August 18, 2019
Cutting In With Aura
Most of the time when you are painting interior walls, you want to cut in around the edges with your brush and then immediately roll the open part of the wall so that the brushed part and the rolled part all dry together. In other words, you try to keep a "wet edge" between the cut-in and the rolled areas. Depending on the humidity, you can sometimes cut in an entire room before starting to use the roller, but most of the time you must cut in and then roll one wall at a time.
However, with Benjamin Moore's new Aura paint, the drying time is so fast, and the blend-in is so good, that the recommended application method is to cut in the entire room(or multiple rooms) with your brush and then go have a cup of coffee. When the cut-in is completely dry, then you take out your roller and go to town.
The reason for this is that if your cut-in is partially dry when you roll into it, there is a chance you can create a slightly textured area where the overlap occurs. I have used this technique with the Aura and it was very effective at eliminating both unwanted texture and flashing (a shiny overlap). I would also suggest using the Extender (about 4-5 ounces/gal) to extend dry time.
However, with Benjamin Moore's new Aura paint, the drying time is so fast, and the blend-in is so good, that the recommended application method is to cut in the entire room(or multiple rooms) with your brush and then go have a cup of coffee. When the cut-in is completely dry, then you take out your roller and go to town.
The reason for this is that if your cut-in is partially dry when you roll into it, there is a chance you can create a slightly textured area where the overlap occurs. I have used this technique with the Aura and it was very effective at eliminating both unwanted texture and flashing (a shiny overlap). I would also suggest using the Extender (about 4-5 ounces/gal) to extend dry time.