Everybody likes to paint until they do it.

The first coat is fun…then, holy crap! Two more coats?

So here is one way to cut your time way down. “It’s the brushing stupid”. Never brush the corners.

To get started, you need to remember:

PAINTERS ROLL FIRST. Don’t cut first!

And you never have to brush in the wall corners. That’s one trick.

At the bottom are two more great tricks, but to explain this one…

How it’s done

The video at the bottom maybe be faster but just do this with your roller:

1. Roll the wall smooshing the paint into the corner using the open end away from the roller frame rod) pushing paint into the corner
2. Roll the other wall of the corner without letting the first wall dry: intentionally mess up the fresh paint in the corner with the roller edge (shown in photo above)
3. Now just go back and carefully fix the roller marks on the first wall

You’re done, and no cutting that corner. You’ll have to do the ceiling and floor with the brush, but you just saved minutes.

What you need:

• A quality standard wall paint roller cover (and roller handle, duh)
• A quality brush
• Decent roller pole
• More on saving time with quality tools just below this tip.

Quality tools save time and are less expensive

It’s (1) less expensive because they last a lifetime, and the (2) work is faster and looks better…and (3) it’s easier for you.

• Remember, crappy brushes shed bristles and the rollers shed lint. You’ve seen a wall where someone used a roller like that: it looks and feels like sandpaper.
• In the long run, it’s less expensive. Good brushes are very easy to clean, although you may not have seen the light, Hank.

For homeowners, these tools will last a lifetime, if you just watch a quick video: how to clean rollers, and how to clean brushes.

More below, but here’s the shorty: you just wire brush off the dried paint from the heel of the brush, soak and beat it up underwater until it’s mostly clean then shake/spin it until most of the water comes out.

A brush from Purdy lasts us 6 months of daily use before it becomes too slow and a new one is needed. (No I don’t work for Purdy, but if you buy one from my links, I do get a small percentage from Amazon that costs you no extra).

Pros use tools from 2 main companies: Purdy (company website) and Wooster. There may be other good ones, but meh.

Key point: these tools will last a lifetime.

On paint rollers: find the right one for your job before you buy

More timesavers professional painters use

1. Doing the ceiling? Do it first and do not cut against the wall. Here is a youtube video showing how.
2. Paint the trim before the walls

My video showing how it is done