Tips from our brush experts
Whether you’re a first time DIY-er or you’re just looking for the best tool for your current job, if you’re not an expert it can be hard to know what brush to choose. Luckily, after over 165 years in the business, we know a thing or two about brushes! We asked our in-house experts for some tips on getting the best results:
If you’re working with water-based paints, our paintbrush sets give a quality finish and include a range of sizes to suit all your tasks. The brushes are packed with synthetic filament, with each strand tipped and flagged to maximise brush loading and lay-off.
For cutting in jobs (including painting corners and edges), we’ve designed a brush specially for the task. The angled head is tipped and flagged to make painting clean, crisp lines effortless.
Tip: For well controlled, smooth lines hold the cutting in brush close to the ferrule. It can help to wiggle the brush when working in tight areas to make sure you’ve got full coverage.
Our laminating brushes have been specifically designed for the trade, making them ideal for tasks where you’re working with fiberglass or GRP (glass reinforced plastic) solutions. The brush is ideal for stippling resins into mats and working with gels and topcoats. Meanwhile, the beavertail handle is chemical resistant and comfortable to hold, with our customers telling us that the short, synthetic bristles suffer minimal loss.
Tip: Our laminating brushes are designed with reuse in mind. They can be cleaned by removing as much residual resin as possible before submersing the head in pure acetone.
For industries using two-pack paints, epoxys, and other industrial coatings, this range of professional brushes is filled with a blend of synthetic bristles for an excellent finish. These brushes are typically used within sectors including offshore, automotive, steelworks, and industrial painting.
As well as our packs of individual sizes, we also offer a coatings brush set so you can handle all your tasks, from small, intricate work to large surface fills, with one set.
Tip: While there’s no ‘one way’ to correctly load a paint brush, we’d recommend decanting your paint into a kettle or bucket to make it easier. Dip your brush to cover 1/3 of the bristles, before tapping on the edge of the kettle to remove the excess paint.
Sash brushes are perfect for those tasks where more paint control is necessary, as the bristles are designed to pick up less paint. We offer both synthetic and pure bristle sash brushes in various sizes. Synthetic bristles work well with oil and water-based paints, meaning they’re ideal for tackling woodcare, furniture upcycling and painting in tight corners. On the other hand, pure bristles have a softer tip that can be used on a vast array of surfaces without marking or leaving scratches.
Tip: When you’re not painting with your sash brush, they make a handy tool for cleaning small spaces thanks to the soft bristles and long handle!
Ideal for detailed work in tight spaces, our artist brush range (otherwise known as fitch brushes) are ideal for delicate cleaning, lubricating, gluing and painting. As they are filled with natural bristles, the artist brushes are chemical resistant and easy to use.
Tip: Our artist brushes are available in round, flat and slanted tips. While flat fitch brushes are ‘the standard’, rounded fitch brushes are ideal for painting skirting boards, mouldings, door frames and sash windows as they can be turned to ensure full coverage. Meanwhile, our slant cut brushes are great for cutting in thanks to their angled shape.
Our industrial detail brushes are the perfect tool for precision work. Frequently used by the aerospace, defence and glass processing industries, the brush eliminates the need for reworking due to lack of bristle loss. The brushes are available with both straight and angled ferrule tips so you can paint in all those difficult-to-reach areas and are filled with abrasion-resistant synthetic filaments.
Tip: To keep the bristles in tip top condition, after use clean the brush thoroughly in warm water and wrap in plastic or cling film to lock the moisture in. If the paint in the bristles has hardened, a quick soak should soften them up!
If you’re painting large flat surfaces such as walls or ceilings, paint rollers can be more efficient than using a brush. Paint rollers usually hold more paint than a brush and quickly distribute even layers of paint. We offer a wide range of roller sizes and materials, depending on the job you’re doing.
Tip: For use with emulsion and water-based paints try our polyacrylic, polyester and microfibre rollers. If you’re working with industrial coatings, nylon rollers are best thanks to their resilient nature. Or if you’re using oils, varnishes and woodcare products, velour rollers give a bubble-free application without splashing.
Block brushes are large brushes with excellent paint pick up, so can be used to get wide coverage. Typically used for painting sheds, summer houses, benches, fences and more, the natural fibres can be used with coatings, paints, stains and woodcare products. The handy paint pot clip on the brush is ideal for resting the brush when not in use.
Tip: Our block brushes are designed to be reused, so we’ve made them easy to clean. If you’ve been using water-based paints, simply clean with warm water and leave to air dry. For oil-based paints and other products, follow the directions on the paint packaging.