Can anyone help me with interior painting?

Question

My house is 81 years old with plaster walls and plaster ceilings. Absolutely NO surface is smoothe, and NO line is straight. Where the walls meet the ceiling, it's not a straight line...it's a bit wavy. How in the world do I paint up where the wall meets the ceiling without getting paint on the ceiling? I have found that tape doesn't work well because the paint tends to penetrate it.

I also have the same problem with my mantle. I want to paint it without getting paint on the brick wall it's attached to. Taping is impossible because the brick is uneven.

I feel there's not much I can do around my house, but painting should be the one thing I can do...

I forgot -- if you suggest doing it by hand, what type of brush? Angled?

Answer 1

Really all you need is a steady hand and a paint brush. You can get right up to the corners with the paintbrush and out an inch and a half or so. Then you can go back and paint the rest of the wall with a roller, overlapping what you painted with the brush and getting as close to the corners as you can without getting paint on the adjacent serface.

Angled or not would just be your personal preference, whichever you find easier to work with. Assuming you are using a latex paint, you will want to get a brush with nylon or polyester bristles. Their stiffness makes them good for precision in corners. Also, look at the shape that the bristles come to at the end of the brush. You don't want the kind that is flat, but rather, the kind that is tappered at the end. Really, if you go into a paint store and tell them that you need a brush for cutting-in, they'll be able to show you what you need.

Answer 2

My walls are the same - uneven and crooked.
We left a small gap between the ceiling and the wall...about 1/4 inch or so. It isn't really noticeable. You would have to really be looking for it, but it is effective in fooling the eye. :) Ppl see a straight line.
Around the fireplace use newspaper. Yep. Slide it in behind the actual mantel. You know...in those little gappy places. Then tape the outside edge of the paper to the brick.
A dust pan is great to use when painting things like this. It has a straight edge and it easily held.
One last thing...when you open the can of paint, use a nail and make small holes in the groove the lid fits down into. That way when you pour the pain, what remains in the groove will run back into the can. When you close it the lid will cover the holes, so the paint doesn't dry out.
Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Start with the sheen of your paint, if you are using a higher gloss paint like satin or semi-gloss you are going to notice the uneven surfaces more than if you use a flat or egg shell finish. Also you may need to paint the ceiling the same colour as the walls if the are not very even. If this isnt the case for you, you need to use one of those lovely angled brushes for cutting in along the ceiling, make sure when you are doing this only dip your paint brush in the paint not even half way up the bristles, any more than this will over saturate your brush and you will get too much paint and probally drip, take your time if you want the straight line.

Answer 4

First of all, if your home is that old examine it for LEAD BASE PAINT. If there are old coatings prior to 1977 with lead you need to get a professional to remove it safely. Lead base paint can cause serious health risks and you don't have to eat it to get exposure. When you are preparing the surface or painting you can inhale the particles with lead. Any home built prior to 1977 can have lead based paint and more did.

Also watch for asbestos. Many older buildings use asbestos in the ceilings and possible the walls and definately in the linoleum tiles. Asbestos causes cancer so if you find any have only professionals remove it. And if you are not sure what to look for, have your home inspected. One of my condos had a small amount and my insurance paid for a team to come out from Hazmat and remove it. It was quite and ordeal. So check before you mess with either problem, asbestos or lead based paint. Not worth the health risks.

The only way you can paint uneven areas is with a brush. Roll until you get close to this area and brush it in. Use the right size brush to fit the waves or grooves. I have done alot of painting and rarely use tape. Tape is a nusaince and is sometimes hard to remove. I find it faster and easier to brush all the edges and trim. To move quickly the secret is to use the right size brush for the area. Smaller for tiny openings and larger for straight-aways. Use patience and care in working with these edges and do not get paint on the brick as it is very difficult to remove.
Make sure your paint is mixed well, stir if you need to. It will go on faster and better and with less mess. Cover floors and any areas you can to prevent splatter. And also to prevent splatter make sure you do not have too much paint on your roller and brush. They have devices that help you remove excess before you hit the wall, use them. And work a little slower around the brick.
Good Luck

Answer 5

Blue painter's tape will work. The problem, as I understand it, is bleeding of the paint under the tape. The way I remedy this is to use an artist's acrylic medium (found in the acrylic paint section of any hobby store). I use what's called "matte medium". I tape my area to be painted, and burnish the edge with a credit card. Then, I dip my finger into the medium, and run my finger along the taped edge to form a seal (not too thick, or it will leave a raised edge). It will look like elmer's glue, but will dry clear. Once dry, paint as you would, normally. When the painted portion is dry, remove the tape slowly. You should have a clean, straight edge when finished. This process can be used for painting stripes, and squares. I hope this helps.

Answer 6

The only way to do what painters call the "cut-in" is with a brush. For a beginner like yourself I would suggest a 2 inch angled brush. All you'll need is a bit of a steady hand and give yourself 3-4 inches of cut-in so when your rolling you dont have to get too close to the ceiling and get paint on it.

Answer 7

the angled brush is simplest and did you buy the blue tape for painting? have few drinks maybe itll stop you from shaking lol and you can paint the ceiling or the wall care free and just go over the slop with the straightness on either the ceiling or wall or just paint ceilings and wall same color then no worries

Answer 8

After applying thousands of gallons of paint and having a pretty steady hand, I suggest error/ "OOOPS" happens.

The texture certainly is a challenge and even blue painters masking tape doesn't offer miracles.

What I doin such a case, is paint ceilings, even getting that color down onto the walls, "Neatly" probably.

The eye, connected to the brain distinguishes color and line differently. The "trick" I use is to go back with my wall color and paint it to within 1/16th of an inch from the ceiling. In essence what that allows is that no wall color bleeds onto the ceiling (especially noticeable in darker colors) and the eye is basically fooled. The line of ceiling color pretty much vanishes in that small space.

Obviously when "cutting" into corners of ceiling butting walls, one still needs a steady hand/eye coordination, or some type of straight guide that doesn't actually touch where paint is being applied.

Long ago sign painters used sticks, often with a cushion on the end, and used them primarily to achieve a line for a letter, that was straight,,, or at least straight enough to fool an eye from a distance as you are to the ceiling wall joint.

A similar issue with the bricks butting the mantle. You may find that more difficult, in which case you could paint up to a reasonable distance from brick to mantle and add a decorative molding in the same color as the mantle.

If you really wanted to spend more time and money with the ceiling issue you could add crown molding.

Steven Wolf

Answer 9

At any hardware store you can get a rectangular brush thing with wheels on the side that is designed to paint close to the cieling, and the wheels glide against the cieling while the rectangular brush part paints the wall. Very handy and clean looking.

Answer 10

as an interior designer, this is a commonly asked question. the surefire way to acheive a clean look is to paint the walls and ceiling a continuous color...i.e. cream, taupe or any light to mid-tone. this allows flaws to literally "disappear" and enhances the room's size.
as for the mantle; tape as much as posible and "feather" the painted edges to blend. tried and true!!