The Best Paintbrush for DIY Painters

Not everyone wants to hire the professionals for all of their interior painting needs, and we get that! If you have the time and ambition to take on the project yourself, but need a few tips on best tools and techniques, we’re here to help. This post will hopefully be all you’ll ever need (or want) to hear about choosing the right paintbrush.

While the majority of the surface area being painted will be applied with a roller, we would argue you will spend more time with a brush in hand. This is because you’ll be relying on your brush for trim and other detail work. Those are often the areas that stand out most when inspecting a freshly painted house. We all know how bad it looks when wall paint ends up on the ceiling and baseboards or when that line that was supposed to be straight looks more like it was painted by flashlight in the dark. To avoid these mistakes it is important to start with the right tools. Over the years we have tested and experimented with dozens of different brushes, here are our favorites that we never come to a job without.

First up is the brush we recommend for cutting in and trim work. Cutting in refers to painting the areas where the wall meet the ceiling, baseboards or other trim that aren’t accessible with the roller. For cutting in and trim it is helpful to have an angled sash, or edge. This angle will be extremely helpful in creating that nice crisp line. If you try using a straight edge paintbrush, you’re going to have a much harder time keeping a consistent line and avoiding drips. Our choice for an angled cut brush is the Purdy XL Glide Nylon/Polyester Blend Paintbrush. We linked to the 2.5 inch brush because it's easier for beginners to control, but if you feel confident enough in your skills, feel free to go all the way up to the 3 inch, that’s what we use. Keep in mind, if you have narrow spacing between door/window frames and other objects the 3 inch brush might not be able to fit. Also trim is typically a narrow area that requires serious precision and attention to detail. So if you plan on only buying one brush for cutting in and trim we recommend sticking with either a 2 or 2.5 inch.

For those opposed to rolling the walls, or have an area that is too difficult to roll there is a brush for that! In this scenario you are better off using a wider flat edge brush. Getting a brush at least 3, preferably 4, inches wide will drastically decrease the total time it takes to paint a wall. The flat edge ensures that you get a smooth even coverage over larger areas and can help reduce excess dripping. Obviously this method will still be much slower than rolling, which is why we highly recommend using a roller when possible. That being said, our favorite wide edge wall brush is the Purdy XL Swan 4-in Nylon/Polyester Blend Flat Paint Brush. While we do love this brush take note that it is much less versatile than the angled brush mentioned above. In an ideal world you would have both in the toolbox, but if you want to stick with only one, go with the 2.5 inch angled brush.

Our final pieces of advice have to do with caring for your paintbrush. We know how easy it can be to just quickly rinse a paintbrush and then toss somewhere in a garage or shed when you are finished for the day, but we urge you to not do that. Take the extra five minutes to really scrub out the brush and make sure you have gotten all of the paint out before letting it dry. If you let the brush dry with excess paint left in it the next time you go to paint the bristles will be hard and it simply won’t be able to perform the same. It is also important to keep the wrap packaging that the brush comes in off the shelf. Storing your brushes in the original package after each use will keep the bristles in line and formed correctly. Just doing these two things can extend the life of your brush by years, which will save you tons of money in the long run.

We hope this helped you learn a thing or two, or at least “brush up” on previous DIY knowledge. And as always, feel free to contact us with any questions on your interior or exterior painting needs, we would love to help in any way we can!Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.