Proud of Newly Painted Bedroom!

[emily_in_nc]

bmccasland - I think you're supposed to remove the painters tape before the paint dries all the way. Somewhere between wet(chance of bleeding if it's taken off too soon) and dry(where some of the paint peels off with the tape-sounds like that's what happened to you. Maybe when it's still a bit tacky? FWIW my info. comes from watching my dad and DIY shows, and not from real life experience. YMMV

You're correct. However, except for covering doorknobs and tile and other things I don't want to get paint on, I find that my results are better if I use a brand-new (so it's not straggly) small (like 1.5"-2") slanted brush to cut in between the wall/ceiling and wall/baseboards (just like a professional painter would, though I'm far from that!), I get a cleaner edge. You definitely don't want to do it when you have an unsteady hand for any reason (too much caffeine, too much fun the night before, etc!), but I find that I gain confidence and skill as I go along, so I try to begin in a less obvious area. Now and then I have to come back with the ceiling or trim paint and touch up, but overall, I find that just painting the lines carefully works better than blue tape. Tape takes SO long to apply and you have to press it down really, really hard to avoid bleed-under, remove at exactly the right time, to me it's often more trouble than it's worth.

Emily, who still has two more rooms to paint in her "new" house she's lived in since Jan. 2000...good intentions and all that!

[Mr. Bloom]

I find that my results are better if I use a brand-new (so it's not straggly) small (like 1.5"-2") slanted brush to cut in between the wall/ceiling and wall/baseboards (just like a professional painter would, though I'm far from that!), I get a cleaner edge.

I agree.

BMC: also remember that there's considerably more paint inside the bristles than you can see. Part of what you're doing is "pressing" that paint out lightly as you drag the brush along...this is how you control the "line of paint" that you're laying down.

IMHO, It's important to only use light amounts of paint on the brush when you're trying to cut a sharp edge. I'll rarely dip more that a half inch of the brush into the paint...and I clean the brush often to keep it from collecting too much paint in the bristles.

[Tuckervill]

Mr. Silver and I like the same brushes....I use the 2" trim brush with the beveled end. I just got through organizing all my paint brushes. I'm the person people ask to help them paint their houses, because it's something I'm good at, and I have all the tools.

I was going to ask if that was Valspar's Belgian Waffle, but I see it's something else. I have Belgian Waffle in my dining room and the ceiling in my kitchen at present. It looks very different depending on the light. And I choose my colors by how they "taste", and Belgian Waffle is YUMMY.

Nice colors!
Karen