# How to paint 2 different colors with a knockdown finish?



## joewho (Nov 1, 2006)

Do you have brush skills? You can take the putty knife and use the corner of the knife to "draw" a line in the corner where the ceiling meets the wall. That's a guide for your brush. You just want to leave a black line as a guide, not a gouge.


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## klemmy (Mar 27, 2007)

No, thats the problem, my brush skills are lacking. I may have to down a few cocktails to steady out my hand and see how straight I can get it.


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

Often in a case like this, we can't be perfectly straight, as the walls and ceiling aren't (they are always at least a little out of square anyway, and in this case now they are lumpy too)

Now don't tell anybody this, it's a secret:
We do it by hand and "follow a line" which means make compromises by following the edges and adjusting as we go along, trying to "make it look like it's supposed to look that way"

Quality tools and quality paint will help
Normally I'd recommend a 2.5 inch Purdy or Corona (paint brush) for "cutting in"
This may be a time where a 1 inch brush would be helpful
...and perhaps a few Coronas (not paint brushes)


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## klemmy (Mar 27, 2007)

ok, the brush didnt work too well for me. Then I tried one of those square edgers with the wheels. That actually worked real well as long as I was real careful not to put too much paint on the pad. A few times I had too much paint on it and now I have colored paint on some of the bumps on the ceiling. Now I'll have to take some white paint to fix up the ceiling. I really hate painting.


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

My girls like those things (my diy household girls), but they say you do have to watch not to put to much paint on them
Other than that, they like them


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## Hamilton (Nov 1, 2006)

My "cutting in" skills are fair, at best.  Here's what I do when I want a razor line from the lid to the wall.

I put wall color on the wall starting at the ceiling and down about 1" wide, I also put wall color on the ceiling about 1/2" wide off the wall; I let that dry. Then I run 1" tape along the top of the wall right up to the joint, press it in tight. Then I paint the lid (using a dry brush near the tape).

I then pull the tape down and, bingo, a beautiful straight edge.


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

Hamilton said:


> Then I run 1" tape along the top of the wall right up to the joint, press it in tight....


klemmy's walls are textured and won't "hold" tape-not tight enough to keep paint from seeping under anyway


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## klemmy (Mar 27, 2007)

slickshift said:


> klemmy's walls are textured and won't "hold" tape-not tight enough to keep paint from seeping under anyway


Agreed, now its in my wifes hands. She's gonna have at it with a 1/2" brush. She's gonna fix all the little spots I screwed up on. The knockdown looks nice but painting it really sucks.


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

I call cutting In K/D "challenging"...

















...in front of customers


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## klemmy (Mar 27, 2007)

slickshift said:


> I call cutting In K/D "challenging"...
> 
> 
> 
> ...in front of customers


Any chance you'll be in Wisconsin soon? If so, I have a nice knockdown paint job for you. :laughing:


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

Lol...
Well, I can't post what I call it when the customer is not there


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## torpainter (Oct 27, 2006)

[Quality tools and quality paint will help
Normally I'd recommend a 2.5 inch Purdy or Corona (paint brush) for "cutting in"
This may be a time where a 1 inch brush would be helpful
...and perhaps a few Coronas (not paint brushes)[/quote]

Purdy brushes have gone downhill since they started supplying home depot and had to cut costs to meet the HD price,Corona are great!Going on 6000 hours with this one brush


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## sflamedic (Oct 21, 2006)

I just painted a room that i spray knockdown walls and ceilings. I just used a 1.5" purdy paint brush and did it by hand. Looks great nice straight line and no ceiling mistakes. just take your time.


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## Dusty (Aug 9, 2006)

The trick I've heard works (not sure about the KD ceiling, but can't see why not) is to tape, paint the edge of the tape (next to the wall in this case) with the ceiling paint. This means any paint that is going to seep is the same as the colour under the tape and any openings in the tape are now sealed. Then paint with wall colour and remove the tape. Apparently this is a good way to get a really clean edge when you can't do it by hand.


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## klemmy (Mar 27, 2007)

I assume you mean to remove the tape after everything has dried? Can you do that without the paint chipping into pieces?


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## joewho (Nov 1, 2006)

Painters secret, purposely withheld.
Several reasons. One is that the tape would have to go on the ceiling, often the walls are knockdown and ceilings are popcorn. The tape would pull material off the ceiling.

Second, it's tricky getting two coats of paint on the tape and then pull it without peeling the paint off the wall. Normally, you would use a razor blade, but at the ceiling/wall corner, it will leave a black line.

And finally, on textured corners like that, it's better to freehand a straight line by eye. Slick mentioned the lumpiness of texture, and using tape will get a straight line, but it won't look straight because of the lumpiness. Without seeing the work, it's hard to recommend or discount this method. If you do use the tape method, the tape has to be pressed firmly, 100% around all the little lumps and bumps. Paint the ceiling color on the wall and then the wall color right away, then pulled right away.


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## Dusty (Aug 9, 2006)

> I assume you mean to remove the tape after everything has dried? Can you do that without the paint chipping into pieces?


Yes, some of the paint would be dry (the base coat would have to be to put the top coat on) but apparently it works. I guess the caution is it only works where tape would normally work (ie. if you wouldn't normally put it on popcorn, you wouldn't to use this idea either) and with tape that can be left on for at least a day without problems. I've never had an issue with pulling tape (I use green tape) but if it's been on there a while I use a razor to score the edge first anyway.

Another option I have tried and like a lot is a cone shaped brush. I got one last year because basically I hate taping and wanted to find a faster way to paint the edges without tape (and all the other gizmos leave me swearing). My chiselled brushes work great but I still mess up sometimes. Anyway the cone shaped ones are pretty reliable once you get the feel of them going.


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