[Thom Paine]

Not really, if you would take the time to read, maybe learn there is adjustment in the pad but as noted your just trying to diss a tool that provides a clean way to cut in a ceiling/wall paint line.

You ignoring the intent of this forum/post, we are not talking about someone who has years of practice, we're talking about the average DIY who wants to paint their own room, for that application, there is nothing better out there to do the job.

Get off the high horse and do what is good for the person looking for help!

@ScottAlex

Barring any safety factor....
If a DIYer is comfortable using a tool... and satisfied with the results, Have at it and have fun!

Your undertaking will be better when you are comfortable with the tool.

Pros have years of practiced skills with other tools.

oh, it's ludicrous to believe the knowledge from years of practiced professionalism can be achieved through a few minutes of Youtube viewing.

Some who denigrate craftsmen with such suggestions .... welll, those thoughts should be taken with a pound of salt.

Have fun folks !!

 

[jeffnc]

oh, it's ludicrous to believe the knowledge from years of practiced professionalism can be achieved through a few minutes of Youtube viewing.

Of course, there are many aspects to experience, which is why this forum exists to begin with. And then there is the fact that any fool can start a YouTube channel and pass on bad advice.

But the fact remains, that the basic technique of cutting in can be taught in a very short time. Will you be a pro painter in 15 minutes? No. But a combination of 3 things - the right brush, the right grip, and the right technique - is easily taught and gets you 80% of the way there with little effort.

 

[Marq1]

gets you 80% of the way there with little effort.

Thanks but I'll settle for the 99%, I detest sloppy!

 

[jeffnc]

Thanks but I'll settle for the 99%, I detest sloppy!

If you think you're 99% of where a pro is just by using a gadget, you're living in la la land. Why don't you go over to a pro painting forum and repeat what you said - that the pros should be using your pad? We'll see how that turns out.

 

[woodco]

To be fair, that line is better than most of the 'pro' jobs Ive seen around my neck of the woods. While I dont like the white wrapped over, its better than an inconsistant line. Personally, I think it could use a tightening up with a 1" brush, but its not terrible.

 

[Marq1]

Why don't you go over to a pro painting forum

Because this is a DIY forum and that's who I'm educating.

If you feel your "Pro" technique is better then go over to the "Pro" forum and compare your strokes and leave the guys who paint on a DIY level alone!

 

[jeffnc]

Because this is a DIY forum and that's who I'm educating.

You can do whatever you like. If you like painting with a paper towel, you can. But there are FAR more knowledgable and experienced painters than you here, so you're just not going to get away with "educating" people counter to what the entire pro world would advocate (would advocate for DIYers, not just other pros).

As mentioned, if it makes someone happy, they're free to do it. It's not good advice and it's not good technique. All you're doing is handicapping DIYers from ever learning good technique, which as mentioned takes about 10 minutes to learn. You're being very naive, both with your technique, and with the thought that people here are not going to contradict you. No pros are going to advise expensive industrial tools or difficult techniques for DIYers. They know what they might do in a commercial environment, and they know (way better than you) what would be good for DIYers as well.

 

[Gymschu]

Wow, this turned into an interesting debate. While the pads may have their place and I really root for a product that makes cutting in easier, I've found these to be a huge disappointment. The wheels either get paint on them and create a mess, or, the pad hits an unseen sharp spot and ends up with a slice that creates yet another sloppy mess at the cut line. I can remember the late 70's when I talked my dad into trying these things out, more so the bigger pads for walls........the potential was there for greatness, but, alas, they were slow and cumbersome. It's gonna take something really special to replace the brush and roller.

 

[Marq1]

So a relative of mine just had their entire inside "professionally" painted and this is common throughout the house.

Guess that little gap isn't so bad after all!

 

[mark sr]

Not everyone that calls himself a pro is one.

 

[woodco]

IMO the white line on the bottom pic is an eyesore. The top line should be tightened up a bit, but bringing the dark color just a hair over the corner (consistantly though) is the proper way to do it.

