Cutting in and painting your trim, sash, and doors can be done either before or after you paint your walls. There is no set rule for this. Generally, it is easier and more common to paint your walls first, then cut your trim up to the painted walls, rather than do it the other way around. It just depends upon the situation.
To cut in without masking means using the brush to create a sharp line between one surface and another. This takes some practice to get the hang of, but once you do it is very satisfying. There are many ways and styles to cut in, but basically, you will move the brush edgewise along the edge you are painting.
Hold the brush at the base of the handle (called the welt) as if it were a big pencil. This gives you the best control of the brush and will produce better results than holding the brush by the handle. Hold the brush at about 15 degrees to the surface you are painting and begin by painting the surface as near to the edge as you can, then go back and cut in right up to the edge.
In order to cut in rough surfaces, it is good to use a little vibrating or pumping action to get the paint in the uneven surface. Once you have your edge cut in, finish off by spreading out any excess and finishing the section you are working on.
A Good Brush
In order to do this well, there is no getting around having a good quality brush. There are many options to choose from as far as shape and size, but what matters most is the type and quality of the bristles.
There are two types of synthetic bristles—nylon and polyester—and there are brushes made with a blend of both. Polyester is softer, holds more paint, and produces a smoother finish than nylon. Nylon bristles are stiffer and better suited for painting rough surfaces. For the most part, it is best to use the largest, softest brush you can for a given job.
A large soft polyester brush with fine filament will paint further and leave a better look on smooth surfaces, whereas a blend will work better cutting in and brushing textured walls. The rougher the texture, the stiffer you need your brush to be. The larger the brush, the more paint it will hold and the further you can paint before having to go back to the can for more paint.
For painting smooth trim on the interior of your house, you can usually get away with two brushes: a large one (3.5 to 4 inches) for brushing out large flat surfaces, such as doors and wide trim, and a small one (2 to 2.5 inches) for cutting in and painting sash and trim. A 1 to 1.5-inch brush is nice for painting the mullions on divided light windows.
To paint casing and trim, there is usually no need to mask. It is, however, a good idea to mask the floor when painting baseboards. If you are painting baseboard over carpet, it is best to tuck paper or plastic under the edge of the base to catch any drips or runs. This can be tricky if the carpet is tight under the base. In this case, you can fold paper or plastic over a wide putty knife or spatula and push it under the base.
To cut in trim up to walls, cut in the edges first then move to the faces. After the edges are done, get plenty of paint on the face you are working on, then spread it out evenly while working the paint in to any unfilled cracks and imperfections. Once your piece is well covered, it is time to lay the paint out.
These final strokes are what will be seen when you are done, so you will want to get your brush marks as straight and even as you can. This is where the benefits of a wider brush really show. If your brush is wide enough to lay out in one pass, you will really have a professional look.
Sometimes you can guide the brush somewhat by letting a few bristles hang over the edge of the piece you are painting. Using light pressure with your brush standing up rather straight, make your last strokes as long as possible working in the direction of the wet edge.
Always end your brush strokes going toward the wet edge. In other words, back toward the direction you are painting from. Before you lift the brush off the work, allow the bristles to swing under the handle as they come off. This will feather out the paint making it hard to tell where you stopped.
It is a bit of a trick to paint the flat face of a piece of trim without getting a drip on the adjacent edge. The drip happens when you move the brush toward the center of the trim with the bristles hanging over the edge. This is somewhat unavoidable, but whenever possible, work from the center line or inside edge if there is one toward the edge as you spread out the paint. With the brush easing off the edge, you will avoid getting a drip line of paint on the adjacent edge.
Where You Meet Glass
For painting windows, there are some differences of opinion as to whether to mask or not. It takes time to mask the glass, but it can save you a lot of time getting unwanted paint off later. If this is your first time painting windows, I suggest you mask.
There are two options for this—liquid mask or tape. To mask glass with tape, use 1'-inch blue tape. It works well to use a putty knife to cut the tape in place by holding the tape down with the edge of the putty knife right where you want it to end and pulling up on the tape.
It is best to have the paint to cover 1/16-inch of the glass to seal the seam between the glass and the wood. This will keep water from getting in between the wood and the glass, and will keep the paint job looking its best for a long time.
Liquid mask is rather rare for some reason, yet many professionals rely on it. It acts like a primer on wood or metal, but peels off glass. Paint it on plenty thick and allow it to seal between the window frame and the glass. After you are done and your paint has dried completely, incise the seam between the frame and the glass with a razor and peel off the dried liquid mask along with the paint that you got on it.
Either way, once you have masked your window, begin by painting the mullions, if there are any, or the inside edge where the paint meets the glass, then the frame last. Paint the rails (horizontal members) of doors or windows first. Then the vertical side pieces called stiles. This will give the appearance of wood grain running through from top to bottom, which is how they are built.
So far, I have been covering painting the interior of your house. I begin there because for a beginning painter, that is the place to start. Painting the exterior is much more demanding and has much higher requirements for the painter, since the paint on the exterior is a home’s last line of defense to wind and rain. If you are interested in painting the exterior of your house, do some research to learn what is most important for the type of exterior you are considering painting.
Gordon Elliot has over 30 years of experience in working on homes and is on a mission to arm people with the skills and confidence to do home projects they would not have otherwise attempted.
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