Painting Tool Use and Care

Painting Tool Use and Care

Questions about the use of the various painting tools available and their care. This includes brushes (oil or latex), rollers, airless sprayers, etc, as well as the different sundries on the market (masking tape, paper, plastic).

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Sub-Categories

• Tool Reviews - Have a question about a specific tool? Or maybe you have an opinion of a tool and would like to give it. This is the place for tool review questions and opinions.

Questions with Answers

• HVLP spraying exterior woodwork. - I'm asking this here 'cuz m'eyes are starting to bleed and I still haven't found an answer :) I noticed on your website and have heard from others that an HVLP system shouldn't be used to paint the exterior of a house... however I've spoken with m...
• Spraying Multispec Watercolor with HVLP - Just purchased a Cap spray CS 10000 to use to spray Multispec watercolor. It's a heavy product. What needle size is best? What Pressure pot setting and gun setting do you suggest?
• Using a respirator indoors. - Will an organic vapor respirator do me any good while rolling paint indoors? Kind of cold up here in Vermont(0-15 degrees) to open the windows for long.
• How to hold a brush to paint a straight line? - I have a Purdy nylon Sprig brush. How would I need to hold it properly when cutting in? Thanks
• Question about different types of brushes. - What is the difference between using Sash, Angle, and Trim Brush?
• DIY Painter and Orange Peel From Sprayer - We have been spraying our house exterior but have been getting lots of orange peel on our trim etc. We played with the pressure , even thinned the paint with water about 20oz. to 2 1/2 gals.
• Cleaning a stiff brush. - How do I clean a brush that has been left out, and is now stiff.
• When do you remove the masking tape when painting? - I always use painter's tape especially when painting with dark colors. I gently removed the tape and it tore off a bunch of the paint. I have been told to leave it until the paint is bone dry and I've also been told to remove it immediately aft...
• Solvent for cleaning hvlp sprayer? - Spraying Sherwin Williams Sherwood sealer with Graco HVLP sprayer and it is clogging and spitting.
• What to do about paint seeping under the masking tape? - I have been having trouble with the paint seeping under the blue masking tape. I work the edges well to get a good seal but the paint still makes it under. It doesn't seem to matter whether I'm taping the wall to paint the trim or the trim to pain...
• Using An Extension Pole - Hi, I have found many tips for painting techniques but none about how to use an extension pole correctly. I use to know but I forgot. Years ago a pro painter showed me how to handle the extension pole so the job is done not only well but with mini...
• Is your suggestion of the Makita disc sander the best sander to use for siding? - We're trying to repaint our 100 year old house this summer and keep struggling with our sander. We have a Porter-Cable random orbital sander that is a two year-old model, but has had very little previous use. If we try to sand for more than on hou...
• Another tool than a paint brush to paint wooden walls. - I have the whole of the interior of my house to paint. It's an old house and both ceilings and walls are made of wood planks(horizontal) 4 inches wide. There is 30 (!) of them along each wall. Yes, high ceilings. It's a nightmare! I have done o...
• How do you avoid having the blue painters tape pull off your new paint? - I have just spent the last three weeks painting the fellowship hall at my church and it looks wonderful but when I started to remove the painters tape from the door handles it pulled off some of the new paint and primer. Which required repainting....
• What size of paint roller do I use for hand-trowled walls? - What size of paint roller cover do I use for hand-troweled walls. I bought 3/4" and I think it is too thick. It is a Wooster which seems good quality.
• Airless Spray Pattern - When I use my airless sprayer the pattern has two heavy paint lines on the outer edges of the spray pattern.
• Method for setting up a ladder to paint 2nd story windows. - We have a two story home, the windows, and roof trim on the 2nd floor are set back so that we need to place a ladder on the roof to reach them. What is a safe way to set up ladders so we won't damage the roof or slide down and kill ourselves. The...
• Which is the brush for paint. 100% china bristle or poly/nylon? - Which is the brush for paint, 100% China Bristle or Poly/Nylon? Are both types of brushes good for all the paints or some brushes are good for some paints or another?
• Orbital Sanding Pads - I have a Black and Decker Orbital sander. It was used without a sanding disk and the pad is slightly worn. I have tried a conversion hook and loop stick on, the glue melted off in 3 min and it fell off. I also tried the peel and stick, it fell ...
• Paint Brush Loosing Its Shape - I bought a new 50mm Legend Pal paint brush and it has started to spread out in the middle. I leave it in a 4 liter paint pot on a pot hook with water just below the ferrell when not using it. When using it in acrylic it retains its shape some what...
• What is a weenie roller? - In one of your answers, you said to use a weenie roller. What is that?
• Which pressure washer should I buy? - I am considering starting my own painting business and I am in the market to buy a washer. I am not sure which specs to buy. In your article you say 2500 psi is plenty. Do I just go with this max? When I called the store I was shopping at they sai...

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