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Tips & Techniques

A Neat Way to Wipe Up Paint

Even the steadiest of hands spews some paint. Here's how to clean it up.

By Charles Miller Issue 236 - June/July 2013

Good painters don’t use a lot of masking tape. In the interest of efficiency, and as a point of pride, they cut in with a carefully loaded brush and a steady hand. Occasionally, though, some paint strays onto the adjacent surface. The best way to clean it without messing up the paint job is to wrap a cotton rag tightly over the blade of a 5-in-1 tool. This lets you wipe up the paint with surgical precision and maintain a straight line. I can’t remember what painter I stole this tip from, but I’ve used it since, whether painting stair risers and window muntins, or cutting in trim.

Kevin Ireton, New Milford, CT

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  1. Suburbanguy | Dec 27, 2019 05:23pm | #1

    Show me a painter who can paint like a sign painter and then I'll believe that they don't need to use masking tape.
    Better yet, don't use caulk where trim or base meets a wall. Slip a piece of paper in the joint. ...and put a couple of layers of box board beneath the quarter round when fastening it. This provides a gap into which you can slip a piece of paper so that you don't get paint on that nice hardwood floor.
    Chuck Miller showed a great tip for painting the risers on stairs. Give it a try.

  2. ktkcad | Dec 28, 2019 04:37pm | #2

    A Design-Build company I worked with always contracted with a painting company whose painters wore company logoed dress blazers. They never masked and rarely dripped paint and charged for a job well done the first time. Guess who painted my addition.

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