Search

Brad the Painter is reader-supported. As an Amazon Associate I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. This costs you nothing extra.

worker using paint sprayer on interior walls
Best Painting Tools

Best Paint Sprayer: Airless & Electric in 2023

My review of the best paint sprayer for walls in each price range: these are worth your hard-earned money. Based on my experience and after extensive research on airless paint sprayers. These are the only quality interior paint sprayer we trust for the money in my opinion.

commercial paint sprayer on lift + man wearing suit
Sprayers

Commercial Paint Sprayer: Features Compared by Pros + Best Deals

The number of commercial paint sprayers is mind-boggling. I did your homework for you: based on my 30 years as a pro painter, I searched and searched, took hundreds of notes, and contacted many painters and paint stores to discuss what professional paint sprayer works for them…and condensed it all here.

Painting a Wall
Painting Tips Interior

How to Paint a Wall? Big Tip: Skip the Tape, You Will Thank Me!

How to Paint a Wall? Let me count the ways. Ok, here is the short version: you will see all over the internet all these people telling you how to use tape, and how to clean the walls, brush first, etc etc. Well, they clearly read the manual written by someone who read a manual, but in practice, you just jump in. It’s just not brain surgery.

Paint Walls or Trim First
Painting Tips Interior

Paint Walls or Trim First? 3 Amazing Tips

You paint the trim first, but not using a brush! Here are 3 steps and 1 awesome secret (some pros don’t even know) on how to make this quick and easy (video included).

paint brushes that needs cleaning
Paint Clean Up

The Best Way to Clean Paint Brush

Lazy? Soak baby.  The best way to clean a paint brush start simply by soaking it. We find a bath tub if there is no utility sink and we routinely put off cleaning for the night and let the brush soak in the bucket.  The next day it is so easy to clean as over night the floating brush and roller lets the paint falls to the bottom of the bucket.

Ceiling Painting with a good paint.
Paint, Primer & Stain

Best Ceiling Paint in 2023 + Timesaving Tips

Use the best ceiling paint, it will make your work A LOT easier. We took a fresh look at all the ceiling paint and here is our review for 2020. Save time and money: only do one coat. This requires an excellent quality ceiling paint. Working and looking up is the hardest thing a painter does on a daily basis. Here’s how to just do one coat.

worker hanfing on rope
Painting Tips Interior

Preparing Walls for Painting Efficiently

For re-painting walls, below you’ll find all the steps you need for preparing walls for painting, from before you start up to the finished product. We will review all the potential problems you might encounter.

rolling paint primer on wood
Mold

Paint and Primer in One: The Best and When to Use It

We list here the good paint and primer in one and when you can use them. Be very careful and consider the results you will get if you use a paint and primer in one step. I have seen a lot of ads pushing this idea of one-coat painting, but that just plays to people’s idea that painting is a drag and one coat would be quick and easy. It is not messy and it is not hard to clean up.

Old Plaster Walls Ready for Painting
Drywall

Painting Plaster Walls in 5 Easy Steps

Painting plaster walls is not at all difficult.  If your house is old, it will have plaster, sometimes called ‘horsehair plaster’ on the walls. The old workers used the tail hair from horses to mix in with the plaster to give it strength.

room painted with best interior paint
Paint, Primer & Stain

Best Interior Paint and One Awesome Timesaving Tip

The best interior will make your work A LOT easier, because the color holds longer, applies more evenly, each coat is much thicker, and it cleans up easier. We will show you a secret painting tip to go very fast. First let’s see which paint is the best.  Please don’t believe TV commercials.

Man working on a high quality ladder
Best Painting Tools

The Best Ladder Will Make Your Work Quicker & Safer

Today’s best ladders are safe, well-built, slip-resistant, and many are multi-use. The best value is a ladder that is versatile. We keep small step stools in the kitchen and under the clotheslines and a step ladders of various sizes for our storage nooks.

woman sitting on a floor that needs painting
Concrete

Best Floor Paint: Only 1 Coat!

You are in luck. Applying floor paint is the easiest thing we painters do. When you use the best floor paint you will only need one coat in most cases. We only use high-quality floor paint. And painting floors is easy. Don’t thank me, thank gravity.

drywall ready for primer
Drywall

Best Drywall Primer & 4 Simple Steps for Priming

Here is my research and a few tips from my experience with newly constructed walls. The best drywall primer is not necessarily the most expensive primer. For new walls (with no stains or imperfections etc) you do not need a stain-blocker or a hole-filler. Here is my recommendation for the best primers for new drywall, and my steps of application.

example of wood stain that you can paint over
Painting Tips Interior

Can You Paint Over Stain? “It’s not THAT Complicated”

Can you paint over stain? Any stain? Yes! These days all the realtors you work for ask you if you can paint over stain: cabinets, floors, trim. It’s like a mantra. We all love wood, but sometimes you do what you gotta do: paint. Luckily, you don’t need to strip the varnish or polyurethane off!

paint resistant mold
Mold

Mold Resistant Paint (with 6 Easy Steps to Paint Over Mold)

Mold resistant paint does not kill mold! But you can relax, the process of stopping mold is very do-able. A little elbow grease, a little mold killing primer (the good stuff) and you are ready to paint. Whew. I’m glad I stopped you from just painting over that mold!

best-paint-roller-for-large-room-painting
Best Painting Tools

Best Paint Roller & Roller Painting Tips

We picked the best paint roller for 2 budgets: 1) Low-budget, 2) Best. Tips on how to paint with a roller are at the bottom of the post. Surprise: homeowners can easily afford professional painting rollers and get the same results! It’s not brain surgery.

