A professional's tips forrolling and edgingpaint as efficiently aspossible withoutmaking a mess

BY BRIAN J. DOHERTY

os t of my friends think I've got theI easiest job on the planet. After all,I anybody can paint walls and ceil-

ings, right? The truth is that anybody canpaint if they go about it in the right way,with the right paint and the right tools.Proper technique for cutting in and rolling isnot the stuff of national secrets, but there is alot more to it than you'll get in the free pam-phlets handed out at paint stores.

Before I open the paint canThe room I worked on for this article is oneof several that needed complete refinishingin an existing home. The first thing I dowhen painting a room is spread professional-quality canvas drop cloths to cover and pro-tect the floor. Spilled paint doesn't soakthrough canvas as it does a bed sheet or otherlightweight cloth, and canvas is safer to walkon. Working on a plastic drop cloth can belike painting on roller skates.

The plaster walls in this room needed somefairly extensive patching work. In this typeof situation, I start by fixing all the question-able areas, taking care not to create a lot ofdust that might get into fresh paint. Next, Icaulk all gaps between the trim (baseboard,window and door casing) and the walls with ahigh-quality paintable caulk (photo top left,facing page). I smooth the caulk with a damprag. Caulking always makes the finishedpaint job look better.

I also make sure that the room I'm paintinghas adequate lighting. Even if there is a lot ofnatural light, I always have halogen worklights and clip-on parabolic lights handy.

M

The next step is prepping and priming thetrim. Painting trim is a different kettle of fish,but I make sure that the trim paint overlapsthe wall about in. (photo far right). Whenthe trim is primed, I begin work on the wallsand ceiling, letting the finish coat on thetrim cover any stray paint from the walls.

Painting: prime timeThe walls and ceilings in this room had wa-ter stains from an old roof leak that had beenfixed; also, the former owners of the housewere heavy smokers, which left the walls andceilings stained. So I decided to cover every-thing with an alkyd-based primer/stainblocker. By the way, a respirator should al-ways be worn when applying oil-based paint.

Even if a room has no damage, I recom-mend using a primer under the finish coat. Itnot only helps to seal the surface, but it alsomakes the finish coat go on more evenly,critical if I'm applying a gloss finish paint.

The two steps to painting a large area arecutting in and rolling. Cutting in is brushingpaint onto areas the roller won't reach.

Painters naturally start at the top and workdown; I stand on a ladder and paint every-thing I won't be able reach comfortably fromthe floor. For cutting in, I never work out ofthe paint can but instead use a cut bucket.You can buy one or make one (FHB #112,p. 82). I cut in with a 3-in. brush to give me a3-in. band to roll into. Because the walls and

Caulk before you paint. Before the wallsor trim is painted, a bead of paintablecaulk is applied to fill the gap betweenthe trim and the walls.

ceiling are being painted with the sameprimer, I cut in the corners without beingtoo careful, using the flat part of the brushon both sides of the corner.

Where the primer meets the prepped trim,I paint up to the edge of the trim using thenarrow side of the brush, overlapping thewall primer onto the trim slightly but notbeing overly accurate with my line at thispoint. Overlapping coats at the edges of thetrim creates a less stark line between the trimpaint and the wall paint. When I've finishedcutting in the upper parts of the room from

Overlap each layer of paint. Beginningwith the primer on the trim, each coat ofpaint should extend slightly onto the ad-jacent surface, producing a cleaner line.

the ladder, I work from the floor cutting inthe rest (top photo, p. 85).

Staying out of the paint rainOnce the entire room is cut in, it's on to therolling. The first thing I need is a rollerframe, which is the handle and holder for theroller pad. Roller frames come in an amazingarray of widths and shapes, but I usually stickwith the standard 9-in. model. I avoid cheaproller frames because they don't hold up well.

The next-most-important tool for paintingwalls and ceilings is a telescoping extension

Choosing a roller pad

There are several factors I con-sider when choosing a rollerpad (photo above). The first isthe surface I'm going to paint.For smooth surfaces, a rollerpad with a short nap ( in. to

in.) is fine. But if you're cov-ering a heavy stucco, you may

need as much as a -in. nap.Light ceiling textures usuallyrequire a nap that's somewherein between.

Next, I look at the type ofpaint I'm applying. Most rollerpads are made with syntheticfibers that work fine with all

paints, latex or oil. But for ap-plying a finish coat of oilpaint, I recommend using anatural-fiber roller pad.

Another factor is howsmooth I need the finish coatto appear. Gloss paints tend toshow off the stippled finishfrom the roller really well, so Iusually opt for a fine-nap padthat leaves a smoother finish.Flat paints are much more for-giving, so having a fine napisn't as critical.

Roller pads come in a lot ofdifferent lengths and diame-ters, but the standard 9-in.roller pad and frame workswell for 95% of my painting.However, when I need to rollpaint in a really narrow spot, Ireach for my "hot-dog" roller.

