28 Must-Have Painting Tools When You Paint (with Pictures)

Probably a must-have. If you want to complete your work quickly, a paint can opener is your very first need.

Paint can openers are used for a quick pop-up of the pressed in lids of paint cans.

Are you pondering about buying a tool just to open your paint? We understand you, so don’t worry! You don’t have to buy a paint opener separately. Instead, try using a 6-in 1 painter. Combining tools will relieve you from the task of remembering what to bring and what not. And next time, you won’t have a headache to find the tool to open the lid of a paint can ever again!

Tape measure is used to quantify the region you’ll be painting. This is an important step as you don’t want to run out of colors for painting a vast area.

See More: How Long To Paint A Room?

You must use blue painter’s tape to protect the surfaces of things you don’t want to accidentally paint over like windows and household furniture. Place the tape on top of the wall while painting a ceiling. Similarly, make sure you cover the ceiling before painting a wall.

See Also: Which is The Best Painters Tape?

“Ah, I accidentally drop the paint on the floor! How careless of me!” Are you frustrated with yourself? Are you tired of scolding in your mind like that? Then drop cloths will come to your rescue! Just lay them on the floor and you can creatively paint your walls without further worries, because drop cloths got your back! I mean, there’s nothing worse than dropping paint on the floor where you didn’t mean to do, right?

Before painting, the first thing you do is to examine the surface. Don’t make the foolish mistake of painting while being ignorant of whatever you’re painting on! You will surely notice that most of the primers leave an irregular texture on the surface, rendering the painting work downright impossible or super difficult. This is where the sandpaper comes in. As the name suggests, sandpapers sand your painting surface down for a smoother and easier painting experience.

You can to use #80 to #220 grit sandpapers, depending on where you want to paint (and how you want it to be), by applying light pressure on the surface.

See More: How to Remove Paint from Wood without Sanding

Primer is not a required step. However, its value is too huge for us to overlook. As you may all know, primers are the white and thick paint that you apply to the surface before painting actual colors on. You maybe thinking “Why the hard work? Just directly paint the wall!”. I understand that at this point, you really want to pick up the brush and become the artist of your own home, but bear with me for a second!

Primer helps you prepare the surface, allowing the finishing paint to bind the wall better. Some primers also protect the walls, especially if the material you’re painting on is not water-resistant. Quite important here, isn’t it?

Furthermore, you should use primer to enhance the uniformity of your painting, hide faults or unneeded lines, and to reduce the number of layers.

Read More: Best Primer Spray Guns and Best Paint Primer For Home Decor Enthusiasts

Forget to mix colors before painting? You are making the biggest mistakes of all times! It is high time to use the stir stick and swirl your painting colors, or else, you will be disappointed with the result.

Asking why? I will answer that for you. Oils in the paint differ from oils in the can, so your painting would be inconsistent if you don’t mix it. And I can guarantee that no one wants to paint the wall with such inconsistency!

See Also: How Do You Mix Thin Paint for Spray Gun?

Avoiding needless messes by using pouring spouts. Pouring spouts also enhance your control over the paint’s direction, reduce messes and improve your overall performance! Ah, so convenient, don’t you agree?

A small pail is essential for painting work. When you’re up on a ladder painting the outside trims, it’s not easy to move down to get the color or the primer, let alone carrying a large bucket during work.

Small pail is, of course, small and light, so problem solved. In addition, small pail not only makes it easier for you to paint on the edges but also helps you complete your painting ideas. These containers of small size cups usually come with handles for quick handling.

Pouring the paint in would require a roller tray. The 9-inch scale is the most common roller tray. You can also use a 7-inch roller, if that’s your preferences. Some trays come with hooks that enable you to connect them to a ladder directly.

The trays are washable and robust. My recommendation is that you should choose some recycled plastic tray liners to ease the cleaning process.

Some people would say the tray liners aren’t needed -well, suit themselves. To me, tray liner is invaluable.

Cleaning up is easier with tray liner, and I think at least some of you out there would hate cleaning as much as I do, right? You can pour all leftover color back into your tray and then remove the liner without removing the color off your tray. This is critical since mixed or drying paint will destroy the paint job in a tray.

