Painting - painting room with cove ceiling

undefined Can someone tell me how to paint a wall in a room with a cove ceiling? I can't afford to install a strip of molding near the ceiling to create a point at which to stop the paint. Any suggestions for marking a straight, horizontal line at which to end the paint will be appreciated. Also, the plaster on the walls is somewhat rough, which increases the challenge! Thanks for any help.

I like to stop the wall paint at the bottom of the curve from the cove. measure up from the floor to the spot where the cove appears to end and put a screw into the wall here. Go to the opposite end of the wall measure up the same distance and put a screw into the wall. If it appears to far off from where the bottom of the cove should be adjust it. Attach a piece of nylon twine to the screw any pull it tight and attach to the other screw. This line may dip slightly in the center depending on how long the wall and how tight the twine. Run a 1" tape line above the twine using it as a guide. Stand back and look at your line to check for straightness. Now you can cut in to the tape or carefully roll up to it. You can also use a chaulk line to snap a line on the wall.

It's just like Jeffk says. The reason is that you need a straight line reference. If you do this by eye and then when you get off the ladder and look at your work, it will probably look like a dog's hind leg. If you can't cut-in a straight line by hand, just put blue tape above your line and hand paint up to it or roll with care.
When you peel off the tape, peel it off slowly at a 45 degree angle as not to pull of the original paint under it. It the original paint comes off with your tape is a good indication that there was no primer under that coat. And if that is what happens, then you will have to feather out that uneaveness by sanding or skimming so that it still looks level to the rest of that area so that you can repaint the cove.
Happy hunting. Remember... Patience is a vertue.
ps. My tip for cutting-in at high a level .... always paint AWAY from your body and not towards you... OH!! and breath out when your brush is in motion.
If you don't know why, try both ways and you will find out which way works.
(For those of you that need an explanation, get back to me).

Great suggestions! Thank you! One more question: what is "cutting-in"?

When you are painting with a roller, you have to do the egdes by hand with a brush. This is called cutting-in.
Not only the edging, but around all areas where the roller will not paint in the right manner. If you try to have the roller get everywhere, you will end up with paint where you don't want it etc.