For months my wife, Efiwym, has hinted that she wanted the powder room painted. She was willing to help with the rolling on the paint, as long as I could cut in the trim. Since I finished the cabinet doors, I decided it was time to check this item off my “Honey Do” list.
I let her know her offer to help was appreciated. However, having one person paint the walls while another person tries to cut in the trim in a 4-foot by 5-foot space would be difficult. This room has plenty of trim, so the majority of the time would be using a paint brush.
Efiwym purchased some “oops” green paint about two years ago that did not have a destination. The paint finally had a room. Efiwym and I have painted most of our house with “oops” paint. You can get a gallon of high-quality latex paint for a few dollars. I am not sure why we call it “oops” paint. Maybe a store labeled it as such. It was custom mixed paint that customers returned or a paint that was not tinted correctly. We loved “oops” paint and would stop at different stores now and again to check out their inventory. We would settle for “close enough” when we wanted to paint a room.
We were also looking to paint the front door. The color was lighter than the color we wanted for the door, but it was close enough. We had plenty of paint to paint the powder room and the front door. The paint was for interior use, but the front door was behind a storm door and a covered porch.
When I opened the can, the paint had separated. All the colors and liquid were on the top. The solids were on the bottom. I could work a paint stirrer through the paint solids as I mixed the paint by hand. I apparently did not mix the paint well as the first coat was very thin and runny. I decided to just paint the front door and prep the powder room for paint.
The next day, I transferred the paint to a bucket, stirred it some and transferred it back to the can. I did that process three times. The paint was thickening up and ready to go. I painted the door first, and the paint application was much better. I finished the door and then proceeded to the powder room.
Efiwym was out shopping for new towels for the powder room. When she returned, I was finishing up the room. She immediately noticed spots that I missed. Not just one or two, but several. I was steamed, originally at Efiwym for pointing out my sloppy paint job. However, I soon redirected my anger to the paint job itself. I was generous with my paint coverage, so I was frustrated that I missed spots. Since she had the eagle eye, I gave her a foam brush to touch up the wall. Once she was done, we finished putting up the shelves and décor.
Another room painted with “oops” paint. I think this was the third time we painted the powder room. It originally had wallpaper when we bought the house 35 years ago. Check this item off my list.
I am not sure how I learned to paint. I think I am pretty good, but not great. I have painted many inside walls and ceilings and outside trim and walls. Maybe I learned as I tackled each project. My father never allowed us to paint. Even as adults, we did not help him paint. He was good at cutting in trim and at the ceiling. He never used painter’s tape but spent a lot of time covering the trim and space before he put one drop of paint on the walls.
Efiwym did not initially help with painting. She would help prepare the area or clean up afterwards, but I was a paint team of one. She started helping with paint projects by taking on the task of rolling the paint on the walls. She was not a big fan of painting the ceiling. (Who is?) I usually rolled out the ceilings. She was very good, and only occasionally did she get paint where it did not belong, like the ceiling or trim.
Initially, I was a lot like my father. No painter’s tape for me. I would cover trim, windows, and doors with old newspaper held in place by small pieces of masking tape. When the walls were rolled out, I would remove the newspaper and tape and start with cutting in. I would get on the ladder and by distorting my head and body, cut in the ceiling. I would contort my body as I laid on my side and painted along the baseboards. I kept a damp paint rag and screwdriver in my pocket for those small areas where I got paint on the trim.
My ability to cut in trim was diminishing. I started using painter’s tape on the trim. In some cases, I would use it to keep paint off the trim. I would cut in the trim later. However, I was struggling to get a clean line along the ceiling with a brush. I was not always happy with the wall-ceiling paint line. The line could be wavy and inconsistent. Many years ago, I found an edging tool that works great for cutting in the ceiling. It was a paint pad with guide wheels. The wheels rolled up against the ceiling as you press the paint pad against the wall. As I learned: (1) do not put a lot of paint on the pad, and (2) do not get paint on the wheels. Too much paint will ooze out and mess up the paint line and you can imagine what paint on the wheels will do to the ceiling. This tool makes fast work of the ceiling edging and does a great job too.
