How to Even Out Paint Mistakes on Corners After Paint Has Dried

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Things You'll Need

  • Tarp

  • Paint bucket

  • Paint

  • Roller

  • Trim pad

Painting your walls can be a time consuming task, and stepping away when the paint is all finished and dry to see mistakes can be disappointing. Inside the home, the most common mistake appears in the corners in a pattern called hatbanding or picture framing. This occurs when a roller applies paint to the interior of the wall while a brush is used to paint the corners and edges along the floor and ceilings. The paint appears to be two different colors and looks like a giant frame. It occurs most often with dark colors but is easily repaired. Unfortunately, the repair often involves repainting the wall.

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Step 1

Cover your floor under the area where you will be working with a plastic tarp to protect against drips and spills. Set up your paint and attach a clean sponge to your paint roller and trim pad. Attach the trim pad to a handle and lay out your tools.

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Step 2

Decide on what section of the wall you want to do first. Avoid repainting the wall by doing the corners last, or you could repeat the hatbanding problem you already have, thereby making it worse. Choose a small section to work with and make sure the initial coat with the mistakes is completely dry and not currently in the almost-dry tacky state.

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Step 3

Load the roller with paint and then tap it on the edges of the bucket to eliminate excess. Paint big X-marks in the section where you want to work. Spread the paint out from the X and add more by using the roller, working towards the corners. Come as close to the corners with the roller as possible.

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Step 4

Load the trim pad with paint and apply a thin coat to the corners of the walls. Using the pad helps produce a similar effect to that made by the roller, reducing the presence of hatbanding and fixing the mistake by evening out the tone. Paint the corners while the wall paint is still wet so that the paint blends together.

Warning

Painting when the first coat is in the sticky stage can cause your walls to texture and increase your finish problems.

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