The pad for a hot-dog roller is6 in. long with a diameter ofless than an inch. Mounted ona long-handle frame, it's per-fect for rolling places such asthe wall behind a radiator.

A brief word about quality. Iwon't use cheap paintbrushes,and I never, ever use cheappaint. I do, however, occasion-ally use cheap roller pads forapplying flat latexes. If I needthe pad to last only for oneroom and if I plan to toss itout after I'm done, an inexpen-sive pad is just the ticket.

I never use a cheap roller padfor applying an oil paint. Oilpaint pulls the fibers out ofthe pad and leaves walls withan incredible koalalike finish.-B.J.D.

pole. I use SherLock poles (Wooster BrushCo.; 800-392-7246). These poles come invarious sizes, but for most rooms with flatceilings, a 4-ft. pole that telescopes to 8 ft. orso works great. I avoid screw-together exten-sion poles; they're a lot of trouble.

The extension pole has a broom-handlethread on one end that screws into the rollerframe. This tool keeps me from running upand down a stepladder to paint ceilings. If Ipaint a ceiling without an extension pole, Iend up working directly under the roller, get-ting spattered as I paint.

Working out of a 5-gal. pailNext, I need the correct roller padfor the job and paint I'm applying(sidebar p. 83). For the oil-basedprimer that I'm using for the job inthe photos, I chose an inexpensive

-in. nap roller pad good for anykind of paint.

The two most common ways to getpaint onto the roller are a standardpaint pan (bottom photo), which Iuse for the finish coats, or a 5-gal.bucket with a roller ramp hung onthe rim (top photo). For the primeron this project, I needed about 2 gal.of paint, so I poured that amount in-to the pail, inserted the roller rampand got to work.

The 5-gal. bucket should be nomore than half full, leaving most ofthe ramp exposed. I dip the rollerpad slightly into the paint—aboutone-quarter of the way—and draw itup onto the ramp. Dipping the rollerinto the paint any deeper can make itdrip all over the place.

I dip the pad several times whilerolling it up and down the ramp un-til the pad is completely saturated.Most ramps are made of expandedmetal that distributes the paint even-ly on the roller pad while allowingexcess paint to drain back into thepail. When the roller pad is fullyloaded, I place it near the top of theramp and give it a quick downwardpush off the roller ramp to spin off anyexcess paint.

Ready to rollI start rolling in one corner of the ceiling,working down the short side of the roomfirst. I roll the paint in 3-ft. squares witheach square overlapping the next slightly(photo p. 82). (A 3-ft. by 3-ft. area is aboutwhat a properly loaded roller ought to cover.)For each square, I roll the paint on from side

to side in compacted W or M formations:down straight, back up on a slight diagonal,then straight down again, overlapping eachdown stroke with the one before. But re-member you're painting, not spelling. Over-lapping gives you even coverage and keepsyou from missing any spots. Where thesquares overlap my cut-in band, I try to keepthe roller about 1 in. from the corner.

Once the ceiling is finished, I start on thewalls. I first work my way along the top ofeach wall in similar 3-ft. squares (photo bot-tom left, facing page). The small sections

above windows and doors are done in short-er, smaller strokes.

Ropes, drips and runsThe biggest concern when rolling paint isthat excess paint tends to build up on theoutside edges of the roller pad and frame.Paint buildup leaves behind ropes, or heavylines of paint, in the wake of the roller.

Going back over a section with the rollersmooths out any ropes or areas with too

much paint from working with an over-loaded pad. But it helps to get rid of the ex-cess paint on the roller that is causing theropes in the first place. When ropes begin toappear, I tilt the frame and pad slightly at anangle to the wall with just the end touchingand roll it for a couple of inches (photo bot-tom right, facing page). I repeat the processwith the other side of the roller and thenwork the drips that have squeezed out intothe area I'm painting. When I'm finishedwith a section, the paint should be a consis-tent thickness over the entire area.

Mix all your cans of finishpaint for consistent colorBecause I use a fast-drying primer, Ican apply the finish coats almost im-mediately. For this room, I gave theceiling one coat of white finishpaint, and the walls two coats of teal.

For the finish coat, I roll the ceil-ing first so that any drips or spatterthat I get on the walls will be cov-ered with their finish coat. Whencutting in the ceiling, I again overlapthe finish paint slightly onto thewalls. It's still not necessary to be ex-tremely tidy; I just try not to leaveany globs of paint on the walls.

Next is the final coat on the walls,and I don't want to be short on paint.I also want a little paint left over incase I need to touch up or repair awall in the future. But custom-mixed colors usually vary from can tocan, which can be obvious if I haveto buy an extra quart to finish a job.

