How to Paint Straight Lines. Where to Use Tape
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- Want to paint like me? Go here: www.skool.com/...
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Hi, I'm Jeremy Vassar. I've been painting homes for over 20 years, and I want to help you with your painting projects. My brother Josh and I work together to make painting easy for DIYers and homeowners like you.
I've painted everything-from small rooms to entire houses-and I've tested tons of different products. On this channel, I'll show you all my tips, tricks, and honest reviews.
I know anyone can say anything online, so here’s my story to help you see what I can do.
Jeremy Vassar's Painting Journey
Age 15-21: I started painting schools in the summers with my brother Josh. This is where I learned the basics.
Age 21: I graduated from Temple University and started painting full-time with Josh.
Age 21-27: I worked up to 60 hours a week, painting high-end homes and a large retirement community-up to 60 units a year.
Age 24: Josh and I became co-owners of Handyworks Painting LLC, making our painting business official.
Age 24 (also): We started working with Danken, a company that does kitchens and baths. We still work with them today.
Age 25: We began working with Gemmi Construction, a high-end company. We still work with them too.
Age 28: I learned how to stain wood like newel posts, handrails, and steps
Age 28-38: I kept getting better, learned to work faster, and delivered even better results. We were also able to charge more for our work because of the quality.
Age 34: I started this TH-cam channel to help DIYers and homeowners with painting projects.
Age 38: I launched "Paint Your Home Now," a community to help people paint their homes quickly and easily.
How many rooms I've painted (Best Guesses):
Bedrooms: 2,000+
Bathrooms: 1,000+
Kitchens: 300+
Exteriors (partial and complete): 300+
Family Rooms, Living Rooms, Foyers, Hallways: 2,000+
Closets: 3,000+
Wallpaper Removed from Rooms: 100+
I hope I can help you make your home look amazing with paint!
Jeremy Vassar
Want to paint like me? Go here: www.skool.com/paint-your-home-now-7523/about
Want the best paints? Go here: www.paintyourhomenow.com/free-guide-
Just watched a lady say to pull off the tape while the paint is still wet. If I let it dry, the tape will take some paint bits with it. Is this true? (please)
Tape baseboards always other than touchips. Vertical trim, dealers choice. Freehand the ceiling always. I've taken the time to hold the tape roll, I like it to be able take it up in one shot and less chance of bleeding lol. Tapes balls, one of the small joys of painting. Love it all, great video!!
Nothing wrong with holding the tape roll. The one long piece is quite satisfying, so I gotcha. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for your help Very clear and concise! From a Kiwi in the UK 👍
Oh good! You’re welcome! Thanks for watching!! 😃
Doh! Just painted an accent wall over the weekend using your technique. The edges were super hard because of the textured walls. First coat of emerald matte on knockdown was rough. Corona Cortez worked out pretty well, though. Great brush.
I’m glad the brush worked out well! Textured walls can be tricky with getting a clean lines.
good tips!
Great stuff as always! I used to hate painting but I’m actually starting to enjoy it lately after suffering through painter boot camp lol. Your vids have been a great inspiration and I’ve picked up some really useful tips that work! I don’t have the Cortez yet but for the first time ever I just cut a ceiling in so perfect I could’ve cried😂 I was even able to pull it off jacked up on caffeine but nowhere near as quick as you go through it.
The Wooster ultra pro extra firm was the ticket for that ( out of my ever growing brush collection 🤦🏻♂️lol ) I LOVE that brush!
Runner up is the Purdy XL although I’m not so sure about Purdy anymore with a clear cut elite I picked up to try that shed like a Poodle
Keep ‘em comin Jeremy!🤙🏻
Thank you kind sir. I like your username by the way. That’s awesome that you’re getting some clean cuts! That’s a keystone skill for painting and it’ll pay dividends if you keep developing it. I’ve found that there’s a tier of brushes that are quite useable for most applications (Cortez is still my jam). Thanks for watching and commenting!! We’ve got lots more content coming. Carry on good sir 🫡
@@SuperVassarBrothers thank you brother!👊🏻
The Cortez is next for sure, I picked up the Vegas on your recommendation and couldn’t be happier with it, it’s such an awesome quality brush and I’ve gotten some really nice results with it and Emerald urethane thanks to you!🙌🏻
Great stuff. Straightforward advice.
