I cut first, dry , paint the 1st coat, dry; cut in the 2nd coat, dry and paint the 2nd finish coat. If it really way up high, someone could get away with just cutting in one time, but that depends on light flow, angles, the MOA, sheen, paint color. Oh and use a really good brush.
best of luck

I find at this point that it really doesn't matter. You just want to make sure that your cut-in areas are dry before you roll over them. Sometimes I cut-roll-cut-roll and sometimes I cut-cut-roll-roll. Both ways it comes out looking the same.

Aura's dry time is only an hour. I cut in the whole room working from one direction. By the time I finish, I can start rolling where I started cutting in and work my way around. I take a quick break and repeat, starting in the same place as the first cut in and go the same direction. I typically get 2 full coats of a room done in 4 hours with Aura.

As far as rolling out, the microfiber rollers are amazing and I highly recommend.

I roll out a 3x3 section on the top half of the wall, reload the roller and repeat on the bottom half and finish with 4 ceiling to floor downward strokes over the entire 3 foot section.

Great paint!

cleo 2007 great post!

Has anyone used Hush color (Aura)? What is the undertone color and how does it look with limited lighting? I have a high cathedral ceiling with only limited indirect lighting.

I realize this is a little late but DO NOT follow paintguy's advise by letting hte cut in area dry before rolling. This is the exact opposite of keeping a wet edge. Cut in small areas, lets say the first 6 feet of baseboard and ceiling and then roll that area out. It is letting the cut in area dry before rolling that causes the picture frame effect we all hate...that and putting the cut in area on too heavy and not feathering it out a few inches to get rid of the heavy edge. Two coats of cutting before rolling your first coat is a horrible idea!!! Like I said, a wet edge is the way to go and this the method mentioned by paintguy would not allow you to do that.

Boman, go into a Benjamin Moore store that supplies Aura paint and ask them the proper way to paint with it. Aura dries too fast to keep a wet edge and you do not get picture framing with this product if you let the cut-ins dry completely. The cut-roll, cut-roll method has been dead for years, even though many paint stores and people on the internet that don't know what they are talking about are still recommending it.

lol, funcolors!
Go to the bathroom before you start and don't stop to answer the phone ;-)

ROTFL! Amen, chispa.

"I don't believe it's humanly possible to keep a wet edge with Aura."

I do believe you are correct!

I have been doing it paintguy's way (cut-in-dry-roll) for years. I consider it the best painting tip I ever learned.

Boman, welcome to GardenWeb.

I love Aura and have learned not to go back on painted area while it is still wet. Aura is unforgiving on this and I had to completely clean my roller to get rid of the partially dry, soggy flakes that came off on it. Happily it dries quickly.

I cut in all the way around room, then roll a top section and cut on that top area right away while wet, then roll beside it, cut in that top section and repeat around room. That way I only have to climb ladder once for 2nd coat. Then do bottom part. You cannot keep a wet edge. Just make sure you let top part dry before rolling bottom.

I love aura. I've done 2 entire houses with it, and it looks great, cleans up well even with the matte finish. Touch ups later are invisible.

In general, when painting, you want to maintain a wet edge, bringing the cutting in and rolling down the wall at the same time. If you are cutting in first, you would be better off letting the paint film totally dry, so as not to lift the half dried film and causing heavy roller texture.

The cutting first (or after) is also especially bad if you are going over poor paint and are hoping to get by with only one coat. doing so will liking result in a shiny margin where the cutting in was done, as you will have partially double coated and sealed these areas. The double coated areas can actually change the color of the paint slightly too, due to the rate of drying. Paint pigments which dry extremely fast over poorly sealed areas can change color to where the paint had a lot of time for the pigments to disperse differently!

Also, if you are doing the cut in first system, it behooves you to make sure you have boxed the paint first, otherwise you risk shading in the color.

I have personally never used the Aura, so I defer to the view of those who have. I speak only of general painting technique. I assume the Aura would be limited to well sealed walls or where a two coat application is intended.

T

David Aura Paint is different than other paint. Your advice works with most paints but not Aura. Aura dries very fast and you shouldn't even try to cut and roll at the same time or keep a wet edge between the two because it won't happen. Unlike other paints, rolling over a dried cut in later is seamless with Aura. I would just make sure you use a small roller to go over your cut in as you go. At least that's what I do.

StehpE,

Such instructions sound counterintuitive to a professional painter who always has to consider speed of application along with a paints other positive attributes

It may sound counter intuitive and incorrect to you as a professional, but this post is specifically about Aura, not other paints or usual techniques that do not apply to this paint. I would encourage you to try Aura. Only then will you actually know.

The information in this thread is especially important for DIYers.

Specifically, that the modern formulation of Aura means it is impossible to "keep a wet edge". I want to emphasize that fact so no one walks away from this thread thinking that they are doing something wrong because they can't successfully do the "keep a wet edge" thing when applying Aura.

Aura is like nail polish. Apply it purposefully and do not brush back into your strokes. Wait until it's "set not wet" before applying more - for example, rolling into your cut-in edges.

I can't tell a difference anymore between Regal and Aura in terms of dry time actually. In fact, I find that all paints these days dry too fast to use the old keeping a wet edge methods. If you cut in an area, you have like 2 minutes before it is too late to start going over that area with a roller. Can you cut and roll a wall in 2 minutes? If not, then you are best off leaving your cut in areas to completely dry before you start rolling.

exactly ^^

Not to threadjack, but since paintguy22 mentioned Regal :) : W/ Regal, I need to cut in the whole room before rolling anything, right??? Can I cut in say three rooms and then roll the next day? Trying to decide how many days it will take to paint the condo (LR/kithcen combo, hallway, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, condo is approx 1050 sq ft).