Deck

Spray Wood Stain: Zero-Maintenance Deck Stain Treatment

I’m personally happy to share this a once-in-a-lifetime deck treatment that I put on my own deck. As a professional painter, I’ve learned to avoid taking deck jobs: it’s hard work. With this eco-green-chemical change to your wood, you’ll have time for more important things!

Deck

Best Deck Stain and Sealer: It is Easy!

Here I review 7 types of deck treatments and the best deck stain and sealer in each category. From my years in the biz, some things you need to know, then we get dirty.

Man working with a quality screw gun
Tool Reviews

The Best Screw Gun (and Cool Accessories)

Gifting? Don’t know if he/she already has a screw gun? It doesn’t matter! Everyone is very happy to have more than one! Here are all the best screw gun with accessories you did not know about.

walls recently touch up with paint
Painting Tips Interior

How to Touch Up Paint in 4 Steps

Learning how to touch up paint takes experience. But don’t worry, we’ll hold your hand through these steps. In decades of painting, we’ve done it a few times.

High quality caulking guns
Tool Reviews

Best Caulking Gun: The Real Top Guns!

Here you will find the best caulking gun for the money. We argue that a quality dripless caulk gun is worth the few dollars extra: it will last for generations. Oddly, the best caulk guns have been made in England for at least 3 decades. Go figure.

Paint, Primer & Stain

Best Caulk (All Types of Caulk)

So many types of caulk, but what is the best caulk?
Let’s simplify it starting with caulk for painting, then for shower, tub, sink and for masonry, metal, etc.

Painting Tips Interior

Painting Trim (Wood Trim, MDF, etc.) with a Trick

Thinking of painting your trim with a brush? Sit down, my friend. Let me show you the way of the Force. We FLY when we’re painting wood trim, or when we’re painting trim of any kind.

Making white wood stain from oak boards
Painting Tips Exterior

Painting Stained Trim: Modern Look Sells Homes Quicker

Painting stained trim and painting varnished wood trim is very do-able, but the sequence is a bit time-consuming. The one “must” is deglossing, and using a quality primer. Doing it yourself will likely save you many hundreds of clams.

Concrete stained floor
Concrete

Concrete Stain – Top Recommended Stains (+How To Stain Concrete)

Old painters like me want zero maintenance in our homes. Staining concrete is relatively easy and lasts forever. Ok, not forever. I’ve listed here what I have found to be the best concrete stains and the complete “how-to” stain concrete. This is a way to transform an ugly or just plain concrete floor into something you will take pride in.

Concrete preparation- grinding before painting
Concrete

How to Prepare Concrete for Painting or Staining

Here’s how to prep concrete for paint or for any type of coating. If your concrete slab has been sealed or not, it’s here. We looked around the ‘net and saw some “expert” DIY sites focussing on acid etching. Wow, sexy. But you need to think outside the sexy.

Concrete

Concrete Paint – Top Picks and 5 Key Planning Points

What concrete paint to put on your floor depends on your comfort with the look and lifespan. Some customers of ours are very picky and want a perfect high-gloss epoxy and others just want a budget facelift. We also link you to every topic you need to consider: from cleaning to cleanup.

Perfect driveway paint
Concrete

Driveway Paint: The Best One & How To Apply It

Here is all my knowledge and research, what to know about driveway paint. It’s not just for curbs and lines. Here is “how-to” paint driveways and most importantly, my shortlist of driveway paints you can trust. Both are types of epoxy but don’t worry, it’s easy.

Painting Concrete Floor
Concrete

Painting Concrete Floor? The Complete Guide

The biggest cause of painting concrete failure (not bonding, delamination, bubbling, etc.), is poor prep. We will explained how to paint concrete floors step by step. With links to the all-important concrete prep (testing, to etch or now, cleaning, rinsing, etc).

Concrete

Garage Floor Paint (+What Other Websites Get Wrong)

If you have been searching for garage floor paint, you now see the bewildering array of styles or types of floor coatings (not all of them are truly called paints). We picked the best of each category.
Shopping you will see off-brand coatings showing beautiful photos with what they call the best garage floor paint. Really? Show me the floor in 10 years.

Contrasting garage door paint color
Concrete

Garage Door Paint & How To Make It Last

After it has been prepped and primed well, the house paint you are already using is perfectly proper to use as a garage door paint. But you can also add longer-lasting protection with some very good top brand paints. Garage doors get beat up, so we tell customers to use the best.