Oh good! Thanks for watching!!
my dining room is old and the walls and ceilings are super bowed in many spots, leaving major gaps in the crown molding and baseboards. The chair rail is not quite as bad, but I'm not sure how to go about getting a satisfactory look with regard to painting along some of these curvy lines. Tape a straight line and get some paint on the trim? Freehand along the curvy lines? I'm lost.
You want to follow the lines that you have in the room with your cut-ins. It's more important that your lines look continuous than straight. Keep the ceiling paint on the ceiling, the wall paint on the walls, and the trim paint on the trim. You can tape into curving trim pretty easily. Tape is quite versatile and can be placed along curved surfaces. We do that all the time.
Love your videos. Thank you for all the good information and observations.
I’m glad you’ve been finding them useful! Thanks for watching!! 😁
Great vid! I just keep a damp rag in pocket and wipe off right away if my freehand went a little beyond. Also liked your other vid on brushes. Get the artists brush to free hand the tight corner!
Solid moves all the way around 🤙
I finally got my Mom’s permission to paint my bedroom. I was entertaining the idea for awhile and I was worried she would have said no. I asked her again and she finally said it was okay.
Nice dude! Good luck with your room!!
Nice! I remember painting my own room for the first time ❤
I had never painted before. One day thought I’d paint my room. I put tape everywhere it needed to go. Painted all corners with a brush so I can just come in with a roller to finish everything. The baseboard was flawless. The ceiling was a different story. Paint bleed all over 🙄 wish I would’ve seen those painting hacks before I started lol
Taping the ceiling line is tricky. Bleed through is super common. We’re actually releasing a video on taping that line in the coming week. It’s still better to work up to freehanding that line, but if you have to tape it, then there are a few techniques that are useful.
@ yea I should’ve just free handed it. I did one side free hand, not perfect but way better than with tape
Very good video..thanks.
You’re welcome! Thanks for watching!!
Can you recall the name of the green paint color used in that bedroom you painted? I'm looking to paint my office and that green seems perfect.
6204 Sea Salt from Sherwin Williams
@@SuperVassarBrothersThank you!
Great video! Among the Frog Tapes, you like yellow. Am I wrong, or is yellow more for sensitive surfaces? I've used green mostly, and works well. Is green the more 'everyday' version of Frog Tape? Thank you!
Yes, the yellow frog tape is for sensitive surfaces, but I have found that it makes a better seal to the surface than the green. I get way less bleed through than with the green.
@@SuperVassarBrothers great to know! I may try yellow some more!
What about repainting a room with crown molding? I see where painters paint the bottom edge of the molding with the wall paint. Is that preferred?
I am not a fan of that method, but it’s a bit of a personal preference. We paint the crown, then cut the walls into the crown similarly to cutting in the ceiling line.
@@SuperVassarBrothers Thank you!
I believe that your method is the best way to go.
Do you tape down by the carpet? Also i peeled tape and it started to peel by wall? I used the frog tape as well.
I usually don’t tape the carpet but you can if you want to. You don’t usually get a tape line on the carpet because of the material, so you’ve still gotta be careful with your brush.
When you pull tape make sure you pull it at an angle to the baseboard so it doesn’t pull the finish paint off the wall. If it’s a big issue then you can pre-score the tape with a carpenters blade before you pull it.
@SuperVassarBrothers thx
I’m getting ready to sell my house and painting the whole thing myself. Your videos are the only ones I can get through and then remember what I was told. You guys are “the tits”
Hahaha, I'm glad our videos have been useful! On a related side note, we just launched our DIY online community and are taking on free members until the group hits 100 people. After that, it'll go behind a paywall. You may find the course and the community useful as you paint your home. If you're interested then check out this link: www.skool.com/paint-your-home-now-7523/about
How "perfect" did you make your new house when you painted everything? Do you ever just let imperfections go? How do you decide which ones to leave be?
I'm talking things like drywall bows, or maybe imperfections where only skim coating will solve them.
