House Painting Tools

You might spend countless hours choosing the perfect paint color for your home, but without the proper house painting tools, your efforts will only get you so far.

The previews at the bottom of this page link to articles that will guide you through the different house painting tools available, helping you select the ideal one by answering key questions: What material are you painting? How large is the area? How much time do you want to dedicate to the task? Once you have the answers, you'll easily find the right tool for the job.

When it's time to start painting, you'll likely be choosing between these essential house painting tools:

Paintbrushes

Whether you're covering an entire wall or adding fine details, you're sure to find what you need on this list.

Paint Rollers

For large, flat surfaces, this tool offers both efficiency and ease of use.

Airless Sprayers

They're a bit bulkier and more challenging to use, but when it comes to delivering the highest volume of paint in the least amount of time, these are the best option.

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Paintbrushes

With a few exceptions, paintbrushes generally come in two types: natural bristle brushes, made from animal hair, and synthetic bristle brushes, typically made from nylon. Natural bristles used to be considered superior, but today, synthetics are just as effective. Furthermore, you can’t use a natural bristle brush with water-based latex paints because water causes the bristles to become limp. So, when using water-thinned paint, your brush selection is already made much easier.

Invest in the best brushes you can afford. Spending a bit more for high-quality brushes will pay off in the long term. Quality brushes make any painting job smoother and faster, and they can be easily cleaned to look like new for the next project. With proper care, quality paintbrushes can last for years of home maintenance.

Regardless of the price, you can tell a good brush from a bad one by closely inspecting it in the store. Spread out the bristles and check the tips. The more flags, or split ends, a brush has, the better it will be at spreading paint. Tap the brush on a counter; a good brush might shed a few bristles, but a bad one will lose many. Look for brushes with long, tapered bristles, especially for narrow brushes. As a rule, the bristle length should be about one-and-a-half times the width of the brush (except for wider brushes, known as wall brushes). For example, a 1½-inch-wide brush should have bristles around 2¼ inches long. Longer bristles allow for flexibility when painting corners and trim. Finally, choose smooth, well-shaped handles made from wood or plastic that fit comfortably in your hand.

Paintbrushes come in a variety of sizes and types, and they are necessary for reaching those difficult areas that a paint roller cannot. Here are some of the primary types of paintbrushes:

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Paint Rollers

When it comes to large, flat surfaces like walls and ceilings, paint rollers allow you to complete the job in about half the time it would take with a paintbrush. Painters often use brushes for detailed trim work and for painting windows and doors, while rollers cover the large, flat areas. Paint rollers are available in different widths, ranging from 4 to 18 inches, with 7-inch and 9-inch rollers being the most common for interior work.

Paint rollers designed for wall or ceiling applications typically feature handles made from either plastic or wood, which are often hollowed and fitted to accept an extension handle. The frame of the roller, which can be metal or plastic, slides inside a roller cover. Among the two options, the metal-ribbed frame (also known as a birdcage or spring-metal frame) is preferred due to its ease of cleaning and the reduced likelihood of sticking inside the roller cover.

The type of roller cover you choose depends mainly on the paint you're using. All roller covers are either fiber-covered or urethane-foam-covered cylinders that absorb paint from a tray and release it as you roll over a surface. This rolling action creates a vacuum that draws the paint off the roller. Roller covers are made from materials such as lamb's wool, mohair, Dynel, acetate, or polyurethane foam, and most are labeled to indicate the type of paint they are suited for. Select the roller cover that matches your paint.

The roller packaging will also indicate the nap, or pile length, which ranges from 1⁄16 inch to 11⁄2 inches. For rough surfaces, longer naps are recommended, while shorter naps work best for smooth surfaces. The nap is attached to a tube that fits over the roller's plastic or cardboard frame.

Paint trays are typically made from aluminum or plastic and come in standard sizes of 7 inches and 9 inches. The 9-inch tray is the most commonly used because it works with both 7-inch and 9-inch rollers. Some trays feature hooks that let you secure them to a ladder. These trays are durable and easy to wash, but to simplify cleanup, consider using disposable plastic liners or lining the tray with aluminum foil.

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Airless Sprayers

For smaller painting tasks around the house, an airless spray painter is a practical choice, as it’s more affordable than purchasing both an air compressor and a spray painter separately.

An airless paint sprayer operates with a small electric pump that forces paint through a narrow opening, turning it into a fine mist. The spray cone’s shape can be adjusted to suit different patterns for various tasks. The key components of an airless sprayer include the electric pump, power cord, handle, trigger switch, paint nozzle, spray controller, and paint container. Some models pull paint directly from a bucket or can through a tube, rather than using a built-in container.

Consult the operating manual that comes with the sprayer for proper usage. High-pressure sprayers can be more hazardous than those with smaller hydraulic pumps. With the sprayer cord unplugged, detach the paint container and pour in the paint; sprayers without attached containers use a tube that draws directly from the paint can. Practice spraying on scrap wood or another surface to fine-tune the spray cone and your technique. For even coverage, move from side to side while slightly overlapping the edges. To ensure an even application, keep your hand level with the surface, rather than moving in an arc.

Maintaining an airless sprayer requires thorough cleaning of all parts before the paint has a chance to dry. Pay special attention to cleaning the paint nozzle properly. Follow the instructions on the paint can for the best cleaning methods for sprayers and brushes.

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