My father in law laughed at my paint job last weekend

I've been painting rooms in my house for 15 years and always just used that blue painter's tape along the edges. Last Saturday my father in law comes over to help with the guest bedroom and watches me tape off the baseboards. He shakes his head and says 'why are you working so hard' and hands me a 2.5 inch angled brush. Showed me how to cut in freehand with just a little paint on the bristles. I tried it on a small section and it looked way cleaner than my taped edges ever did. No more peeling up tape that pulls off fresh paint or leaves that fuzzy line. Took me about 3 tries to get the hang of it but now I feel silly for all those rolls of tape I bought over the years. Has anyone else made that switch and found it works better?

3 comments

3 Comments

sullivan.quinn11d agoTop Commenter

@nancyramirez nailed it about the wobbles. I had the exact same thing when I first tried cutting in - spent more time fixing shaky lines than I ever did with tape. But man, once you get used to holding the brush at that angle and loading just the right amount of paint, it's like a whole new world. Took me a solid weekend of practice, but now I can cut in a whole room in under an hour, way faster than taping ever was. The best part for me was never having to peel up tape that takes a chunk of fresh paint with it, or having that fuzzy line like you said. All those years I spent smoothing tape edges on my textured walls feel like such a waste now. Totally with you both on this one.

anthonyrivera12d ago

That "fuzzy line" you mentioned is exactly why I ditched tape years ago too. Once you get the brush control down, it's faster and you don't waste time with the peeling gamble.

nancyramirez12d ago

The fuzzy line thing is real, and honestly once you get the hang of the brush it's night and day. But I gotta gently push back a little on the "faster" part - at least at first. When I learned to cut in, it took me forever because I had to go back and fix my wobbles, you know? @anthonyrivera is right that the finish is cleaner though. Tape gives you that little ridge where paint seeps under, and cutting in avoids that entirely. Plus, no more wasted time smoothing down tape edges that keep popping up on textured walls - that's the real win in my book.