The trick is to overbuy and thenmix all the cans of paint togetherthoroughly before I start. Mostpaints cover around 400 sq. ft. of flatsurface per gallon, and I knew thatthe walls in this room would needtwo coats. So after a little mentalmath, I bought six quarts—or a gal-lon plus two quarts. I figured thisamount would leave me with about ahalf-quart after I was done.

I've seen painters pour half of agallon can into a container and then pourhalf of a second can into the first. They con-tinue this process around until all the canshave been blended completely. Mixing paintin this manner is known as boxing, but I findit easier just to pour all the paint into a 5-gal.bucket (photo top left, p. 86).

Be finicky on the final cut inThe time has finally arrived to take the extraeffort to cut in neatly. I start at the ceiling

"Even if a room has

no stains or

damage, I

recommend using a

primer under the

finish coat. It not

only helps to seal

the surface, but it

also makes the

finish coat go on

more evenly."

Cutting in from the floor. The author first cuts in the upper part of the room from aladder, then works his way around the room, standing on the floor and cutting in.

Painting Msand Ws. To ap-

ply an evencoat of paint,

the roller isdrawn down

straight, backup at a slight

angle and thenstraight down

again, overlap -ping the previ-

ous down-stroke in the

shape of an Mor a W.

The end of the ropes. Ropes, or heavylines of paint, show up when there is toomuch paint on the outer edges of thepad. Running the edge of the roller onthe wall squeezes out the excess paint.

Blend all the finish paint together.Custom-mixed paint can vary in colorfrom can to can, so all the paint ismixed togethe r in a 5-gal. pail beforeit goes on the walls.

You're getting paint on the trim.Overlappin g paint between adjacentsurfaces continue s as the wall paintis extended onto the trim slightly.The finish paint on the trim will cre-ate the fina l line.

Rolling on the finish coat. Appliedwith the same rolling pattern , the fin-ish coat is rolled onto the walls .

Smoothing the walls between coats. Awork light helps to find any lumps or de-bris in the firs t coat. A light sandingsmooth s everythin g out.

line of one wall and cut it in as neatly as pos-sible. It's still okay if it's not absolutely per-fect; I'll fine-tune the line on the final coat.

Again, I create the first horizontal line witha high-quality 3-in. brush turned on edge. Ithen complete the band using the full 3-in.width. I also overlap onto the trim slightly(photo bottom left, facing page), but I don'tgo crazy. For the project featured here, thetrim was to be white, which wouldn't coverthe teal wall paint well.

A paint pan minimizes ropesInstead of working out of a 5-gal. bucket, Iuse a roller pan for the finish coats on boththe ceiling and walls. Loading the roller outof a paint pan gives me better control overropes and drips. When filling a roller pan, Ipour in just enough paint to fill the deep endof the pan. And again, I don't let the entireroller submerge in the paint. When the rolleris saturated, I give it a light twirl to spin offexcess paint from the ends.

I roll the walls the same way I did on theprimer coat, working in 3-ft. squares andmaking sure the paint is applied evenly(photo right, facing page). When the firstcoat is dry, I go over the walls with lightsandpaper using a work light to illuminatelumps or debris that might need to besmoothed out (photo top left).

Cutting in the second coat gives me thechance to fine-tune the line between theceiling and walls (photo top right). Workingin an older home, I often find myself havingto invent a straight line because the cornersare uneven. I take my time and fill in anysmall gaps left from the first coat.

Final finicky cut in. The fina l cut in is themost crucia l to mak e sure the line be-tween ceiling paint and wall paint is per-fectl y straight .

Don't use masking tape to create a straightcorner line, which can make an even biggermess than you're trying to prevent. Instead,take your time and trust yourself with thebrush. You can't do any damage that can't beeasily fixed with either wall or ceiling paint.

The roller pad I used for the first coat stillhad plenty of life in it after one coat, so Ididn't want to throw it out. But I couldn't letit sit out overnight either, so I stuck it in thefridge. I just double-wrapped the roller pad(still on the frame) in old plastic grocery bagsand set it next to the eggs and milk. Paintdries slowly at refrigerator temperatures. Thenext day, I let the roller come to room tem-perature and was ready to roll the next coat.

When I'm finished with the final coat, I usethe curved part of a painter's 5-in-l tool toscrape most of the residual paint out of theroller, and then I throw the roller pad away.

There are gadgets on the market that aresupposed to help with cleaning rollers. Butcleaning a roller pad can shorten its limitedlife span and can even destroy a cheaper padthat has a cardboard core.

Throwing pads away may not be frugal, butbesides being a pain, cleaning roller pads isinefficient. Every time I try cleaning a pad,there always seems to be a bit of residualpaint that spoils whatever I try to paint next.

To store leftover paint, I secure the lid andstore the can upside down. The next time Ineed it, the tint that settles to the bottomnaturally mixes back into the paint.

Brian J. Doherty is a full-time painter and part-timemusician who lives, works and plays in Richmond,Virginia. Photos by Roe A. Osborn.