To keep this kind of on track, is Aura preferable to Regal? It's a beach condo but not right on the water. It's not rented out, but kids may be there from time to time.

Yes Aura is a better quality paint than Regal. Regal is just one step above Ben. I used Regal a couple of times, and I've always cut in and rolled at the same time with this paint. I'm not sure if you can wait like you can with Aura.

You probably want to get Eggshell, not flat or matte if you have kids and visitors. I would just get Aura and you will be able to do what you are looking to do with painting in stages. I would just make sure you use a small roller while cutting in to feather it a bit.

In theory, Aura is better than Regal. I quit using the Aura eggshell a few years back though. I was having problems with roller marks and I also had 3 customer complaints that in bathrooms, the shower moisture would sit on the walls and then there would be lines in the paint that wouldn't wash away. I will still use Aura Matte though, just not in bathrooms. I honestly cannot imagine that Aura is noticeably more durable than Regal. Regal is pretty good paint. Yes, it is just fine to cut in and then roll the next day.

In my experience, Regal goes on thinner than Aura. I've had no issues with Aura in Satin in both my bathrooms, and I have terrible ventilation. The rest of my home is painted in Aura Eggshell. This is the only paint that I've been able to achieve absolutely no roller marks, even with Satin, but you can't stop when you are rolling. You just keep going, and don't look back. Other paints that I would cut in and roll later, left a noticeable line between the two and of course roller marks.

Hi all, about to paint the house and the company said 1-Coat is enough with Aura. We’re going with chantillís lace for trim (in satin) and pale oak ok walls in matte. The current wall colors aren’t very dark, but they’re not white. Thoughts on whether I should trust this recommendation? I’ve never used Aura before. Thanks!

Don't do it.

The color does not render out correctly with one coat of paint. If you want the color you see on the chip, then you need two coats of paint.

Also, no one can paint a wall without a holiday (missed/uneven spots) here and there. What happens with one coat is they go back and 'touch-up' the holidays. Aura is better than most paints for touching up, but if the light hits it right you can see it.

Looks fine the day of painting, when you're inspecting the job. It's over time living with the new color that you notice flashes of where they touched it up. Of course, it's too late at that point. They're not going to come back and roll the wall - the right way. Nope, it will be too late and you're just gonna have to live with it.

The prep is the bulk of the labor. Rolling on a second coat when everything is prepped, covered, etc. is not that much more work.

If you do two coats, you know you're gonna get your color and you know you're going to have a perfectly even finish, no holidays.

And frankly two coats wears, lasts, and just looks better than one.

That’s what my gut was telling me. I really appreciate your professional and detailed recommendation!!

You are never wrong to two coat, but sometimes it is overkill. Manufacturers encourage two coats because it solves a lot of common problems, especially of DYI'ers: flashing over poorly seal walls, poor coverage of certain colors, possible color variations due to different drying times, etc.

Two coats are never overkill. One coat is a half-azzed job.

Feel free to waste your labor and money!

Pretty is never a waste of labor or money.

I deal with painters on a regular basis who don't get this. And I don't let this one go because it matters. I will push back.

Two coats looks prettier - it just does.

The color looks better and the final finish feels better, has a nicer 'hand'.

Plus, two coats wears better. That's just common sense that two layers of paint film will hold up better than one.

Rubicon means going past the point of no return.

That sums up a second coat of paint. You've already gone so far preparing the room/exterior to be painted. Might as well go the distance and do it right.

The second coat takes less time because the prep is already done.

It doesn't take as much product to go over the first layer of paint film - it takes less paint the second time around.

The cost of the second coat in terms of labor and money is nominal relative to the cost of the entire project.

Often is over kill:

You are freshening up a room that has a good coat of paint of a similar color, i.e. in the same family. More than one coat is overkill.

My least favorite job was one where the homeowners were immaculate and the walls were pristine. I'd ask them what the new color was to be and they answered "make it the same". I'd go through all this work and when I left, it was as if I had wasted my time. Totally unsatisfying!

Curiously, the most satisfying jobs were those that were really dirty or otherwise messed up. When you finished the job, you really had a feeling of accomplishment. Yet even here, if the new colors were similar, the old paint was a good quality, and the old schmutz has been washed off, two coats can be a waste of time and money.

The current color is darker than the new color by more than a few shades.

Stephen, I am not against two coating when necessary. Significant change, as to light/dark and color family, poorly sealed walls, etc. make it advisable to two coat. I just object to dogmatic statements that two coats is always beneficial.

That's me. The dogmatic color expert. Not budging. Do two coats or don't bother.

The problem we often run into with trying to do one coat is the patching. You can spot prime the patches with primer or with the actual paint that you are using, but many times these spot primed areas flash. Doing two full coats solves this issue.

1. PaintGuy, Agreed. The scenario is that the room is in generally good condition with minimal patching A smidgeon of spackle in a nail whole does not require any great effort.

Must not be human- just kept a wet edge with Aura. Have to admit it was a bit of a workout.

lol! :) You go!

Regarding @paintguy22's comment about having complications with Aura matte in the bathroom, Benjamin Moore now has an Aura matte called Spa and Bath that is specifically designed for bathrooms and wet areas.

Behr Ultra Matte.was always rated for bath and kitchen use, due to its technology which utilizes Nano particles of Zinc. It makes for a very dense and mildew resistant finish. I personally had this paint in both my baths for over 6 years with good performance. Recently it was made into a "Scrubbable Flat". It is a true flat which is highly scuff resistant.