Ditch, I think you're right about the flashing. A one foot section on the east wall between the closet and south wall needs another coat on the field which is either coat 5 or 6. It is slightly noticable now but I know it is there.

Tbn, no more straight paint and primer for me I will always primer first from now on regardless of what paint I get. I didn't have this issue with the rest of the house on dark and pastel colors because I primed first and used a Benjamin Moore off white.

Niteprowler, take the extra time and money and use a primer first. I've never had paint flash before and it is terrible. I learned the hard way.

The west wall needs another coat or 2 in the field. I'm thinking priming the cuts and redoing the cuts instead since my paint in now running low

Just remember, every coat of paint makes a room a little bit smaller.

Keith

Like others said keep a wet edge . Keep your brush cuts small by using a 4" roller in the same fabric and nap size as your 9 " or 18 ". Blend your field into your cuts while wet if you can.

Two coats with this process is all you should need . Some brands of paint are crap .......wrong colorant , wrong base , not miixed properly .........dark colors are more problematic

You're right, much more switching between brush and roller. This is NOT how I would normally do it, nor how I would normally recommend someone paint a room. The reason I suggested this was because it sounded like a flashing problem (the cut drying to much before rolling, leaving a noticeable difference between the cut and roll). This is usually more of a problem with higher sheens like semigloss or high gloss, but can happen with satin and eg-shel. The color being used can make a difference too. Not knowing the color being applied, nor his painting style/speed, this was just an option to try.
Note - I AM a professional painter with almost 20 years in the field. I've worked for a few different companies, did big and small jobs across the country from California to Maine, Texas to Washington and also owned/operated my own company for 5 1/2 years.

It looks the same to me.....

Thanks everyone I appreciate. It finally looks decent. The east wall took 5-6 coats the west wall took 4 coats. I think what happened was even though the walls are fairly small the summer heat and ac made the dry time very quick. Lesson learned.... don't trust paint and primer combo! It stinks because I don't ever remember having this issue with paint primer combo. But I'll always prime first like I've done in the past.