Have you ever finished painting a room, all tired and ready to be done painting, stood back to admire your incredible job and then noticed that your cut in lines along the ceiling stand out like a sore thumb from the area of the walls that you rolled?
This can be seriously annoying if you are a perfectionist when you paint. This phenomenon is cause by multiple painting issues all working together against you.
Here are a few ways that you can avoid this issue and get the best looking paint job possible in your home.
Make Sure To Box Your Paint
Boxing your painting is mxing all of your paint together before starting your painting project. When you purchase a colored paint from the store there can be tiny variations in the color from one can to another. In most cases this won’t present a problem as the difference is incredibly minor, but it will help little things like cut lines show up a little more.
If your painting project requires 3 gallons of paint, use a 5 gallon bucket and pour all three gallons into the empty bucket. Stir the bucket and pour the 3 gallons back into their cans or just put a lid on the 5 gallon bucket. This will ensure that all of your paint is 100% the same color.
Overlap Your Cut Lines When Rolling
When I cut in a ceiling with a brush I typically use a 2 – 2 1/2 inch width brush and brush down about 4″-6″ from the ceiling. Then when I go back over the brushed in area while rolling the wall, I try to get as close to the ceiling as possible without actually touching the ceiling. This usually means only about 2 inches of my brush strokes don’t get covered while rolling.
Roll Out Your Walls Soon After Cutting In Ceilings
Not allowing the paint to 100% dry in-between will help your cut-in lines and your rolling texture to blend better.
Avoid Cheap Paint
Three is truth in “You get what you pay for” and this can absolutely true with paint. If you’re buying $10-$15 a gallon paint, expect issues such as cut in lines standing out and poor coverage. I recommend going with a $20+ gallon of paint usually (my favorite being Behr from Home Depot, it’s priced well, performs great, and has a great warranty).