Whenever I try to paint walls with trim, I get more on the trim than on the walls and more on the walls than on the trim. My hand isn't all that steady, and the masking tape they sell these days sticks to paint like money sticks to
me.

What's the real secret to edging?

Catty

LOL catty! Get that special green masking tape for painting. It has less adhesive and works better than the other masking tape.

OK Tree, I'll try that. Thanks for the suggestion.

Catty

When I painted my boys' rooms, I bought stencil adhesive. I sprayed it on the back of a thin piece of plexiglass. I just stuck the plastic to the wall, painted, removed it and placed it where it needed to go next. It worked great.

For edging and trim, I've found that the little foam rubber brushes work really well...you can put a little paint on the edge and carefully work it into the crease, creating a straight line. You don't even need to have a really steady hand when using this type of brush.

You can buy low-tack masking tape which is used for positioning stencils. It doesn't mark the paintwork or paper. Have fun!

Thanks all for suggestions. Going to try Tree's remedy first, see if
that will work.

Wish me luck!

catty

I do it mostly free-hand. But then I was trained by an old school guy who felt that the brush should be the extension of oneself, and that one must become one with the paint.

There are on the market many helpful tools. There are special roller brushes which are designed for edging.

There are also the blue/purple/green painter's tape. These tapes come in various widths and are designed to stick to the wall and come off without pulling the paint off.

A trick to use tape is to press the edge you are paining with the nail of a finger, running your nail down the length of tape this "seals" the edge.

Note there are many shapes of brushes. For instance one could use a 1" beveled cut bristle brush ( I prefer bristles myself) which is cut at a diagonal - these are meant for "cut" in to the area that needs to be painted.

Cheers

David

Thank you, David. I did get some of that blue tape and found it works ok so long as the paint underneath is completely dry. It did bleed through in some spots, though.

I agree, a beveled brush would be the way to go, and in years past that's what I used, too. But my hand is in no way as steady as it used to be.

Catty