An experienced/professional painter has no problem cutting in 99% of a room without tape or other gadgets. All it takes is a steady hand and lots of practice. If you don't want to use tape, and you aren't a very good painter, you can always use some sort of screen. They sell paint guards that you just put up against the edge, paint, and then move. Of course, that is a lot more time consuming than taping, so most people spring for the rolls of tape. If you are doing a lot of rooms, you might want to buy it by the box. Actual paint stores sell in bulk for much less than $6/roll.

You might be able to rub some thinner on the stained surfaces to pull out some of the color and then stain with the correct color, but this is a long shot. If there is any finish on the trim, then it needs to be stripped or sanded down to raw wood, and with the labor time involved in something like that, you may want to consider just replacing the trim to see which route would be more cost effective. Also, just because there was no contract doesn't always mean the painter has no obligation to fix something he screwed up. If he's an honorable guy and this is clearly his fault, then he should fix it for free or have his reputation damaged.

We get TONS of nice comments on the Frog-tape! When it was first avail. in Nov. '07, we jumped on it. We haven't looked back. Still sells very well here. It was ~ a year b4 I noticed it at the local HD in town!! 2 better (NON-Frog) ways to stop seepage... 1) Use just a TRACE of Painter's-Caulk rubbed along the edge. Use a clean cloth to wipe off what you can see. If you can't see it...IT'S ENOUGH! >>> This is BULLETPROOF. 2) Use your paint to "dry-brush" the edge. You'll apply too little to bleed...just a "haze" of paint. It dries too fast when thinly applied, and won't bleed, but will fill the micro-pores. Personally, I wait 'till next day to pull tape! * It's CRITICAL to score the edge so paint doesn't pull-into itself. * Paint-bonding can take weeks b4 fully cured-out. * During this time, the paint film is better bonded TO ITSELF...than it is to the wall!! * Therefore, if ya don't score the edge, odds are 50% it'll pull into your drying paint. * By waiting to pull tape, my edges are LASER fine, due to the scoring with a sharp snap-knife. Faron

If the paint on which you put the tape has not cured for at least several days or was applied on a surface that was not prepared properly (i.e., lightly sanded and possibly primed), the the tape will pull away the paint. All you can do in this case is go back and touch up the surface on which the paint pulled off with an artist brush. Here is what works for me to get a straight line on trim/wall joints: Apply the painter's tape, then either apply a very thin bead of clear painter's caulk at the joint, wipe off the excess with a damp cloth - you want a very thin layer, let it dry, paint, let dry for 30 mins. or so, then pull off the tape. On ceiling/wall joints, apply the 2" tape to the ceiling, indenting into the ceiling about 1/8". Wall/ceiling drywall joints are always uneven, so it's impossible to get a straight line by finding the exact 90 degree angle point. Indenting into the ceiling about 1/8" solves that problem. When you paint, the wall color paint will fill that 1/8" space, but you'll never notice it. All you'll see is a straight line. After you've applied the tape, paint a thin layer of the ceiling paint along the edge of the tape and let dry. Paint a 2-3" strip of the the wall paint along the tape edge, being sure not to "glop" a lot of paint at the tape edge. You don't need to remove the tape right away. You might want to leave it on until you roll the whole wall because invariably, if you're like me, the roller overshoots and I get a splotch of paint on the ceiling which I quickly have to wipe off. With the tape still there, you have that margin of safety. Once the walls are painted, pull the tape off and you should have a real nice straight line. Another hint for using the Frog tape: Apply it, then moisten the joint edge with a damp cloth. That activates the "glue", creating the bond ahead of time. I found that the Frog tape works well along the side edges of doors/windows/cabinets, but not as well along baseboards. I still like the caulk idea the best along baseboards.