The Fun of Using a Good Paint Brush

The paint brush is one of the tools most associated with a painter but not everyone realizes the benefits of using a good paint brush.  Before I started working for Ecopainting when I painted, I used those homeowner gizmos that just roll along the ceiling and baseboards and thought they did a great job.  Now when I look at my walls at home, I know how much a difference a proper brush makes.

What Makes a Good Paint Brush?

In my eyes, what makes a brush a good brush is more than just one thing.  A good paint brush is a brush that is easy to clean, holds paint without losing its shape,  doesn’t drip, and most importantly: is easy to use.  For me, a paint brush must have all of these qualities to be worth buying and using. When I first started, I mistakenly bought my brushes at Home Depot.  I spent about 18$ on each brush thinking that the ‘professional quality’ written on the package meant it was a good paint brush.  I used those brushes for the first week not knowing any better, then I borrowed a co-workers’ Picasso brush. I was amazed at the difference.  Lines were easier to make, there wasn’t any more paint drips to clean up from my brush as I did the cutting, and it took much less time to clean.   I told George about my wonder at this new brush and he told me that I could find them at a paint store not too far from my place.  So I went and bought two good paint brushes. At the paint store they were about 14$ and they were a million times better than the original ones I had bought.

Wonderful Wooster

One day George hands me this Wooster brush. He won a draw with a bunch of Wooster tools in it, so each of us were getting a Wooster tool. The first time I used it I wasn’t overly impressed.  Sure it had this nice green comfortable handle but it just didn’t do lines as nice as my Picasso brushes. So it sat in my bag until I didn’t have any other clean brushes and needed to use it. When I used it the second time it was like using a completely different paint brush.  The handle was just as nice as before but the bristles seemed to have just needed that first use and then Bam! It was my wonder paint brush.  Doing laser sharp lines became even easier and made my love for cutting the walls even stronger.
By that point I had about 6 good paint brushes, because George would give us brushes  (sometimes because he didn’t want to wash them), and I really didn’t see the need to buy another brush. But I was given another brush, a Wooster brush which was the same as my other one only a regular wooden handle on it.  It was strange, I had the same problem with that brush, I wasn’t impressed the first time I used it. But after washing the paint out of it, it was exactly like the other Wooster brush.

My Next Brush Purchase? Wooster.

After having the original Wooster brush for 9 months, it’s still in way better shape than my Picasso brushes.  It’s still holding the paint and doing great lines, even if the shape of the brush is a little wider than before. I’ve come to believe that Wooster paint brushes are not only good paint brushes, they’re GREAT paint brushes.  Whenever I need to buy a brush again I know for sure I’ll be buying a Wooster brush and I know I’ll be getting a great paint brush.