Painting Coving Line (cutting in)

[Invisible-Man]

Hi,
Has anyone got any tips on how to get a nice straight paint line between the bottom of coving and the wall line, the coving is white along with the ceiling and the wall I am painting is Sunbaked Terracotta.

I have a steady hand but it seems very difficult to get a very good line between coving and wall, although looks worse to me as I am a bit of a perfectionist, would appreciate any tips available!

Many thanks

PS Obviously ceiling/coving has already been painted and it's the wall that I am cutting into the coving!

 

[dourknob]

There is no easy way! The stronger the colour (ie dark) the more noticable the line will be. Pale soft colours are much easier. You could mask off the lip of the coving making sure no tape is on the face. So covering only the bottom small edge that meets the wall. I did this recently paitning a darker colour. It was almost perfect except where white emullsion came off the coving in a couple of spots. Easily remedied and touched up and unnoticable. A perfect finish. I recently watched a decorator painting a newly plasterd house doing the same thing...only the real experts can do it professionally and they will tell you it took a lot of practice!!

 

[Invisible-Man]

There is no easy way! The stronger the colour (ie dark) the more noticable the line will be. Pale soft colours are much easier. You could mask off the lip of the coving making sure no tape is on the face. So covering only the bottom small edge that meets the wall. I did this recently paitning a darker colour. It was almost perfect except where white emullsion came off the coving in a couple of spots. Easily remedied and touched up and unnoticable. A perfect finish. I recently watched a decorator painting a newly plasterd house doing the same thing...only the real experts can do it professionally and they will tell you it took a lot of practice!!

Thanks for that, to be honest I did consider that but was not sure if it was practical or not, you have convinced me that it is, more so when you are a bit of a perfectionist!

Anyone else for ideas !!!

 

[confidentincompetent]

I use a 4" wall brush (larger the better). Work from left to right (if right handed) Face steps to left, Dip brush into paint about 1/3, place flat of brush against wall about ½" away from cove, then apply gentle pressure to let the bristles bend and ease up to about a 1/8" away, draw the brush along for about 2ft then without dipping into paint, tidy the line up by runnin along line again this time closer to the line. Dont try cutting in right to the cove/ wall edge, We keep off the cove/wall edge a little as this edge will rarely be level, mostly on closer inspection you might see that the line is not perfectly strait but if no paint gets into the crack of cove/wall you will create the illusion of a strait line when viewed from below.

Phew this must be my third try to explain this ... have i failed again
Good luck ...

 

[Invisible-Man]

I use a 4" wall brush (larger the better). Work from left to right (if right handed) Face steps to left, Dip brush into paint about 1/3, place flat of brush against wall about ½" away from cove, then apply gentle pressure to let the bristles bend and ease up to about a 1/8" away, draw the brush along for about 2ft then without dipping into paint, tidy the line up by runnin along line again this time closer to the line. Dont try cutting in right to the cove/ wall edge, We keep off the cove/wall edge a little as this edge will rarely be level, mostly on closer inspection you might see that the line is not perfectly strait but if no paint gets into the crack of cove/wall you will create the illusion of a strait line when viewed from below.

Phew this must be my third try to explain this ... have i failed again
Good luck ...

Thanks, sounds good to me!

 

[davellew69]

Hi, to be honest all of the above replys have given me a headache.

the easy way is to paint the coving first, paint the coving and hit the wall , and then when dry cut in from the wall to the edge of the coving. USE A GOOD BRUSH, not el cheapo. If you are using waterbased paint you will need a synthetic paint brush.

I know you have painted the wall first, but do it this way next time.

 

[NickStone]

I know you have painted the wall first, but do it this way next time.

No, he told us in a PS to the first email that the coving was already painted: 'PS Obviously ceiling/coving has already been painted and it's the wall that I am cutting into the coving!'

 

[Invisible-Man]

I know you have painted the wall first, but do it this way next time.

No, he told us in a PS to the first email that the coving was already painted: 'PS Obviously ceiling/coving has already been painted and it's the wall that I am cutting into the coving!'

Yes thats correct, wall last

 

[davellew69]

opps soory, you are right, just read the PS. must go to bed earlier...LOL

 

[copykats1]

Had this problem a few times when at work & had to go a snag other peoples work (put right there mistakes)

If working to a time scale ....... the easiest way ive found is:

Cut the colour in as best you can .... then get your self a tube of white caulk (decorators filler), cut the nozzle at an angle but as thin a possible.
Run the chaulk quickly along the line you want cut in (do a fall lengh "wall" at a time & then run your finger along to smooth.

The idea is to just run a 1mm line along, When you smooth off with your finger it defuses the colout into the white, so your left with a crisp straight line. (its all illusions)
_________________________________________

On the same principle ... as a post above.

Cut in as best you can ....... leave to dry ......... tape along the wall & then crash in the white.

Again white will defuses the colour.......... Taping up the white and crashing in the colour would leave a bold in your face line (& theres bound to be mishaps)
doing it the other way, you get a soft "not so in your face" straight line.

Plus its easier to tape along a wall rather than upside down on the coving.

sorry for rambling on ...... Cheers.

 

[Zampa]

If your really struggling and the wall colour is pale the hit the underside of the coving with it and wipe it off on the external corner or paint the coving down to that corner after...only downside being you may drip onto the wall

Your going to be far better off buying a decent brush, taking your time and cutting it in properly though...youl have a better job.

One tip...mind you dont find yourself holding your breath and tensing up when your concentrating on the cutting it...it will make your hand/arm shake

 

[R0G3R]

Using a medium size brush works for me. Get the paint on the wall about ½" from the coving, then apply pressure to the brush to work the bristles up to the line and then along. Confident strokes work best, do not rush and it is surprising how quickly it gets done. I then check round the next day and, using a detail brush, very carefully touch up any overlaps. Go round once with white and once with the colour. It does not take too long, even if you go round twice. It certainly makes the coving look a lot sharper.

Has anyone tried painting the bottom edge in the wall colour? The front edge of the coving is always straight, whereas the back edge can wander a bit and have recesses, so only looks straight from certain angles.

 

[Zampa]

You have explained what I mean better than me..

Thats how I meant it to come across..the front lip of the coving is normally dead straight, thus giving the impression of a straight edge..if the line where the wall meets the bottom inside angle of the conving is uneven or rough it can highlight the problem more.

I nearly always advise to paint all the coving in one colour..thats how it should be..but in some circumstances like if the wall hs a textured finish or a thick blown vinyl then painting the underside the same as the wall colour (providing its not a too strong colour) can sometimes get you off the hook.

 

[mrcrow]

paint pad with shielded edge??


i dont have them now but i think they helped in the old days when peters paint pads were in vogue

cheers
geof

 

[GAZ2785]

I have the same problem and despite having a steady hand and watching various YouTube videos I still struggle with this. Often my brush doesn't seem to hold enough paint and it doesn't flow well enough (I probably need a better quality brush).

However when doing the skirting boards I use a paint pad from Wilko. It's like a sponge with tiny little hairs attached to the surface and a handle. It holds the paint nicely and goes in a perfectly straight line.

In the future I am going to try this for cutting in at the ceiling. I think it would work, but you'd have to be careful how you apply the pressure since the edge of the sponge/pad can get paint on it and transfer to the ceiling or coving. I think if you angled it just right and applied the correct pressure you could avoid this though.