How to Change Paint With Bullnose Drywall

Pick a dominant room. This is the room that more people will see or see first. For instance, if you have a large family room and a small den connects to it, the family room would be the dominant room, and the den would be the secondary room.

Paint the secondary room first. In the example, you’d paint the den first, and roll or brush on the paint around the first bullnose corner that separates the den from the family room. Precision is not important at this stage, but you do need to bring the paint around the bullnose corner to about the middle of the doorway. Let the paint dry at least six hours.

Create a vertical line between the two rooms by holding the bottom of a straightedge or a ruler along the wall in the secondary room so the end of the straightedge extends slightly past the bullnose corner. Where the corner begins to round away from the straightedge, make a pencil mark.

Hold the straightedge along the top of the wall and make another pencil mark. This mark should be directly over the bottom mark.

Snap a light chalk line between the top and bottom pencil marks. This is your guideline for applying painter’s tape.

Apply painter’s tape so the sticky edge is on the chalk line and the protective paper border extends into the secondary room, covering and protecting the new paint in that room. Score the edge of the painter’s tape, before peeling it off, by holding the straightedge along the tape line and scoring it lightly with a utility knife.

Paint the dominant room, taking care to brush the paint on lightly along the paint line you’ve created between the two rooms. The painter’s tape will keep you from over-painting but be aware that if you press a roller or brush over the tape, the paint can still bleed through underneath.

Remove the painter’s tape after the final coat of wall paint dries.