Conditioner, steady hand smooth paint lines

Splice Boxes Don't add it directly to your gallon bucket. Use a separate bucket(called a "cut" bucket) to mix a small amount of paint andFloetrol. Something around the size of a coffee can works well. Youwant to have at least 2 inches of the paint mixture in the bottomof the can. Before you start slapping paint on the trim though, there is alittle preparation. A must for getting a clean cut-in line (the line that separates thecolors from your walls to your trim) is caulking. Lay a small beadof caulking where the trim meets the wall. Smooth it out with a wetfinger and you will get a razor sharp line. Without caulking youwill have to fight all the tiny bumps in the texture. You have two choices to make straight lines: a steady hand ormasking tape. I know lots of people who use tape to make the cut-in line. Theonly danger is that the paint will sometimes seep under the tapeand ruin the line. If this happens you can get an artist's paintbrush (one with about three hairs in it) and touch up the line. If you are going to use tape, use 1-inch-wide blue painter's tape.It's more expensive (about $3 per roll) but it will lift off easierwith less chance of taking the paint on the wall with it. You alsocan lift it off and reset it and it will still stick. Make surethat the leading edge of the tape is perfectly straight with noripples or bubbles and that you use one continuous length. If youstop midway down the wall and have to add another piece of tape,you will see the splice. This will be evident if the colors arecontrasting. Once the tape is down you can start to paint the trim. Use aquality angled synthetic-bristle brush for latex and start in thecorner with the latex-Floetrol mixture overlapping the tape. Pullthe tape after the paint has had time to firm up but before itcompletely hardens. Two hours is generally a good wait time. If you have steady nerves you can forego the tape, but this isn'tfor beginners. With the angled brush, get about 2 inches of painton it, tap the sides of it on the inside of the cut bucket andgently scrape the excess paint off on the lip of the bucket. Takethe brush and push it in the corner and steadily pull it across theedge of the trim. Watch the bristles on the outside edge since these form the line.You may have to twist your wrist slightly to guide the brush alongthe caulking. As you approach the end of the trim, turn the brushover, stick it in the corner and paint in the other direction untilthe paint overlaps. Paint the borders of the trim first and thenfill in the field. If you are going to continue painting the next day, make sure youthoroughly clean the brush or some of the bristles will harden andit will be like painting with a dinner fork. You also can throw the brush in a freezer bag and stick it in thefreezer. Just thaw it out for half an hour before you use it thenext day. Michael D. Klimek is a licensed contractor and president of ProHandyman Corp. Questions may be sent by e-mail to:questions@pro-handyman.com. Or, mail to: 2301 E. Sunset Road, Box8053, Las Vegas, NV 89119. His Web address is:www.pro-handyman.com.