I find I get the best results when I paint a board laying flat.
If I paint a board standing up, then the paint tends to drip down and form waves or bumps.
On the other hand, when I paint the board lying flat I can only paint one side at a time. If I paint the board standing up, I can paint both sides so it goes twice as fast.
Is the preferred method of painting to paint flat, or is there a way of painting a board standing up so that it doesn't drip? (this would be applicable to fences, for example).
Best Answer
You should be working the paint out to the point that it doesn't run. (People paint walls every day without this problem.) Or buy better paint. (Cheap paint is very watery.)
You may also be applying too heavily. Put the paint on the surface and brush or roll it outward to distribute. You should have an even coat that's as thin as it can be without showing drag marks, bare spots, etc. If you do that, it won't run.
I like to work from one side to the other, applying paint in a leapfrog manner: Dip the brush, scrape one side clean on the container, dab the surface a few inches away from the previously painted area, and work back to it, blending. With a little experience you can actually feel when you have too much or too little paint on an area by the drag on the brush or the stickiness of the roller.