Deck

Backpack Sprayer for Spraying Stain: Big Warning

This is no doubt the best way to get the stain onto the surface, but many stains will ruin a garden sprayer not built to take the chemical heat. As a pro, I use the same sprayers reviewed here (mine is very old!) The work goes quickly and comes out great. But it’s not just ‘spray and walk away’: there are some tricks.

Paint edger close-up
Painting Tips Interior

Paint Edger: A Pro’s Review of Accubrush and Shur-Line (and more)

The salespeople in TV commercials make paint edgers look great, but are they worth the money? I’ve been at this well over 30 years: here is the good and bad of the two top paint edgers, (with a look at how they stack up against a quality paintbrush).

Full face respirator mask
Best Painting Tools

Full Face Respirator: N95, P95 and P100 (HEPA)

A full face respirator mask is the best you can buy without an oxygen tank: it protects your eyes, nose, and mouth. Here is a recent list of available virus-proof paint respirators and chemical masks.

hand tools
Tool Reviews

Best Hand Tools Today: Made In USA Quality

Some quality hand tools you may not even know existed. I try to only buy from US makers and I only buy tools from the top brands. Also included here are some top-selling hand tools that make appreciated gifts

painting with kilz ceiling paint
Paint, Primer & Stain

Benjamin Moore Ceiling Paint and Kilz Ceiling Paint: The Top 2

Depending on your budget and willingness to paint over your head (the hardest thing we professionals do), you can spend  a little more and get a one-coat ceiling paint or pay a little less and apply two coats (in many cases). You’ll never need 3.

Electric Nail Gun intalling trim
Nailer

Electric Nail Gun: The Best of Every Variety

Here are the top electric nailers in every category of nail gun: only the best of the best are here. I’ve learned that the best way to save money is to keep quality tools for life.

Using paint sprayer
Sprayers

Types of Paint Sprayers

Because the prices have come down a lot over the years, it has become affordable to own different types of paint sprayers. Below, the different types of spray guns for each kind of job: you’re gonna fly like an eagle.

one of the top handheld paint sprayer 16Y386
Sprayers

Best Handheld Paint Sprayer: Only the Top Guns

Quick to set up and clean up, and no training to use. Here you’ll find the best handheld paint sprayer worth your investment. My main advice: get the best you can afford and keep it for life.

HVLP spray gun looks easy
Sprayers

Best HVLP Spray Gun Today and Tips on Use

Using a HVLP Spray gun much easier than other websites are making it sound. No training needed. Fill, point, shoot, clean up. I cover some beginner tips too. I will also discuss what is the Best HVLP Spray gun.

before and after
Concrete

Asphalt Driveway Sealer and How To Apply It

Asphalt driveway sealer fills the small holes that naturally occur in the driveway surface, and this filler prevents water from freezing and degrading the surface. Somewhat. It’s a small advantage, but it’s a lot of work and expense.

brush strokes can look nice
Paint, Primer & Stain

How to Avoid Brush Marks

If you eliminate or minimize brush strokes or brush marks and roller marks for that matter, your paint job will look much better. It almost looks like you know what you’re doing.

Use acetone to test if oil or latex
Furniture Painting

Testing Old Paint: Is It Oil or Latex?

If you paint over old oil-based paint, your new paint will flake off with just a fingernail. Here is the test and what to do if you have old oil.

movie screen paint wall
Paint, Primer & Stain

How to Apply Movie Projector Screen Paint

Some important tips, then the list of things to plan for and to shop for, then the complete how-to steps for painting a movie projector screen on any wall. I read other sites on applying this paint. Rookies.

Brad the painter applying primer on a wall
Drywall

Quick Primer on Primers for All Situations

This is the shortest possible post you’ll find explaining any primer for every situation.

Key point: don’t buy budget primer (or paint). I like Ben Moore and Sherwin Williams, but BM is better in my opinion.

For all cases, put on your topcoat of paint within a day of priming, or as the window on your primer specifies.

Paint Clean Up

How to Really Save Time with a Paint Sprayer

Time is money to a professional painter. We clean well when we must, but often we don’t need to go all the way. Homeowners get frustrated by cleaning. Here’s a tip.

Paint, Primer & Stain

Painting Vinyl Siding: A Review, Sort Of

Painting Vinyl Siding is easy and very doable. Here is a quick post on the best new paint for the job with a link to the how-to post on Painting Vinyl Siding.

Painting Tips Exterior

How To Paint Vinyl Siding

Painting Vinyl Siding is easy and very doable. Here is a quick post on how-to paint vinyl siding. Easy man.

Safety

Are Latex Paint Fumes Toxic? Oil Paint?

As the US Gov’t tells us, “plan is to treat all paint as hazardous”. Read that dot-gov post. For first aid involving paint, read this very short post on First Aid for Inhaling Paint Fumes Latex: The old paints were,

Disposing of Old Paint
Safety

Disposing of Old Paint

Don’t obey the laws because you might get caught: obey them because it’s wrong to poison your own body.