Uncleaned trays will fail your painting and change your desired result. How awful is that! After spending so much effort to finish your work of art, boom! Disappear because of some uncleaned trays? Well, not me, because I have my favorite tray liner!

You need to get a screw-on extension to use your roller to enter hard-to-reach places.

The typical roller cover is nine inches long and always comes with a roller handle. The handle, however, should only be used in reachable places.

Read More: Best Power Paint Roller

The roller cover is a paint application tool. We find the 3⁄8-inch nap roller is a better fit for indoor painting, and the 3⁄4-inch nap is more suitable for outdoor spray. The 3⁄4-inch is thicker and more flexible than the 3⁄8-inch and is ideal for pressing the paint onto rugged surfaces.

Washing the roller is essential. Well, if that is a pain in the neck, then feel free to buy a new one every time you paint. Oil-based paint is usually the safest. Oil-based colors can be cleaned with water and soap. Like the rolling tray, when washing them, it’s vital to get all the paint out of the rollers to avoid mixing with the next color.

See Also: Which To Choose: Interior Paint Sprayer vs. Roller?

Are you working on a large open-air space? With a paint sprayer, you can transform your work from one that usually take hours to one that takes minutes. But don’t get too much fun. You’ll still want to use your brush or roller to fill the edges and crevices to get the best result possible.

Flat brushes, including door frames and floorboards, are often used on flat surfaces. Trust me, you don’t want to slice a roller into the walls! Flat brushes would take care of this!

The two or three-inch flat brush will be your best assistant when painting the bottom of the wall. It is also large enough to perfectly fill up the paint line.

Want to cut at a doorway or corner? Make sure you are owning some two or three-inch fine paintbrushes! These brushes allow you to tilt towards the direction you need to paint.

You may want to seal some unwanted gaps. I mean, who would want to see gaps on their newly painted wall? Buy a hole filler right away to cover your surface!

A screwdriver’s primary use is to remove outlet or switch covers. You may also use a flat-head screwdriver as a replacement for a can opener.

What is that weird-looking thing, you may ask. Despite its bulky appearance, Stak Rack is extremely beneficial. Coming in four-sets, you can use them for almost everything. Yes! You heard it right! Almost everything. The triangular form and top point make them flexible for screwing on frames, doors, or just about everything else. A little note: since the Stak racks are placed on the ground, remember putting wooden pieces on them before painting.

More: How Do You Mix Thin Paint for Spray Gun?

Until now, I have mentioned the complete list of items for a successful painting project. While not all the products mentioned are mandatory, sponges are essential for a smoother painting experience, directly affecting the final result.

Ah, edge! Painting the edge is such a pain. Alright, I’m willing to listen to your complaints all day. However, it’s unnecessary when there is a tool for edging right next to you, isn’t it?

By utilizing such tools, with only little experience, you can easily paint the straight lines in no time. It may also be used for side frames such as moldings, doors, walls, ceiling, and so on.

Read More: The Best Paint Edger

Heat guns are very popular since they serve a variety of purposes, one of which is removing the old paint. You can do so by heating the old paint up until it becomes soft and remove it. Easy peasy!

If you have to paint in high places, never forget a step ladder. I mean, what’s the point of painting when you cannot even reach the place? Step ladder would not only protect you from injuring your back but it also makes the painting job simpler.

A wet/dry vacuum is indispensable when it comes to sweeping away dust, paint bits, and other tiny pieces of debris during clean-up. When you accidentally spill paint cans away, this machine will help you clean them up in the blink of an eye.

Old paint layers? Just that, huh? No worry, I will paint new colors on and the old paint will disappear without a trace. If you’re thinking like that, don’t cry when the moment you apply new colors on, what appears before your eyes is nowhere near what you expect. Removing the old paint is a must, and you need to remove it by using apaint stripper. This will make the new paint much more natural and beautiful.

While painting, if you make a mistake, use a paint stripper to scrape it away.

Using the shoes and gloves will protect your foot and hands against any wounds or accidents. Not compulsory for beginners, but if you intend to do some heavy painting works, these boots and gloves are mandatory.

See More: The Best Safety Glasses

A work light will assist you while working under low light conditions and while painting small corners.

As you know, it’s really important to sketch a drawing with a pencil. It does not matter whether you are drawing on papers or painting on the wall. So don’t forget to bring a pen with you as you work!

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