10 Useful BEGINNER Tips for Using a PAINTBRUSH!!

This video is loaded with tips like:
-how to hold a cut can properly
- how to cut in
-how to spread paint evenly and quickly
Among many other tips!!!
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Preferred Painting Tools:

[RileyNA]

Dang it. I've been holding the bristled end and painting with the wooden end. Thanks so much!

[tilerman]

I work in construction and decorators always seem to be at the bottom of the pile, earning the least, and yet, it's these guys that actually makes any job look the way it does. No one, walks into a finished job and says, 'wow, the first fix electrics look's amazing'. A brilliant decorator i know can paint one wall in black, the other in white, and the join where they meet is bullet straight, and he does it in seconds. Absolute perfectly straight. You try it. These guys need way, way more credit.

[edd]

I’ve done all my own painting for years and had picked up on most of what you said through trial and error and experience. One thing I never knew though, was to wet your brush first. I always thought a brush had to be completely dry. And now that I know that it’s ok to wash your brush mid- job, my cleanups will be MUCH easier. Thanks.

[royleevaughn]

Great teacher.... love the video.... the kid is sharp and motivating.. As a long time painting contractor i was taught many years ago not to use a paint can to paint out of, instead use a paint pot.... also never wipe the brush but instead load it and tap it on the side of the pot to maximize the load...
Lastly on the ceiling cut sometimes its good to lay on an underline of paint about an inch below where you cut then cut. As the brush travels it picks up the underline and distributes more evenly.

[robertgaylord]

My father, who was a professional painter, taught me your cutting methods. I had to watch to see if you were doing it to the quality expectations he had for me. You were. He taught me in the 1950's and watched over to ensure I was doing it correctly. Same thing with rolling the wall. There was the wrong way to roll and the way he learned in his trade school after he returned after WWII. Thanks for continuing the fine tradition. He would have approved. He also taught me the correct way to wallpaper a room. He was a master and did papering and murals in numerous lovely homes in our hometown.

[paulsaucier]

I have been painting for almost 30 years and for the first time watched someone on YouTube paint the same way I do. Great instruction!

[lddragracer]

Mike's Painting Service - A good general video for beginners. Respectful tips: Don't scrape the brush on the side's of the can. Dip the brush about 3/8" inch, then tap it on the inside to load the brush with paint. Scraping will eventually start curling the brush hairs also. When applying, instead of painting completely straight with your line, try about a 30 degree angle, and get your brush hairs cutting a perfect line. Righty's usually go from left to right, and lefties the opposite. I use those hand held paint pots with liner's....the best. The term is, "Picture Framing." Don't make your paint line too wide, or you will see it when you roll the rest out. In a bathroom, you should prime it first, because of the high moisture. I use "Gripper." There are also oil base sealers, but they take longer, but work excellent. But over-all Ben, as usual...good job. I watch your video's every day, and learn.

[junefletcher]

I'm not a beginning painter, but I still learned a few things from this video. He's a good teacher, not repetitive like some.

[glorianolan]

At 79 years old, I actually believe I can follow your instructions and paint my little guestroom before my guest arrives in a few weeks! I really like the little painters stool you use. I will get one of those those. Thanks!

[yanni]

I just have to say, your sarcasm is exactly on my level and it makes your videos so much more amazing

[susanmyrick]

You make me so happy, because I am self taught and I do exactly what you do...my husband yells at me all the time for not taping, even tho I tested him to see if he could tell which wall was taped and he failed. I am making him watch this video. 👍

[stevemassimini]

Hey Ben, As someone who doesn't do this for a living but does do a lot of this in my homes. We just bought a house that needs a lot of painting. Your tips and tricks have definitely helped working with patching and working with mud. Thank you!

[johnsidwell]

One of the 1st things I was taught by my mentor when I began my decorating career in the 50s was never to wipe a loaded brush on the rim of a paint can, I was taught to tap a loaded brush on either side of the paint kettle/container.The reason I was given was that if you wipe a loaded brush on the rim you are removing the paint you have just loaded whereas if you tap the side of the kettle the paint remains in the loaded brush

[tsnstt]

I love this guy. He is so smart. So genuine and so charming. This is the reason why youtube exists. No other reason. Keep making videos and keep those trolls away my good mate. Cheers.

