Painting Tools: Getting Them Right and Getting Results

If you are thinking about painting a room or multiple rooms in your house, and if you want to make sure your painting job turns out perfect (or very close to it), there are some tools that you will need that are absolute necessities. You should be able to purchase any of these items at your local home supply store.

Prevent Accidents

There are a few tools that you can pick up before starting a painting project that can make accidents stress-free. These include painter’s tape, a tarp or old towels, old clothing you don’t care about getting paint on, and plastic shoe covers.

You can place the painter’s tape along any areas you don’t want the paint to touch, such as outlets, hardware, or the trim. The tarp or old towels will keep your floor safe from paint drips and spills, and the old clothing and shoe covers will ensure you don’t ruin your favorite outfit or new sneakers.

Main Supplies 

There are some essential items that you will need for the actual prepping, priming, and painting portion of the project, arguably the most important portion, as well as the most time-consuming. 

These supplies include at least one can of primer and paint, a paint tray, a wooden stirring stick, both straight-edged and diagonal-edged paintbrushes, rollers, roller extension sticks, sandpaper, a putty knife, and wood filler.

Depending on how much wall space you are painting and how many coats you will apply, you may need more than one gallon of primer and paint. It is important that you use primer if you are painting over a darker color or if you have used wood filler on parts of the walls to repair damage. 

The sandpaper is precisely for if you do end up filling in cracks or holes with filler, and the putty knife is for applying this filler, as well as for guiding it along the wall. The stirring stick will help you stir the primer and paint before you pour them into your paint trays. The roller extension sticks will help you reach the higher parts of walls, which is especially important if your home features high ceilings.

You can utilize your paintbrushes for getting paint around the areas with outlets and light switches, and also for the part of the walls near the ceiling and the trim. Use your rollers for painting the flat parts of the wall as close to the ceiling as you can reach. You should do the trimming with your paintbrushes prior to using the rollers.

Optional Tools

If you are on the shorter side or have high ceilings, you may need a step stool or a ladder. If you are concerned about keeping yourself safe, you can opt for a mask to avoid breathing in paint, rubber gloves to keep your hands clean and safe, and safety goggles to prevent paint from splashing into your eyes. It is up to you whether you feel these are necessary.