Tips/tools for painting edges?

[GhostOfTomJoad]

Anybody got any great tips or tools for cutting in the edges when painting interior rooms? We've got a big project this weekend (painting several rooms downstairs plus the stairwell & 2nd level landing) & there will be tons of paint to cut in w/ lots of angles & corners along the ceilings, windows, fireplace, etc.

We picked up one of these doodads from Home Depot last night because it was cheap & looked like it might be worth a shot.

It's basically a rectangular brush w/ very small nap (maybe 1/8") and has 2 small wheels on the leading edge to guide it along. It was under $3 so I figured it was worth a shot.

Any thoughts or tips are appreciated.

 

[EEE]

use high quality brushes, and keep them clean.

for painting around baseboards,use 3M painter's tape on the boards (not the wall) and burnish really well with your fingernail or a credit card before applying paint. don't put too much paint on at once.

cutting around everything else just takes a steady hand. use long strokes and draw a bead of paint along the edge. make sure you have plenty of light - those halogen tripod lamps are good to have around.

as far as the edge tool thingy, i have never used one, but i'm suspicious as to how well it works. if you decide to try it, you might want to test it first in a corner where the two walls will be the same color. good luck.

 

[txzen]

I usually mask the edges of trim or the ceiling with blue painter's tape. Press the tape fully and hard, ensuring a tight seal. Paint away, but try to keep the brush as dry as you can when you get to the tape. Usually, I'll just have to freehand a few touchups. I really like to tape things off because although the prep work takes longer, you can paint quickly and messily. Take the tape off when the paint is still a little wet.

I don't think those edger things work all that well. There's no substitute for a good brush and good prep work.

Sometimes I'll freehand too, but then I'm a painting badass.

 

[Woland]

Practice. Its a skill. If there was an easy solution, there would be fewer professional painters. It will feel great when you have it down and can enjoy your own handi-work. Patience helps.

 

[chuychanga]

Here's what worked for me:

Loosely tape around the edges and slather the paint on thick enough that it drips under the tape in some spots where the tape is wrinkled. Tell your wife that it's no big deal and that no one else will notice. She will then ***** and moan about your painting skills and eventually bring in a small watercolor type brush and paint all the edges herself, one slow inch at a time.

 

[AUinAustin]

It works well - IF and only IF you keep the wheels out of the paint. Otherwise you wind up with tire marks on the trim...

 

[pmg]

I used to paint at Tri-Towers. We used the edger thingy. It worked well. But yeah, keep the paint on the pad only.

 

[GhostOfTomJoad]

Thanks for the tips. All kinds of good, solid advice. I've got plenty of rolls of 3M Painters' blue masking tape ready to go & will spend plenty of time on the prep work. I was really just hoping that someone had discovered a secret way to make cutting in quick, easy & painless. Guess I'm dreaming.

And thanks to those who have used the edging tool reminding me to keep the wheels out of the paint. As soon as I read the post I thought "man, I could see myself accidentally doing that & making a huge mess."

 

[horn4life]

The wheels will get paint on them and you will have a frigging headache as you curse and toss the three dollar item away.

Slow and steady hand. I usually use a soho cup with paint to keep the paint souce closer to the intended point I am painting.

 

[Mrs. Reboot]

We recently got a tape dispenser that allows you to tape along the edges with good precision. It has allowed me to tape faster and more accurately. It took some getting used to to figure it out, but I love it now.

 

[accuratehorn]

Applying tape can cause a disaster when you remove the tape. It can pull texture off the wall or ceiling, and be difficult to repair.
It is probably better in most places to use a "steady hand," and paint up near the edge, then switch to a high quality, smaller brush to cut in right at the edge. The tape is good for windows, metal, lacquered cabinets, floors, etc.

 

[suttree]

Before you remove the tape use an exacto knife to make a small cut between the tape and the painted surface. Otherwise you may end up pulling off the paint, especially latex paint.

As mentioned, the best advice is a $15.00 brush and a steady hand. All that crap they sell at home depot doesn't work, and you never see the pros use it.

The other key is a painter's bucket and the wire screen that hangs down in it. This is far, far superior to using trays.

And blow off trying to clean rollers, just throw all that **** away. You can clean the expensive brush and the bucket, but just about everything else should go to the trash can.

 

[jmatt]

A 2-1/2" to 4" angled brush works best.

Or...

You can use a smoothing (or finish) trowel instead of tape as an edge. Just angle it into the joint you're painting. They're ususally about 12" x 3" or 4".

Make sure you wipe it off if you get paint on the "back" side. When I do this, I just stick a towel in my belt and wipe the blade off pretty regularly, whether it needs it or not....

Smoothing trowel:

 

[pmg]

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[HoustonHorn93]

I've used the edger thingy for years. Once you figure out its tricks it's a piece of cake. Do not, do not, do not get paint on the wheets. If you do just throw the pad away (refils are cheap as hell) and wash to red thingy and start over.

By the way, it drives me crazy when the ceilings are not painted at the same time as the room. I don't know why but it's my issue. Anyways, knowing this ahead of time really helps. I can paint the walls and be as sloppy as I want at the ceiling. Then I just tape off the walls with the blue tape the next weekend and paint the ceiling. The results are fantastic looking edges.

 

[GhostOfTomJoad]

OK, after painting all weekend long I've gotta say that cheap little Shureline Edger thing worked amazingly well. The edges are perfect, it cut probably 2 total hours of edge work off of the whole job, and made edging some really tricky parts (a multi-angled ceiling line that slopes from 10' - 13'.

Can't recommend it enough.

 

[horn4life]

Yeah well it only worked 'cause I warned you about paint on the wheels!!!

 

[catfishhorn]

I used the method below this past weekend for painting the baseboards in my Media room. The results were spectacular, it gave me that hard, clean, perfectly straight line that seems so hard to get at the top of your baseboards. It was well worth taking the time to mask it all off and there wasn't a single drop of paint on my carpet and none of it stuck to the baseboards either.

I've learned that painting is one job in which your end result will mirror how much time and care you put into it. My neighbors across the street even asked for the name and number of the professional painter I used for the media room. They were shocked when I told them I did it.

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[catfishhorn]

It took me 20 minutes to completely tape off all the baseboards, top and along the carpet, in the room. Way simpler then pulling them off, risking cracking one and having to replace it, hauling them outside, painting them, hauling them back in, re-nailing them, re-puttying them and then repainting those blemishes. Plus the paint from sealing the tape/wall seam helps to fill in some of the gaps that exist between the baseboard and the wall if it is lacking caulk.

Just my opinion though.