[skipperry]

Thank you for those excellent tips. Appreciate the water on the new brush for water based paint 🎉

[dearthworm]

Pro Tips: I was a painter for awhile and have done a lot of my own home reno painting. I was taught to never wipe the brush on the paint can lip. You're scraping all the paint off that you want to deliver to the wall, and I was told it causes the brush to lose it's shape and get fuzzy. As shown, use a can with only an inch or two of paint. Dip the brush and quickly slap it back and forth a couple of times on the sides of the can (inside the can). This fluffs up the brush, charging the INSIDE of the brush with paint and leaves less paint on the outside of the brush to drip. The paint inside the brush is much less likely to drip off than paint hanging on the outside. You can heavily charge the brush and it won't drip, at least for a few seconds while you're moving the brush to the wall.
Then if you're doing detailed work like cutting, and your newly charged brush looks like it might drip, "dump" part of the load of paint along the the line you are about to paint, i.e. just quickly dab it or brush it to put the excess paint aside for a moment while you start the cut. Then you can pick up that extra paint while moving along the cut line without going back to the can.

If you're using latex/acrylic paint (which is pretty much all that is used now), don't try to do all the cutting in a room first, and then do the rolling. The cutting paint will start to dry after a few minutes and will skin over or dry enough to leave edge lines, brush marks, as VC showed in the video. I cut as much as I can reach from my stool, and then roll that area, then cut the next area, and roll that area.

Another important thing when painting is to learn do the 'painter's shuffle'. When moving around the room that has open paint cans, open paint trays etc on the floor, if you need to move your feet and when you're looking up and can't watch where you are stepping, you gingerly SLIDE your feet like a ballerina, so you don't step into or kick over a paint tray or bucket.

[oblivion]

Great lessons for painters. And as you get faster and more efficient, you can tap the brush quickly on both sides of the cut can to remove excess paint, and still have plenty of paint on the brush. I’ve been a Purdy guy for years but have recently used Corona brushes. They seem to keep form and hold paint well. Of course it’s all how you clean it. And for rollers, please use 1/4in or 3/8in naps, no half inch! Will insure a much smoother finish. Takes a bit of learning curve to work with but so much better. Wooster Pro Doo Z are great naps.

[jeffclements]

Thanks for making the video, I enjoyed it! A HUGE yes to buying quality brushes. I used mainly Sherwin Williams brushes for most of my pro career, but have since also used the better Purdy and Wooster brushes, and most recently Corona brushes (I cut in with either a 2.5 or 3.5 angled sash). Good quality brushes perform better, and if you take care of them last almost forever (I have several Sher Will brushes that are over 30 years old and still work great). YES to cleaning your brushes throughout the day. I use a small length of 2"X10", a wire brush, dish detergent (Palmolive, Dawn, whatever), warm water and a brush comb. If I'm storing the paintbrushes long-term, I spray the bristles with WD-40, comb it in with the brush comb, and put it in the shaper. The WD-40 carrier evaporates, leaving a light film on the bristles that helps keep them soft. YES, to tapping the brush on the inside of your cutting can rather than scraping the sides on the top edges. Tapping the brush gets rid of the excess paint but keeps the brush fully loaded for maximum efficiency. YES to coating wooden brush handles with urethane so they're easier to clean. YES to dampening your brushes before using them (although I don't always do that). However, if I pre-wet them, I get almost ALL the water out by spinning them between my hands before I use them (otherwise the water will run down off the brush onto your hand, arm etc). I always spin my brushes rather than tap them, on the brushes edge, on a bucket. Tapping them tends to loosen the ferrule over time whereas spinning them does not. YES to almost always thinning your paint or using Floetrol (latex paint - the paint spreads better and you get better coverage). YES to rubbing baby oil into any exposed skin that might get paint on it. Any dried paint basically just wipes off when you're cleaning up. YES to always using a good quality paint. And finally when it comes to stain blocking primers nothing can beat BIN Shellac based primer from Zinsser. It's expensive, but because it's alcohol-based the smell is tolerable, and it literally dries in like 15 minutes. Good luck y'all, have fun!

[kristinfredriksson]

I am thanking you BIG TIME for your videos which have educated me immensely. You present techniques and tips simply and coherently. I was updating 2 rooms in a 100 year old section of our house, which included weeks of paint stripping and staining some key wood elements in our Kraftsman house and painting walls and the MANY window and door frames in these rooms. It is almost finished (awaiting insulation installation this week), but I watched so many of your videos for this major project that my husband got tired of hearing my lauds about you and your channel. Big gratitude to you! Keep on doing these videos for us DIYers with frugal husbands who are unwilling to hire for jobs their wife learned how to do from you!!!

[frnz]

I've been a painter for almost 40 years now and I can say that we have the same process for painting. One thing different is that I wet my walls first by splashing a bucket of water and then pour paint over my body and roll over the walls meticulously.