A room painted with clean, crisp edges is one of the hallmarks of a great paint job. There are basically three techniques that will give you a professional looking result.

1. Painter’s tape

This tape has been engineered to give clean lines with no paint bleed. When applying, make sure your surface is clean and dry so the tape sticks properly. To remove the tape, score the paint line edge with a blade to cut the seal then pull carefully.

2. Paint edger

This is a square paint pad that slides or rolls along an edge and gives a clean, crisp line. It’s easy to use and you will soon become a pro at applying paint in a straight line quickly.

3. Cutting in

This is painting a freehand straight line which can be challenging even for experienced DIY painters. The bristles of the brush are slowly fanned at the top so the tip of the brush paints a straight line. Painters that use this technique make it look easy but it can take time to master.