bumping up - any comment?

Buy some artist paint brushes so you can go back and touch up the lines where you don't think they're straight enough. That's what I do.

wouldnt brushing leave marks? that's my question - is there another tool other than artist paint brush that's better and can achieve the goal?

None of the so called tools that get sold at the box stores that are supposed to help create a straight line work - none of them. With a knock down finish (or any textured finish) it is almost impossible to get a perfectly straight line. You can either spray the walls first and then brush the walls or vice versa. If you try to tape over which ever one you painted first, the tape will pull the paint off or the paint will bleed under the tape because of the irregularities in a textured finish. Most painters do hand brush to create their lines and they are not perfect. Perfection is an unrealistic expectation.

ok. i just want to see what's the pros opinion out there. it seems some strive for perfection, some not. just like some who discussed it here http://www.painttalk.com/f6/cutting-clean-line-knockdown-4909/

but i guess that's a minority of painters willing to do this.

i will take a photo and show what level of imperfection is considered reasonable. from what i could see now, the line is pretty wavy (between wall and ceiling; between window or door casing with wall)

i think if its skew, they're doing a poor job. no one draws a 3m straight line by hand. they need to use the correct measuring instruments. they could probably mark various points in a vertical line and then draw it with an instrument of sorts. of course, ensure this is sorted out and do a full quality-check before completing payment

hi all, attached is the photos i took of my home. please let me know your opinion on what you think of this paint job

i havent asked for touch-up yet. but the owner of this paint company has been quite belligerent abt many things so far so honestly i am not optimistic that i can get them to correct such things. i would like to know my options for fixing these (if this is as bad/sloppy as i think)

one is a word doc , the other is a PDF. they contain the same photos

Link http://www.slideshare.net/mishyq/trim-and-wall-paint-49643374

Link http://www.slideshare.net/mishyq/trim-and-wall-paint

I agree with you that it's pretty messy in some of the areas. I know when I've had rooms painted, I usually touch-up a fair amount of stuff after the painters leave. Not sure what the right answer is, but it is annoying.

thank you. i am glad i am not magnifying the issue. it's pretty bad in my opinion considering this is a labeled as A grade painting contractor on Angie's List

TGB1 - how do you do the touch-up? do you use artist brush to paint over it? what's the technique to avoid brush marks? reason i ask is because my trim is spray-painted, and it looks really awesome before it became ruined by all these sloppy paint-cutting

I would not accept this. They need to repaint on the trim.

Sorry mishyq - I've never had anything spray-painted. I would just use a small brush and blend it in as best I could.

thank you. so far the painters have accomplished all these "non-straight lines" upstairs. they are supposed to finish downstairs on Monday. Right now i am really not too confident abt them suddenly being able to cut in paint in a straight line. Is this strong enough reason to terminate the painters at this moment at their job?

please let me know if i am or am not overreacting

i was pretty upset not only over this, but also over the fact that the owner of the painting company was cursing me (using the F word) on Friday. for saying i m meddling too much at this stage and that imperfections are normal -- among all other things.

what's the repercussion of terminating a contractor in the middle of a job?

Did you change your user name?

I would be unhappy with most of the issues you have pictured. In a couple of the photos it is hard to tell if the texture was uneven which would cause the painting to be uneven. You can't expect perfection, but I would want a more consistent result than this. They are not going to improve so I would not continue on with the same painter. You most likely will have to cut your losses - it does not sound like you are going to get any repainting done from these folks. Leave an honest appraisal of the work you received on Angie's List if that is where you got the name.

thank you - i am already pessimistic abt this. today is supposedly their last day to finish painting my home. i know i already have to find another painter to fix up all their mess. the problem is i dont know if i have to repaint the whole thing. or is this a touch-up to fix up their mess

what do you think?

