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?
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.
Wallpaper.
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.
And painters who have finally come out of the closet - well, nevermind.....
Walls always follow ceiling.
There is a gizmo ... a pad with adjustable wheels .. at the paint departments of the box stores and probably at most paint stores ... I'm no fan of the gadgets the Borgs sell ... but this thing works as long as you keep the wheels adjusted and clean. The trick, my wife tells me, is to use a brush to paint the pad, then run the pad along the edge of the ceiling. Works both on polished (read flat drywall) ceilings and textured.
If your ceiling is stippled or snow tex, one trick is to run a nail along the edge of the ceiling where it joins the wall. The channel allows paint to flow up in behind the texture.
The best way is to simply cut it in by hand. The trick ( I am told) is to do short stretches, load the brush and, using a smooth curving motion, bring it to just below the ceiling and "push" the paint up to the ceiling while moving smoothly along.
I say "I am told" ... because I do a lousy job .... you have to do a lot of paintng to get a steady hand ... and I don't do much painting.
I did do our cabin .... my wife made me white out the edge I'd made and bring a painter out for the weekend.
that's the final trick. Have some white ready ... or maybe paint everything white.
Ken
Those that can, paint; those that can't become contractors. I guess.
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
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.
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
I paint all rooms nice brite white, saves energy lightining, makes rooms appear larger, neutral color matches everything, so we can change stuff and not clash:( no color joints, all win win win for me. although my wife isnt fond of white..
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.
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.
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
-> 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.
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.
Junk, IMO.
Yet another reason to invest in crown molding.
-> > 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.
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.
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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