I'm a new homeowner and I'm painting the whole house. Every room has imperfections that I either can't fix or didn't notice until after I've painted it.
Great question! The way we go about it is that we look at the room and assess the state of the walls, trim, and ceilings. Then we decide what's a reasonable amount of prep for the room. Generally we'll spend more time on things that are in people's direct line of sight. You've got to be realistic as to the level of finish the rooms are capable of getting to. Take care of the big eye sores and keep it moving. We also will do a round of touch up spackling between coats 1 and 2 of our finish paint. Sometimes you may not pick up something until you've got a coat of your final color on it. Again, you can spend an eternity trying to get stuff perfect, but that'll end up driving you nuts. Be realistic with your expectations and you can always do more prep and repaint the rooms later.
After years of using cheap crappy brushes i've finally enjoyed the benefits of a half decent one for cutting in. Makes the world of difference. (Although i'm still no expert ☺️)
It does make a huge difference! Thanks for watching! 😃
Another problem with taping the ceiling is that if the corner is not perfect, the tape will make it worse while freehand cutting in can adjust the line. Also while you remove the tape small parts of ceiling paint can fall off.
Corona is a great brush, I have an Excalibur for the past 5 years, this brush won't die anytime soon.
I agree. Brush skills are the way 🤙
Pull tape when paint is dry or wet for baseboards ?
For the products we use, it doesn't matter. Usually we're doing 2 coats so the base coat is definitely dry when we pull tape. The top coat is usually dry to the touch but hasn't cured all the way.
If you are leaving tape on as paint dries do not use high adhesive green tape. Use the blue. Only use green when pulling while paint is wet. But you really do not need tape at all on baseboards.
Thanks for the great video!
You’re most welcome good sir! Thanks for watching 😃
You guys should do some close-up slowmo shots of cutting with a brush with some Barry White as music. That'd be sexy as hell.
I’m sending this to Josh. I’m down like a clown 🤡
Oh and the corners were very tricky. Couldn’t figure them out! Had to wing it on the corners.
We freehand those as well. Treat them like the ceiling line.
@@SuperVassarBrothersYeah I think I need to add more tape or something on the baseboard so that I have more room to make a brush stroke. Otherwise, I guess I’d have to make a stroke from bottom up for the baseboard corners.
It is the " TITS " ?
Indeed 😁
I was in the painting business for 50 years. I've never seen a real painter use a little 2 or 2 1/2 inch angle brush for walls. It's designed for small window trim. I can see he's getting paint on the ceiling and has irregular lines which is unacceptable. He says if you get too much paint on the ceiling it's no big deal to touch up the ceiling. I would hate to have to do that. His best advice is to paint the trim first and then the walls. I never used tape but using it on the baseboard makes sense. But I would just paint the base last.
I get the draw of a squared off brush. I've used the Monterey quite a bit and I like it for some applications. I've seen painters use all kinds of brushes and get both good and bad results. It's a matter of what you get good with.
@@SuperVassarBrothers When I was a teenager and working for my dad, one of his customers had not yet accepted rolled walls but wanted it brushed like in the old days, using slow drying oil paint. I could make a straight line along a ceiling with a 6" block brush. On the other hand if a brush is too small I would find it taxing and take too much time.
@@photographer128 small brush means small mistakes, big brush means big mistakes. With a 6" brush you can make 12" mistake. However I use a 3" Corona Excalibur and I cut in 1 meter with two dips.
@@davidmluca If you are skilled, a large brush will not cause you to make mistakes. The problem with a 2 1/2" sash brush is that you have to stop and start too much because it doesn't hold much paint. That makes it difficult to make a straight line and is time consuming. A 3" squared brush is a good choice, especially for a dys. I would use a Purdy because it is thicker than the Corona. In my later years I got to using a 3" Purdy Nylox Nylonia. It is build differently and has long bristles and a thick stock. The long flexible bristles make precise cutting in easier. It probably holds twice as much paint as your 3" Corona.
True. Sashed brushes typically leave streaky cut ins and if the old base coat paint is even just a little darker than the top coat, it will take 4 cut ins to cover it with a sash brush. A proper wall brush holds more paint giving you better coverage.