Paint drips and runs: fix them wet, fix them dry

A wet drip: fix it now

Rodda Paint's guidance for sagging paint is short: if the paint is still wet, brush it out or re-roll it right away to redistribute the excess evenly. Do it as soon as you see the drip, because paint starts to set and gets tacky faster than you'd expect.

1. Take a brush or roller with very little paint on it, or wipe most of the paint off your brush first.
2. Draw the brush through the bottom of the drip, then back up through it, to spread the excess into the surrounding paint.
3. Finish with light strokes in the direction you were painting, feathering out past the edges.
4. Step back and look at it from the side. If a ridge remains, make one more light pass and then leave it alone.

Resist the urge to keep working it. After the paint starts to set, every extra pass drags it into ridges and bare patches. If it's gone tacky, stop, let it dry and sand it later.

A dry drip: sand, then repaint

Rodda's advice for dried sags is to sand and reapply a new coat of top-quality paint. The only trick is patience. Dunn-Edwards says latex typically feels dry to the touch in one to two hours, but a drip is thicker than the paint around it, and a higher film build can lengthen drying. A drip that feels dry may still be soft inside, and sanding soft paint smears it. Wait until it's fully hard, ideally a day or more.

1. Make sure the drip is rock hard. Press a fingernail into it: if it dents, wait longer.
2. Sand it flat with fine sandpaper, around 220 grit, wrapped around a sanding block so you don't dig into the wall around it. Stop when the ridge is level with the surface.
3. Wipe off the dust with a barely damp cloth and let it dry.
4. If you sanded down to bare drywall or wood, dab a little primer on that spot.
5. Repaint the area with a thin coat on a nearly dry brush or a small roller, feathering outward. Add a second thin coat if it needs one.

For a long run that stands proud of the wall, take the bulk off first. Hold a clean, sharp putty knife nearly flat against the wall and shave the ridge down in a single light pass, then sand the remainder smooth. It's quicker than sanding all of it away and it keeps dust down.

Why drips happen

Rodda lists the main causes of sagging: a heavy coat of paint, painting in humid or cool conditions, and paint that's been over-thinned. Its prevention list also says to sand glossy surfaces, since paint has less to grip on them.

Stop drips before they start

• Load the brush a third of the way up the bristles and tap the excess off, instead of wiping it on the rim.
• Roll off extra paint on the tray ramp so the roller is full but not dripping.
• Apply two coats at the recommended rate rather than one heavy coat. Rodda says that is the fix, and it's what gives you an even film.
• Check inside corners, edges and the bottom of each section as you go, with a nearly dry brush. Drips collect where paint pools.
• Remove doors and paint them lying flat if you can. Rodda recommends it for a reason: gravity can't pull on a horizontal surface.
• Look along the wall in angled light while the paint is still wet. You'll see a run forming before it dries.

That last one matters more than it sounds. Dunn-Edwards describes a room's critical light as light striking a surface at an acute angle and casting shadows that highlight irregularities. A drip that you can't see straight on is obvious in that light, so use it to check your work.

Drips on glossy trim and doors

Trim and doors are where drips show most. Their glossier finishes reflect light, and their panels, edges and corners are all places where paint collects. A drip on a semi-gloss door panel is much more visible than one on a flat wall.

The fix is the same, sand and repaint, but the margin for error is smaller. After you level the drip, repaint the whole panel or the whole run of trim, corner to corner, so the sheen stays even. A small spot of fresh gloss over old can look different from its surroundings. Our posts on painting interior doors and painting baseboards cover the order of work that avoids it.

What if you painted over the drip?

It happens, and the second coat doesn't hide a ridge. It follows its shape, and a raised line still shows in angled light. The honest fix is to let the second coat harden, sand the ridge down and recoat that wall or panel.

Prevention is cheaper: check each section before you move on, and walk the finished room with a bright light held low against the walls. The walkthrough we do with you before calling a job done is for exactly this, and drips and thin spots are what it catches.

Drips on floors, trim and furniture

Wipe wet latex paint off a floor or furniture with a damp cloth right away. It comes up easily while it's wet and gets stubborn once it dries. Dried drips on hard surfaces can sometimes be softened with warm water and soap and lifted with a plastic scraper, but test in an out-of-sight spot first, since scraping can scratch and some finishes react to cleaners.

The best fix is the one in your prep. Floors and furniture get covered before any paint comes out, and a canvas drop cloth soaks up more drips than plastic does. We cover them first on every interior job.

When it's easier to hand it over

If drips keep showing up on a project that's mostly trim or doors, a pro's steady hand can save a lot of sanding. We paint walls, ceilings, trim and doors as part of our interior painting work in Madison and across Dane County, and most rooms take one to two days. Ask for a free estimate.