Painting a bedroom and cutting in?

[npg1]

I am going to paint my Dd bedroom next week, first bedroom I have really painted. The colour is white with a hint of pink and I might do a pink wall but worried about the cutting in!

Has anyone got any tips for cutting in please?

yep, get farrow and ball or laura ashley paint - better quality = less pressure on a shaky hand as it goes on like cream.

Get a really good brush Worth every penny Cut in using the edge of teh brush pushed down Buy wipes(decorators)rather than masking tape as tape can leave a mark and a gap when you take it off better to smudge a tiny bit and clean it as you go.I have found b and q paint better than dulux.Wipe down all the edges woodwork etc the day before Clear the room as much as poss.I will think of you as I will be doing the same next week

Yes. Do the light colour first and take it round onto the dark wall by an inch.

When you cut in with the dark colour against it don't go right to the edge of the wall - leave 0.5cm in the light colour. Any mistakes would not be too notcieable. You are more likely to do a mistake if you try and go right to teh edge of the wall.

Also make sure you have a good amount of paint on your brush

Paint pads are also supposed to be perfect for cutting in but I have never used them.

If you are cutting in against glodd/light fittings etc. I would mask it with tape - but I wouldn't do that with frasehly painted emulsion walls.

Thanks, maybe easier to do the whole room one colour?!

I did think of using masking tape but then surely when you peel it off it will pull some of the paint off? I was wondering if the was anything else I could use to get a straight edge, eg a long ruler that i could paint up against to get the straight edge, or a straight piece of wood? Would that work?

You can use masking tape - you need to make sure the first colour has been dry a couple of days AND use "low tack" masking tape (or make your own by sticking to your clothes before the wall). You also need to take it off as soon as you have finished the second colour.

Honesty - it isn't that hard to do even by hand.

yes, there us a plastic tool you can buy that you bold against edges To get straight line. Costs about £2 and worth I'd for doing along skirting boards etc. Just clean it with White spirit or turps etc. Do glosswork first too!

But when you use the plastic edging tool, don't pull it away from the wall towards the light colour, take it straight up off the wall or towards the darker colour or it will smudge dark across light ~ I've done that myself! grrrrrrr!!!

I'd use masking tape, but as SMS says, make sure it's low tack or you'll take paint/paper off when you remove it(I've done that too!).

Masking tape and plastic tools not as good as a steady hand ime and a cloth dampened with white spirit.Our decorator says never use them as the fake straight line looks terrible If you have a decent brush you don't need them.Tape is for masking off lights etc

The best thing to do is to "try" cutting in further along the wall. ie just have a practice so you know how much paint you need on your brush and get a feel for it.

I tend to load up the brush, wipe off one side then use the paint loaded side about 1" away from the actual line I want and paint a line then because my brush isn't so loaded with paint I then go in and paint the same bit again but this time against the corner.

It means that I don't have to put my roller anywhere near the corner as I have a really thick cutting in line so no risk of catching the other wall.

I have about 4 rooms where I have a different wall colour. I always do it by eye and I agree with Slightly that you paint the lighter colour first and well into the corner.

Where abouts are you?

I use baby wipes for clean up, mainly because I have them in!!