How to select the correct paintbrush
The right equipment ensures you get a great finish.
The right size for the job
- 12-25mm: Small jobs and touch-up work.
- 38mm: Good for furniture, small panels, window frames, trellises, mouldings, shutters and downpipes.
- 50mm: For small to medium size jobs, such as doors, screens, tabletops, railings and cabinets.
- 63mm: Handy size for outdoor furniture, cupboards, gutters, eaves and doors.
- 75mm: Choose this for medium to large areas like fence posts, skirtings, fascias and floorboards.
- 100mm and above: Ideal for walls, floors, ceilings, roofs, fences and any large, flat surfaces.
Long-handled cutter brushes
Specially designed for door and window frames as well as painting the corner sections of walls and ceilings. Frequently used to finish roller-painted surfaces.
The right quality
Choose a brush with full-length hog bristles. The brush should also have a generous number of bristles (a good bristle pack). A quality brush holds more paint, provides smoother application and reduces paint spatter.
Matching paint with the right brush
For heavy oil-based paints and gloss, primers and varnishes use medium-length bristles and solidly packed brushes.
Acrylic (water-based) paints are best applied with longer, synthetic bristled brushes.
Brush care and storage
For longer-lasting brushes, don’t:
- Stir paint with the brush.
- Leave the brush to soak for too long.
- Use a wide brush to paint narrow pipes and surfaces.
- Rest a brush on its bristles.
- Leave paint to harden on a brush.
You should always:
- Wash the brush in the correct solvent for the paint.
- Then wash thoroughly in warm soapy water, rinse and shake off excess water.
- Comb bristles and hand shape while damp.
- Hang up to dry.
- Wrap in brown paper and store flat.