 

[jeffnc]

So a relative of mine just had their entire inside "professionally" painted and this is common throughout the house.

Well since you put the word "professionally" in quotes and showed an example of a mistake or even overall sloppy job, it proves exactly nothing. I can show you examples of poorly applied paint with gadgets as well, so it's a moot point.

This past week I painted an entire house that is being renovated for sale. All the ceilings are textured. The gadget is impossible to use on a popcorn ceiling, or any other ceiling so textured. And that doesn't take into account ceilings that are "flat/smooth" but with drywall and framing flaws, which is a large percentage of them.

Another thing the gadget can't do is a repaint when you're not painting the ceiling. The only way to get the thing to work is to paint white at the top of the wall, because there is a little gap there. The majority of repaints do not include the ceiling. Which means you have to paint the new color right up to the ceiling line. On top of that, there are small inconsistencies in old paint jobs, especially if the homeowner painted themselves. Then you have to go slightly over the line to cover the old paint, but not to the extent that the ceiling needs to be repainted. The gadget can't do that either.

Again, if the gadget were that great, top pros would use them. No pros do.

 

[Marq1]

Again, if the gadget were that great, top pros would use them. No pros do.

I appreciate all the effort to disprove a simple easy to use tool.

As I have stated before, this is a DIY site, not a PRO site, so we're talking about the average guy who paints a room once or twice a year, at best.

Hand him a sash brush and ask him to cut in the ceiling and your going to have a god awful mess (especially when the "pros" cant get it right) the paint pad at least gives him a fighting chance to produce a clean line.

I really don't care what the pros use, I'm helping the DIY'er!

 

[snic]

I tried that pad thing years ago and found to be worthless. It always ended up making a mess. One or twice I got good results but abandoned it because the rest of the time it just didn't work. I'm absolutely not a pro, but I took the time to learn how to cut in and, having now painted a dozen or 20 rooms, I think my ceiling cut-ins look pretty good. Not razor sharp, but certainly not as bad as the slop job the so-called "professional" did that Marq1 showed a picture of!

 

[jeffnc]

Hand him a sash brush and ask him to cut in the ceiling and your going to have a god awful mess (especially when the "pros" cant get it right) the paint pad at least gives him a fighting chance to produce a clean line.

I really don't care what the pros use, I'm helping the DIY'er!

This entire site is here to help DIYers. In less time than it takes to drive to the store and back with that gadget, I can teach a DIYer to use the right brush and hold it in the right way and get the right results. And in all conditions that actually exist in all homes, not just the restrictive ones shown in your photos. And without that weird and unsightly gap.

But of course you're an amateur who can't use a brush correctly, and you're arguing with people with collecively thousands of years of experience, so of course you're right and we're all wrong.

 

[Marq1]

so of course you're right and we're all wrong.

Thank you, I was trying to get that point across!

 

[660catman]

I’m real late to this party and it’s a good one. I’m no pro but when I renovated a house to flip, I got real good at cutting in with a 2” angle brush. I had two platforms with a plank straddling them. That gave me about 10’ to paint without going up and down a ladder. I made sure I did one coat coverage with the brush. I painted the ceilings first completely then the walls. It was a complete 1200+ sq ft house to paint. I did buy one of those tools and tried to use it and failed so I threw it out. You really need a steady hand with brushing.


Retired guy from Southern Manitoba, Canada.

 

[jeffnc]

Larger brushes simply hold more paint. The minimum I would recommend is 2 1/2", but I use a 3" when I can. The well is just so much larger than a 2". Otherwise you can only do 12" at a time and you have to keep going back to the bucket. I just watched a couple ladies do some painting in a house reno I was part of and it was so cringworthy to watch them paint with little stubby brushes and they just kept dabbing it on there, taking like a half hour to cut in at the ceiling. I really had to bite my tongue. Now I know why people talk about taking a weekend to paint a room.

The idea of a plank is a good one though. Any time you save going up and down a stepladder is good.

 

[ZTMAN]

A simple question posed by the OP and a sword fight broke out.

 

[jeffnc]

It's the internet, what did you expect?