THE BEST TIPS, TRICKS & TOOLS FOR PAINTING
Ahhh painting… you either love it or you hate it. I got paid to do it when I was working as a carpenter, so on a professional level I would say I love it; the reason being the workflow is better. I’ll elaborate; when you’re working on a multi-room renovation you can go ahead and paint all the trim at the same time, turn around paint the ceilings in every room all at once, and then paint all the walls. Now that’s not exactly how it works but you make more progress in one day and you're quite literally not waiting for paint to dry since there is more painting in other rooms to keep you busy - think assembly line rather than one product start to finish.
When you’re painting one room it’s a very different (tedious) story, that said, I’m going to share some of my favorite things in my painting toolbox, my process for tackling a single room start to finish & some of my favorite tips along the way. It’s worth mentioning that there’s a lot of things missing from this list of tools (a roller frame, caulking gun, drop cloths, etc.) but I’d like to think that you already have those things so I won’t waste your time covering it.
Cheap hammer - You probably have a hammer already but I’m here to advocate that you have another one specifically in your painting toolbox, if not for the wayward nail you come across, at lease for securely closing your paint cans. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used the handle end of a screwdriver, painting pole, you name it to try and seal the can because I didn’t have a hammer handy. Just get one.
THE BEST BRUSH - These Corona brushes hold paint so well and clean much easier than any of my previous brushes ever had. Straight lines are much easier to paint (no taping), they grab nicely onto the magnets in paint pails and the handle feels very nice in your hand. If you don’t want to take my word on it check out the number of 5-star reviews on Amazon!
Extension pole - I really love mine, unfortunately, the only place I can find it now is eBay, but the price is pretty reasonable.
HANDy Pail - These are great because they have a little magnet inside the cup that keeps your brush in the paint but don’t warp the bristles from sitting along the bottom. I prefer the small one because I have weak wrists, but they also have a larger option HERE. A NOTE ON LINERS: I find them to be a waste; I just wash my pail out after wiping excess paint back in the can or if you’re working with a glossier paint you can let it dry and peel it out later.
Nail Sets - If you didn’t know you needed one of these, I’m here to tell you that you do. Remember the wayward nail that I mentioned in #1, well this is where you’re going to want a few nail sets in your toolbox. When you come across a nail popping out of your baseboard like a groundhog on a beautiful spring day; simply put the pointy end on the head of the nail and give the blunt end a good whack with the hammer that you now have in your painting toolbox. You’ll want to set it deeper than the face of your trim so you can go back and fill it with putty (see #7).
Paint Brush Comb - If you have one of these and don’t let the paint get too crusty on your brush you can clean it almost like new. A clean brush is a happy brush!
5-in-1 tool - Quite literally you’ll want to keep this one in your back pocket. You can open the paint can with it, scrape stuff off walls, apply putty/filler, squeeze excess paint out of a roller & definitely more since I only listed 4 things and they all probably aren’t recommended uses.
6-in-1 screwdriver - This kind of goes without saying, but it helps when removing electrical plates, lighting fixtures, etc. I like to keep multi-use items in my painting toolbox so I don’t have to run around looking for it somewhere else - ultimately speeding up the project.
TIPS & TRICKS
PREP
If you’re repainting a glossy surface make sure you lightly sand so your new coat of paint can adhere to the surface, alternatively, you can use deglosser for less dust.
Check your walls and trim for holes that need to be filled, high spots that should be knocked off or sanded, and protruding nails (set them as described earlier). Thumbtack holes can be filled using your finger, putty knife, or a 5-in-1 tool. If you have a hole from say a screw that was removed and you see the fuzzy edges of drywall protruding out, you can take the butt of your 5-in-1 tool and firmly push in and twist on that spot. This will create a dimple on the wall that can be filled with putty, I like THIS color-changing putty, it goes on pink and when it’s dry and ready to sand turns white.
