If you are having a hard time cutting in, roll one wall, first, and then do your cutting in. Leave about 6 inches on top of the rolled wall. Then go cut in by your ceiling line etc, and then use a small roller with the same type of roller cover as your large one, and roll it all in to blend it altogether. Utube has several videos of this, if you want to watch one. I think your problem is that the cut in has dried before you did the rolling, and it doesnt all blend in together when you finally do the rolling. If you use floetrol in your paint for an extender, the paint wont dry quite so fast, and might just make it easier for you to get a good cut in. Also when you cut in with a brush, you may have put on a thinner coat of paint. You could try doing your cut in over on one wall, to see if it turns out better. All walls need two coats of paint, regardless if the can says, it covers in one coat. The paint will look much better with two coats.

The issue is called "hat-banding" or "picture framing". Can be due to using a brush & then a roller, causing different textures, that appear different when dry.

I have also read on painttalk.com that it is rarely ever an issue with the newer, higher end paints.

I've never had it happen with any Benjamin Moore paints.

Thanks for the suggestions and of course I used the higher-end paint so that unfortunately didn't help! Although it'll take a lot more steps including getting up and down all the time but it sounds like in the future I just need to paint the walls first in smaller segments and then trim in the top and bottom as I go.

To bad too, because I always try to go slow and do a nice job. It's not so bad that'll I'll have to go back and repaint but of course I'll always notice it! Hopefully as the paint dries further it won't be as noticeable.

This can happen if you’re using a poor quality paint and/or the wrong brush —- latex would work best with a synthetic angled brush.

Brushing and rolling leave 2 different textures. If you don't feather the edges where you have painted you may also have a line of heavier paint.

The way I resolve this is by using a paint brush and small roller while cutting in. Paint with the brush than immediately go over with the small roller getting as close as I can to the edge without getting paint on the ceiling,, trim, whatever. I feather the edges with the roller as it becomes more dry / less full of paint.

Oh my.....so little useful advice here, on a simple matter!

If painting ceiling, do this first! But....

* Brush ceiling-paint thru the corners & down the walls 2"-3"

* Feather-out the bottom so there's no edge.

* It needs to look like wispy, feathery cirrus clouds along this portion.

Now, when cutting-in the wall color...

* Drop down a 1/4"-1/2" below actual ceiling/wall corner, & apply paint in a straight line with your angled brush.

* About every 2'-3', brush this cut-in path down to a wispy bottom edge with quick strokes. You'll want a "Color-band" with a feathery bottom ABOUT 3" wide around everything.

* Yes, I'm saying cut-in EVERYTHING first!

* With modern paints, keeping a "Wet edge" is pretty tricky!!

Here's the REAL trick....rolling over that cut-in band the RIGHT way!!

* All you need to do is get just a TEENY bit of Roller-stipple on that cut-in band, NOT a full roller-coat!

* You don't need to go to exact edge/top of cut-in with your roller. drop down a 1/4" or so.

* So- roll 3' along the top......KEEPING ROLLER BARELY TOUCHING the cut-in portion, but regular pressure on the rest.

* Simply put- you're rolling a horizontal 9" path, with the last 3" lifted just slightly. Think of your homes' rain-gutters. They're straight, but slightly sloping towards one end.

* Then just paint from ceiling-to-floor, in 2'H by 3' wide "blocks".

* When done with the lower-corner block, immediately come to the top, & do a light, even top-to-bottom roll over that column you just painted.

* Now the next 3'-wide column, started-off by your slightly angled 3' roll over that cut-in.......

1st coat is done now! 2nd coat....

* Like first coat, start rolling horizontally about 3', 1/4" from top of cut-in.

* But....NO TILTED roller here!

* Just even, square pressure from now on.

* You'll never see "banding" anymore doing it this way!!!

* My walls at home are absolutely flawless doing this! I'm not kidding.

Faron

@Faron79, full disclosure? You REALLY are a professional painter, right?

I find that it’s always best to do the cutting in around the perimeter of the room top and bottom twice with a very good angled brush. Best to not overload and try to do it in one coat. Everyone wants to get it finished in one coat these days and paint companies tout that their products can do it! So you use a fluffier roller to apply more product on at one time but... you end up with your edging problems because you create a stipple. Best to take your time, do two coats everywhere ( three if you need to get good coverage on your edging)! On the last coat of edging just feather it into the wall slightly.

I can't thank you guys enough. Some great, detailed info here and I only wish I knew some of this stuff years ago! I guess my biggest problem was using the smaller 2 inch roller to paint along the edges in a horizontal pattern and then of course using the regular roller in a vertical pattern. Even though I tried to follow up the small roller with feathering in with a brush it still left the obvious band of paint.

After drying a few days it looks a little better but I may have to just live with it now. Like I said, I'm probably the only one who notices. My wife didn't notice it until I pointed it out.

I have to finish up the project by painting the closet later today so I'll take some of your advise here when I do. At least in the closest mistakes won't be so obvious.

Thank you!