Paint and Finishing Brushes

The grip is important: Grasp the ferrule, the metal band around the brush, between your thumb and fingers. This grip is less likely to cause cramping when you must paint for long periods but, equally im portant, it disciplines your stroke.

It's like throwing a Frisbee: It's all in the wrist. A gentle back-and-forth swing of the wrist produces even, comfortable strokes.

Don't dip the brush too far into the paint (a third or, at most, a half of the bristle length is far enough). As you remove the brush from the can after dipping it, remove excess paint from the bristle by drawing each side of the brush gently along the edge of the paint can.

Apply the paint evenly. Avoid too much paint: The excess will pro duce drips and little rivulets that will spoil the even finish. Keep the handle raised above the bristles, so that the paint won't drip into the ferrule. If it does, you'll find it dripping onto your hand, and drops will gradually appear everywhere around you.

Sash Brush. Sash brushes have slightly beveled tips, which makes paint ing window muntins and other narrow trim easier.

Some brushes also have ends that have been trimmed at an angle to the handle of the brush. Credit some unnamed painter of the past with devising this clever and oh-so-simple solution to painting tricky, angled areas, especially corners. It's still a simple flat trim brush, usu ally an inch or an inch and a half wide. But the angled lip makes paint ing edges immensely easier, permitting the painter to see more clearly what he or she is painting, and angling the brush in such a wav that it is less likely to apply paint to areas where you don't want it. The sash brush is sometimes referred to as a chisel-edge brush.

Paint Roller. Rollers paint large flat areas like ceilings and floors. They use less paint than brushes do; they spread the paint more evenly than a brush; they make quick work of large, flat areas.

The covers are replaceable and the handles reusable. The nap or Fi ber on the roller covers varies, and should be matched to the paint you are using (longer fibers for rough surfaces, low-nap for smooth ones; different paint bases and finishes require appropriate rollers, too). The bulky roller does not reach into corners efficiently, so paint the edges with a brush first, then roll into them. Standard rollers are seven inches and nine inches wide, though narrower trim rollers (three inches wide) are also available.

Paintbrush Advice. Paint in long strokes and always keep a wet edge. Keep the light source between you and the surface if possible, and take special care at the edges, corners, and joints you encounter, those be ing the places where drips and runs are most likely.