If you need to caulk keep a wet rag with you and make sure you don’t cut too much off the top of the caulk, it’s much easier to apply cleanly and smooth without excess product. If you look closely at the tip of the tube, you’ll see diagonal lines, I ALWAYS cut at the first one.
Choosing roller covers: I go for 3/8” nap for walls, it’s pretty standard and that’s what most box stores are displaying in multi-packs (it’s great to have extras laying around). SIDEBAR: You’ll want to make sure you remove any loose fibers on your roller cover otherwise you’ll see them on the surface of your walls. Grab a roll of painters tape and wind a length around the roll (think candy cane stripes overlapping), now gently pull the tape off - that should remove any loose fibers.
PAINT
Quality. What you save in money for budget paint isn’t worth the time in extra coats or additional gallons because coverage was less than superior. I find that Sherwin Williams is always having a sale and I’ve never been disappointed with the midrange Valspar line at Lowe’s.
Whenever you open a can of paint make sure you brush excess paint off the lid and back in the can, this will help keep the rim of the paint can clean and enable you to close it properly. Additionally, you’ll want to wipe out excess paint from the rim after pouring directly from the can.
I don’t recommend painting directly from the paint can. If it’s a gallon, it’s pretty heavy to be carrying around and you’ll make a mess of the edge (making it harder to close properly & ultimately dry out) and if it’s a quart, there’s no handle so you run the risk of dropping it. The HANDy Pail I recommended above is a far superior option, and the magnet inside will keep your brush in the paint and wet if you have to walk away without completely submerging it.
Start with the ceiling! Grab your least favorite full-sized brush and cut in your ceiling. I say least favorite because when you’re painting upside down, the paint will drip towards the handle making it harder to clean. Don’t worry about getting paint on the walls at this point because you can cover it up with wall color later (just make sure you don’t have drips going down the sides of the walls). Make sure the paint is COMPLETELY dry between each coat.
If your roller is making the sound of bacon frying on a griddle, you don’t have enough paint on your roller.
Don't press on the roller. You are laying paint on the wall, you are not trying to press the paint into the wall. It's faster, less tiring and you won’t damage your roller frame.
Use a pole extension on the roller frame so that you avoid or reduce climbing up and down a ladder.
If you’re painting window sashes, check out THIS video from Benjamin Moore on their technique.
Brush out your trim! Again I’m not ever concerned about getting trim paint on the walls because I know I can go back and clean it up with wall color. It’s much easier to paint a clean straight line on the flat of a wall then it is a narrow piece of trim.
If you find you’re seeing overlap marks on your brushstrokes you’re either painting too slowly or you could use the help of Flotrol, which reduces the appearance of brushstrokes.
AND THIS TIP FROM THE IDENTITÉ COLLECTIVE: “The trick to getting a crisp, perfect line when painting a color block stripe is to paint a coat of the original wall color first, then paint the color block. This is key because when you peel back the paint, any bleed will be the color of the wall, not the stripe.”
Whatever you do, don’t do this…
CLEANING
Use plastic wrap to preserve your rollers and brushes between paint sessions so you don’t have to clean them. I’ve heard you can pop them in your freezer if it’s going to be a couple of days before you can get back to painting.
You can totally wash your rollers and use them again, I personally don’t unless I have a quality roller cover, but if you do scrape excess paint out of the roller and into the can using your 5-in-1 tool. If you want to wash it, you’re going to use warm water, soap, and a lot of elbow grease.
Rinse your brush using warm water and gently agitate against the base of your sink, use the wire side of your cleaning brush to remove stubborn, dried-on paint and the comb side to loosen anything stuck in the center. You want to make sure your brush is running CLEAR and then you’ll squeeze out any excess water. Comb it a few times and put it back in the paper sleeve it came it so it dries in the correct shape, taking care of your brushes like this will give them a long and happy life.
Let me know if you have any questions or you think I should add something to the list in the comments below!