Painting - One Coat Or 2???

I have painted and primed the entire top floor of my house. In my foolishness of being a new homeowner, I only painted one coat. Now, when I do touch ups, the paint looks different in those spots. My question--When repainting the walls for a second coat, do I have to cut in again, or can I just paint as high and as low as the molding is??? Will I get a line at the top and bottom if I don't recut the walls......:confused: :confused:

You'll need to cut in all the way to the ceiling or mouldings. Thats the only way to ensure everything matches. Depending on the quality,color and finish of the paint, touchups may always show. I've learned the hard way that there are no short cuts or bargain paints! :)

That's good advice. The troubles with 'touch-ups' are many. When you first paint, you roll the wall and the paint goes on 'thin'. A touch up (usually a brush) will apply paint thicker than a roller to begin with. Also, the combined film of paint in that spot is also thicker than the surrounding wall film. So it appears darker. Also, fresher, as it hasn't faded yet. The direction of the 'nap' of the applied paint is also different (think velvet or velour or cordouroy fabric a moment)...stroke it one way as opposed to another, and it looks different. The sheen of paint is the same way. When touched-up, the sheen is slightly varied from the original. Flat paints are easier to touch than anything else, but still, age can be a factor. Best to 'touch-up' the whole wall. Cut in and roll the wall. A quart of paint is usually the smallest quantity you can buy and it will cover about 100 sqare feet anyway. Two thin coats bonded together are always superior to just one coat of paint.

Keith

I am using benjamin moore.. linen white with the eggshell finish...I was planning on the second coat...from what I see, you are saying that cutting in again has to be done??

Yes, cut in again and then roll the entire wall.

Keith