Tips on painting a feature wall (chimney breast) please?

[Mr. Clueless]

Basically the chimney breast - that's the face & the 2 small side sections is to be painted a different colour to the other walls (the 2 you see either side of it here).

Now i'm a novice painter. I'm looking for advice on how i can get a professional line down there where it right angles.

If it helps, the chimney breast is going to be a shade of red & i think the walls at either side are going to be some kind of sandy beige colour. I think that's what my wife decided on



* So would you paint one wall before another (i.e. red chimney before sandy joining walls or vice versa)?
* I assume ceiling before anything?
* And the one that bothers me the most - how do you get a perfect line on that right angle so one colour doesn't bleed in to another?

I imagine you can frog tape right down the line, but surely it's inevitable that some paint will bleed under the tape somewhere along the line?

 

[misterhelpful]

You can't beat a good quality, chisel-tipped synthetic brush. Don't be tempted to us a small one either because you will have trouble keeping it steady - use a 2½-3" one, starting slightly away form the corner, then slowly drag the brush down and into the corner (you can also drag upwards if you prefer). This should give you a nice, neat, line but you may still get the odd stray bristle mark on the other wall. If this happens, you can touch up with a smaller brush when dry - I always used a round, chiselled, sash brush, if this was ever necessary, but I had countless brushes to choose from.

One tip I can give, if you want to try it, is to lightly run the edge of a scraper down the corner, before painting, to make a very slight indentation. This will help guide the brush tips and stop paint from bleeding around the corner.

I would paint the lighter colour first and do the feature wall last, but it shouldn't make much of a difference which way around you do it.

 

[Mr. Clueless]

Thanks for the reply.
I googled "chisel-tipped synthetic brush". Are you meaning just an angled brush?

I have one already in which i got for a job that wasn't so important. Bought it from Wilkinsons so it's only a cheapy. The end while angled is very beefy.

I bought a set of Purdy brushes for when i was painting all the interior woodwork, but no angled brush. They were great to work with & worth the investment i thought.

So are you meaning something like this...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PURDY-3-0...146283?hash=item3ac353b5ab:g:-RoAAOSwZ8ZW5YWL

Obviously Purdy isn't the only brand & eBay isn't the only place, in case that kind of thing is against forum rules?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wooster-P...791124?hash=item33b6b73154:g:HcEAAOSwjwlXBC7X

That kind of thing basically?

 

[Mr. Clueless]

^^ 0:50 seconds, why does he run sealant down there? Or decorators caulk, whatever you wish to call it.

I've done some searching on it & that's the second time i've seen that but they don't say why you caulk it. Surely the tape alone would be enough?

 

[Gerrydelasel]

Thanks for the reply.
I googled "chisel-tipped synthetic brush". Are you meaning just an angled brush?

Yes, also called a sash brush. I can vouch for Wilko 'Best' brushes.
http://www.wilko.com/paint-brushes+rollers/wilko-best-brush-angled-25in/invt/0343184

they don't say why you caulk it.

To stop the paint creeping under the very edge of the tape and leaving a feathered edge after you peel it off (you only get a razor sharp line from masking tape when it is applied to a glass-smooth surface. Not likely!). But if you've a steady hand you should not need tape at all. Depends on your dexterity!

 

[misterhelpful]

Thanks for the reply.
I googled "chisel-tipped synthetic brush". Are you meaning just an angled brush?

I have one already in which i got for a job that wasn't so important. Bought it from Wilkinsons so it's only a cheapy. The end while angled is very beefy.

I bought a set of Purdy brushes for when i was painting all the interior woodwork, but no angled brush. They were great to work with & worth the investment i thought.

No, I don't mean an angled brush, although the one in your link would be suitable. By chiselled tip, I mean that the bristles of the brush come to a point in the centre at the very tips, as opposed to the 'beefy' tip that you refer to. If you already have synthetic Purdy brushes, one of those will be fine, and you should be able to understand what I mean if you take a look at the tips and compare them.

EDIT

This is one of my 2" Purdy's which, although worn, and a few years old, you should be able to see is narrower at the tip than at the base. Maybe 'tapered' would be a better term, but everyone I know uses the term 'chiselled'. Not sure why I can't load the image as a thumbnail today.

 

[Mr. Clueless]

Ahh right i think i get the jist of what you're saying now.