Brush Marks and Picture Framing: How to Get an Even Finish

A brush lays on a thicker coat than a roller and leaves a different texture. If you cut in around a whole room and then come back to roll, the brushed band has dried by the time the roller meets it. The result is a frame around each wall or ceiling that catches the light differently, often with a visible line where roller meets brush.

The fix is a full coat over the whole wall, done the right way: cut in one wall, or one section of ceiling, then roll it straight away, bringing the roller as close to the edges as you can so it rolls over the wet brushwork. Keep the brushed band narrow, a few centimetres, and feather it out. Stir the paint thoroughly and use the same tin, or mix tins together, for cutting in and rolling.

Brush marks become ridges when paint is brushed back and forth after it has started to tack off, when the brush is too dry, or when a coat is too heavy to flow out. Old, worn or natural-bristle brushes make it worse with water-based paint. Cold air slows paint down; warm, dry air and direct sun make it tack off quickly, leaving less time to work.

Load the brush well, apply the paint across the section, then lay off with light, long strokes in one direction, with the grain on wood, and leave it. Work in manageable sections, panel by panel on a door, so you are always brushing into wet paint. Resist going back to a section that has started to set.

Let the paint dry fully. If you can feel ridges, lightly sand the whole surface, not just the worst marks, so the texture is consistent, then wipe off the dust. Apply one careful coat over the entire wall, door or piece using the method above.

In older homes, take care before sanding old woodwork. Lead was widely used in paint until the 1960s and can be found under later layers. If old paint is sound, key it with wet abrasive paper rather than dry sanding, and never dry sand or burn off old paint that may contain lead.

Our paints are self-levelling, so brush marks flow out as the paint dries rather than setting as ridges. When brushed, they are designed to keep a slight brush texture, because a hand-painted look is often exactly what people want on doors, skirting and furniture. High opacity means you can apply thin coats and still get solid colour in two coats, though three may be needed depending on the surface. What self-levelling cannot fix is paint brushed after it has tacked off, so finish each section and move on.