Choosing The Brushes And Rollers For Painting

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Brushes

In painting, buy the best brushes you can afford as a rule. They will do a better job and can be reused many times with care. Quality paintbrushes have hardwood handles and flagged or split-bristle tips that hold more paint. Their bristles are anchored at the top with metal or plastic spacers inside a metal ferule. They are tapered at the bottom to deliver a sharp paint edge. Less expensive brushes may have plastic handles, unflagged bristles and blunt ends. Their bristles may be anchored or spaced less securely and be coarser and stiffer-textured, producing more noticeable brush strokes.

The choice between synthetic and natural bristles should depend on the type of paint you are using. Synthetic or nylon brushes are best suited to water-based paints because they do not absorb water and they maintain consistent stiffness throughout. Natural bristle brushes are recommended only for oil-based paints because they absorb the water from the latex paints and turn limp making it difficult to load a brush with paint or keep an edge. You will need at minimum a sash brush, a trim brush and a broader wall brush for general home painting or decorating.

Rollers

Rollers can reduce by half the time required for painting large spaces, while traditionalists may be happy to do all their painting with brushes. The main elements needed for roller painting are a metal roller frame with handle, a disposable textured roller cover or sleeve and a paint tray that hooks onto the shelf of a stepladder. Roller covers come in various materials, from lamb’s wool to synthetics and in 1/4 inch t 1 inch-deep naps. A nylon sleeve with a 1/3 inch nap is a good all-round shoice for latex paints and a smooth finish. Specialty rollers include a 3 inch-wide trim tool and doughnut  or con-shaped rollers for cutting in right-angle corners and deeply indented moldings.