint is worth it. Exterior, maybe.
  7. When painting the second story of a house, see #2 above. Pay more for a paint that lasts a few years longer and keeps you off a two-story ladder longer.
  8. I’ve seen painters on YouTube quickly cut in a ceiling line – at speeds that are phenomenal, which underscores this point: Some people have amazing hand-eye coordination. For most people with average to below-average HI coordination, even frequent painting won’t allow you to match the speed of a fast pro.
23

this is the thing i use. you have to do the cut in first. once paint gets on the wheels, it is over. you do need to be extra careful.

24

Here’s a question: do you cut in first, then roll the large areas? Or roll and then cut in? Does it matter?
My husband and I are in opposite camps, though I suspect the true answer is that it doesn’t matter.

25

My preference is to cut in and then roll, trying to get the roller as close as possible to the edge. The reason is that the edge of the roller will feather over the cut in paint and leave a uniform roller texture up to the edge. If you roll and then cut in, the cut in will leave a visible stripe. The texture of a paintbrush will be different than the roller, and the other edge of the cut in can leave a visible line. The difference may not be evident at first, but it may show up depending on the lighting.

26

Definitely cut in first.

27

You are in luck . It is an election year and you will get hundreds of specialized tools in the mail. Works best on baseboards and crown mouldings.
Those political ads printed on laminated cardboard are just the right weight to slide under the edges and keep the paint on the side you want it.