Painting Question Re Edges: Tape Or One Of Those "Edgers" ?

Hello,

Have to paint a bathroom ceiling with a fair number of corners. Was thinking automatically that I would have to tape the ceiling-wall junctions like I have always in the past.

But keep seeing on TV and at HD these "edgers" being offered. Small flat piect of plastic with a thin foam like covering that apparently you can use right next to a wall without getting any paint of the wall. Hmm ? Think they have a slight taper on them at their edges, but am not sure of this.

Do they actually "work", or should one forget them and just tape as usual ?

Seems it might be a bit messy loading them up with paint, and getting rid of the excess. The one on TV had a roller in the paint pan, which seems like a good idea ?

Pros and cons of taping vs these gadgets ?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks, Bob

Reply to
Robert11
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Haven't tried that one, but my experience with other similar things is: they work fine at first, then start to get messy as the back side gets covered, then you either wipe it down or let it dry, I have 3 large paddles for airless spraying, With 3 you can set the first one aside to dry once it starts to get messy, and hopefully by the time you rotate through the first one is dry.

Reply to
Eric in North TX

-snip-

I've never had any luck with them myself. [My wife buys anything that says 'new' on it, and to humor her I give them a try]

I prefer a *good* sash brush. My edges aren't as good as they were 20 yrs ago when I was doing a lot more painting- but they still come out looking better than most of the tape jobs I've seen.

My sash brush is 20+ years old & cost an arm and a leg when I got it. But it makes a nice clean line.

Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

Novel concept. You could just learn to cut a good clean line with a brush.

Reply to
DanG

Just a good brush is all you need. no masks, no edgers.

steve

Reply to
Steve Barker TB

That's what I do. I use a 1/2" brush along the edges. A little time-consuming, but excellent results every time.

Reply to
Phisherman

You needn't go the TV route - similar devices can be bought at the box/hardware store. Here's an example:

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Here's another
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A Google search for "paint+edger" yields thousands of other possibilities.

The one I use is made by Rubbermaid and it works swell: perfectly, uniformly, easily.

If you don't want to take the time to mess up hundreds of edges to gain the requisite brush experience, I highly recommend investing less than three dollars for one of these gizmos. Get the kind with wheels.

Reply to
HeyBub

As seen on TV is never the same when you see it at home. Under just the right conditions they will work, but as noted you would likely do better buying a like produce from your local store.

To do it well requires some skill and practice. Tape is the most forgiving.

It is amazing how fast and well someone with a lot of experience can do, even with just the standard roller.

Reply to
sligoNoSPAMjoe

And DON'T get paint on the wheels! DAMHIKT.

Jerry

Reply to
Jerry

Agreed. I just have to remember not to drink any coffee that day so my hands stay rock steady.

Reply to
h

If you hand shakes too much you can use your left arm to steady your right hand (or the opposite for southpaws). Prop your non-brush elbow against the wall and loosely hold your brush arm a few inches down from your wrist as you paint the ceiling cut line.

The other trick is to put the bulk of the paint on in one direction and keep it a short distance from the cut line, then to reverse the brush stroke to push the paint in the opposite direction up to the cut line.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

Don't bother with any of that stuff.

Just focus on developing your brush technique. I've just finished a paint job with about 300 feet of edges (wall- ceiling, doors, windows, etc.). Done completely by hand, no problems. And I'm 55 and a 2 gallon of coffee per day man!

A few tips:

  1. Concentrate on nice smooth steady strokes.

  1. Use a good quality brush. No need to go for a tiny one -- I did mine with a 1.5 inch brush.

  2. If the finish is textured and/or very porus it may become hard work if the paint thickens. Just thin the paint, VERY SLIGHTLY, if it becomes too thick to apply easily.
Reply to
Malcolm Hoar

Yep, I do a similar thing as I never use tape and always just paint the straight line and people are amazed. It is really not that hard once one gets the hang of it with a bit of practice. My 'trick' is to get enough paint of my very good brush [crappy brushes paint crappily] tip and drag it along, then when there is not enough paint left on it I veer it away without stopping. The next stroke starts slightly away from the line, but within the old stroke's paint and veers back up to the line to resume the perfect line. I can get 1-2 feet along at a time perfectly. If I do err, I just wipe it away right away [damp rag] and take the mulligan. Tomes

Reply to
Tomes

-snip-

-snip-

I'll say it again-- "good quality". My sash brushes that I do all my cut ins with are 2 or 2 1/2 - but I can cut a 1/4" stripe with them. . . [well, maybe 3/8" these days].

Also be sure to match the brush and the paint. I've used 'every paint' brushes and don't care for them. I have an 'oil based paint' and a 'latex paint' brush. One is nylon and one is ?camel? hair. I don't remember without picking them out of their box which is which- but I know they both suck when used with the wrong paint.

[or maybe someone with new brushes can comment on some new fiber that does both paints well.]

Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

Indeed, and this means resisting the temptation to load these things with more paint than you need. I have been using the Shur-Line product for 20 years, and I swear by it, but I also have been successful with a good brush, just not patient enough.

Reply to
KLS

Here's one tip no one has mentioned yet .. .. ..

Take a simple wooden pencil and lightly drag it along the wall/ceiling joint .. it will leave a very faint line that defines the intersection well enough to paint right up to it without use of tape or gizmos. Works like a charm.

Reply to
"<<<

"Tomes" ...

One more thing - paint the line before you do the rolling, not the other way around. It looks infinitely better. Do not let it dry out before you get to do the rolling so it blends together. Tomes

Reply to
Tomes

"Robert11" wrote in news:glpm99$l8$ snipped-for-privacy@news.motzarella.org:

Free hand it Bob. Tape sucks. Gadgets suck. Gotta learn by doing it.

As others have said, GOOD quality brush. Why? They hold a lot of paint. They don&#39;t fray and loose shape easily.

Tendency is to use a small brush. Small brush holds less paint. That means shorter strokes between reloading. More chance for oops&#39;. Personally I use a 2.5" angled sash brush. Holds lotsa paint. Because it&#39;s good quality, the tip stays sharp. Paint more with narrow edge of brush. Very dark colors against a white ceiling can be more challenging since the slightest error yells out "Lookie here!".

After painting line segment, feather the paint so there isn&#39;t a defined line where the paint stopped down the wall. Roller blends it in nicely and no "boardering" shows through when all is done.

Gotta try different things and eventually what works best for you is the best be it thin brush, thick brush, whatever. The end result is what counts. Believe it or not, I paint all casing trim first, then wall color trim, then walls and it comes out stellar. Quick topcoat of casing trim when all done if necessary. That&#39;s what works for me but can be a disaster for someone else.

Reply to
Red Green

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Well no, silly. They&#39;re designed to work on TV. Not in actual usage.

Reply to
Red Green

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