Best Paint Brushes

In this article, I will provide a detailed explanation of which types of paint brushes work best for which painting tasks and provide a list of highly recommended paint brushes for you to use on your next project.

Investing in high-quality paint brushes is extremely important to any painting project. It is never worth saving a few dollars by buying cheap brushes. Cheap brushes make the job much more difficult. The job will take longer, the work will be frustrating and the finished product won’t come out as nice. They also won’t last as long as a quality brush, as long as you clean them properly, so they don’t really save you any money in the long run.

Using the proper paint brush for whatever job you are doing makes all the difference. Stiffer bristles are generally good for working with thicker paints, holding their shape and are better for “cutting in” or “edging”. Softer bristles can be better for laying the paint down smoothly, “feathering” out the paint and leaving finer finish with fewer brush marks. Angles brushes tend to be better for “cutting in” or doing detailed work like painting the panels on doors and painting window sash while straight brushes tend to be better for brushing out large areas. I generally use angled brushes for almost everything except for brushing out exterior siding. It is generally best to use the largest brush that you can practically use to get the job done. Larger brushes hold more paint and the less you have to dip the faster you can get the job done. Although, larger brushes do take a lot longer to clean properly. I use a 3″ angle brush 90% of the time and a 2.5″ angle brush the most after that. Smaller brushes like 2″ and 1″ and even artists brushes have their uses for very detailed work especially when the larger brushes won’t fit.

For most people who don’t have much experience painting, a high-quality medium to stiff 2.5″ angled brush is going to serve you well for most painting projects you are embarking on. Some good ones to look for are as follows: Purdy Clearcut 2.5″ Angled Paint Brush. While the quality of Purdy has dropped a bit in recent years they still make many decent brushes and the Clearcut series are some of my favorites. Corona Brushes Inc. also makes some very nice brushes. The Corona 2.5″ Excalibur Chinex PaintBrush is an excellent brush, it holds a lot of paint, is great to “cut in” with, lays down a fairly smooth finish and cleans up faster than most other brushes I have used before. While I have a preference for some of the Purdy and Corona brushes, Wooster Brush company makes some excellent brushes and many are more affordable. The Wooster Brush 2-1/2 Ultra/Pro Extra-Firm Lindbeck Angle Sash Paintbrush and the Wooster Brush 2-1/2 Alpha Angle Sash Paintbrush are both great brushes and usually cost less than their Purdy and Corona counterparts.