I would have a couple of professional painters look at it and advise you. It is hard to know without being on site. Listen carefully to what each recommends and see what makes sense to you. Tell them exactly what you expect and ask them if that is reasonable and possible. Don't gloss over anything and make sure you are communicating with each. If they are not detailed enough in their assessment of the work and the correction, then go on to someone else as they are not going to satisfy you. Good luck. Painting is always the hard part of a project.

ok thank you - i am extremely disappointed and sad in this paint work bc i have been working wiht numerous contractors to get my home remodeled. and with painting being the final piece of effort to make the home right, this now happens.

I could not open your photos, but would tell you that once I had knock down finish walls painted red, and at the ceiling line where it met looked awful. The painters said they were not finished and added a thin bead of caulking all along the crease of the ceiling and wall. It looked wonderful and straight and even and really set off the colored walls. Would that possibly help in your situation?

hi Sunnydrew - can you show me some pictures of your home's wall/ceiling? and a zoomed up version?

These are the photos - i finally figure out how to convert PDF to JPG

I sold the house and not sure about getting photos that would help at this point. I do understand your problem and it was sloppy work from one of the trades. Looking at your pictures I would say that there seems to be knock down spray that got on the trim and then was painted. Can you try to scrape it off with a sharp blade or even a larger standard screwdriver to see if it will come off. Once you know that it will, then you get your painters or drywall ears to come back and fix it, if that is even possible. It seems as though the "overage" is wide, but if you did caulk along those vertical lines up and down the trim edges you could possibly get that sharp line you desire. Based on what was done at my old house , I think you should at least try the caulk, in an inconspicuous place first.
Your photos are very well done by the way!

I will add, also, that the moldings you have are so close to each other in some cases, it is really hard to paint along there. That is why one should always tape off the trim before painting. Not all painters bother with that step. It is the only way to get a good edge and with knockdown finish you have to be a little tolerant of the uneven lines too. The saving grace is when you move pictures around later and can fill in holes with white toothpaste and be done!

I have california knockdown as wall texture. but all trims (window, door casing, baseboard etc) are caulked up against the wall before any paint work begin.

so yes, technically one can get a straight line if one does the prep work the right way.

i dont think my painters did it in that manner --- they definitely did not tape, and when i made a remark, they get all defensive and said -- this is still not straight enough for you? even in the place they claim to tape (e.g., baseboard), i still see lots of paint bleeding

quite upset now and i think i need to follow Deborah's advice and just get other professional painters to offer remedy to this problem. i just hope i dont have to repaint the whole thing omg

Are you still working on a remedy for this? Who cares if the painters get defensive. It is your money. You should get them to fix it. It drives me crazy when workman treat us (women or any customer) like we should settle for crappy work and then pay for it.

thanks for following up sunnydrew

yeah, this painter is a big bully. i know he wont treat me this way if i am not a woman.

yeah - currently interviewing other painters to finish up the leftovers.

so these are the options from various painters i spoke to (to get better/cleaner/straighter lines), keeping in mind my wall and ceiling both have california knockdown texture.

1) caulk the wall-ceiling border, and then paint a straight line using a tool (with wheels i think)

2) no caulk applied at the wall-ceiling border, but rather, just put a tape on it, and then paint a straight line. i still dont think this can work bc i feel paint can bleed under the tape.

3) free-hand cutting a straight line, no tape and caulk is used.

the method i really prefer they use is a modified version of 2). Meaning, after tape is applied, put a coat of paint (e.g., ceiling paint), then after ceiling paint is dry, apply the wall paint. this is assuming tape is on the ceiling surface of course. this is a 3 step process. my concern with 1) is that caulk may start drooping down over the years? not sure :(. maybe a professional painter here can help me.

Hi, the idea of the line of caulk is that it will create a straight line along the seam where the wall meets the edge.the put the caulking on and pull their finger along the line and it covers any rough and poorly painted "overlaps". If the wall and ceiling are two different colors, white and beige, then it will be further defined.

This method will eliminate the need for a wheel, more painting or taping. It will fill in the bumps of the knock down finish as it goes and thus leave a straight line behind. Have someone try it in an inconspicuous place and you will see what I mean.