Cutting in a corner is a technique used by professional painters to achieve a professional appearance along the ceiling edge of a wall and in the corners of the room.
It is a simple technique that requires a trim brush. Trim brushes can be recognized by the beveled bristles at the tip of the brush. The shape is similar to a chisel. This type of brush makes it easier to paint right up to the line where two different colors meet.
Cutting in a Corner Against the Ceiling
The Presa Premium 5-Piece Paint Brush Set is our top pick for the best paintbrush set because these brushes are low priced, well made, and the single set comes with five brush widths that should be. I gave up on the corner edger that Shur-Line makes and went with a brush for the corners. The corner edger either didn't cover the spot I brushed it over, or left a bead of paint to each side that. Before you begin painting walls, cut in the edges with a paint brush. Cutting in means that you use a paint brush to paint areas that are too tight for rollers (such as at the ceiling line, corners, and along baseboards and trim). Loading your brush and applying paint the proper way will prevent drips.
- The Best Paint Brush for Trim. Quality paintbrushes are much easier to clean and last a lot longer than cheap brushes. They allow you to paint without brush strokes. In fact, a good quality paintbrush almost does the work for you! I love this paintbrush for painting trim. I own about 4 of them because they’re my favorite paintbrush for latex.
- Smaller rollers of 6 to 7 inches are suitable for small furnishings or baseboard molding. Mini rollers and mini roller covers of less than 5 inches can be the best paint rollers for small surfaces and narrow areas such as edges, corners, trim and frames, as well as hard.
- Apply blue painter’s tape or Frog Tape® on the ceiling to prevent any paint from getting onto the ceiling. Using tape is optional. Pros don’t need to use tape as we have a steady hand. Consider the tape to be a guide only.
- To make it easier to “cut in” the corner, dip the paint brush a third of the bristle length into the paint. Never dip the paint brush more than a third into the paint because this makes it difficult to control where the paint goes.
- Drag the brush against the inner lip of the paint can to remove most of the excess paint.
- Press the tip of paintbrush to the wall slightly below the junction of wall (about 1/16 inch) and ceiling. Gently rock the paintbrush slightly upward so paint reaches the junction, then draw the brush down about three or four inches. Move the brush over and repeat.
- When the brush no longer has enough paint in it to cover the wall, make one stroke that flows parallel to the ceiling. This will smooth the separate strokes.
- Continue working your way around the ceiling in this way until the entire wall has a band 3 – 4 inches wide painted on it.
- Remove painter’s tape if the results after the first coat are acceptable. If not, wait the time recommended by the paint manufacturer before applying a second coat. (Meanwhile, you can apply the first coat of paint to the rest of the wall once you have cut in the corners where the walls meet.)
Cutting a Corner Where Two Walls Meet
If the two paint colors are the same, you won’t have to apply painter tape. The process is the same as for cutting in a corner against the ceiling, only you will start with strokes that move out from the corner first, then smooth the paint in a long stroke that flows down the wall.
Additional Tips That Make It Easier to “Cut In” a Corner
- For textured walls and ceilings apply a small bead of caulk to the corner and smooth out with your finger. Allow to dry completely. Attach you tape to the caulking. This will you deal with textures like knockdown and orange peel.
- Keep the brush about 1/16 inch away from the corner. This will make it easier to not get unwanted paint on the opposite wall (or ceiling).
- Don’t try to work with too much paint. It is far easier to work with a brush that is “too dry” than one that has too much paint on it. Dip the paint brush more often rather than trying to get the job done too quickly.
- Only try to work 4 – 5 inches at a time. You want the paint to still be wet when you do the smoothing stroke.
- Don’t rush. Try not to depend on the masking tape to prevent paint getting on the opposite surface. You’ll be much happier with the results.
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