What is the Best Paint Brush for Interior Painting?

When it comes to interior painting, if you want a great result in a reasonable amount of time, you need to invest in good brushes. A good brush can save you time and money on tape, especially when it comes to the all-important process of “cutting in” around corners and edges.

What is the best paint brush for interior painting? It depends on several factors including the type of paint to be used and amount of detail on the wall. Here is a rundown of the different kinds of paintbrush available, and how they are often used to get the best results.

Simple Tests for a Quality Brush

When you’re buying, look for the following signs of a good paintbrush:

• The bristles should be densely packed
• Bristles should be uniformly packed into the metal band around the handle, called the ferrule. There should be no split or division
• The bristles should feel quite springy – not too stiff, and not too limp
• You should be able to fan out the bristles easily, and have them return to their original shape
• When bending the tips of the bristles, you should be able to see that some are shorter than others. This is an indication that the brush is capable of holding paint well
• A few loose bristles are normal, but you should not be able to pull any free from the brush
• Close inspection of the bristle tips should reveal some split ends, called flagging. This is a sign that the brush is able to hold paint well

Bristle Type

The type of bristle on your paintbrush will determine how it holds and lays down paint. One thing to consider is how these bristles are attached to the brush handle. Some brushes will fall apart at the metal ferrule which holds the bristles, especially in the case of many cheaper plastic-handled brushes. Remember that buying 2-3 cheap brushes is rarely a better choice than buying and cleaning a single good brush. Especially if you own a home, chances are that you’ll be doing quite a few painting projects over the course of your life. Choose a brush which seems to be solidly put together.

Natural Bristles

The splitting of the real animal hairs on natural bristle paintbrushes allows each bristle to hold and distribute more paint per stroke. However, real hairs often do not respond well to latex-based paint, and are best employed when using oil-based paints as are often used when painting cupboards or trim. Natural brushes do not work well with latex paints, as the water softens the bristles too much. Be sure to read the labels on your brushes carefully before purchasing.

Natural brushes tend to be more expensive and better built than their artificial counterparts, but require more care to make them worth the investment.

Polyester Bristles

Polyester bristles are nice and stiff, making them easy to control and get the results you want. However, they can be difficult to load thoroughly with paint (meaning more time spend dipping your brush) and difficult to clean (meaning more scrubbing time after you’re done).

Nylon Bristles

Besides the durability provided by all synthetic bristles, nylon provides excellent paint pickup and a smooth finish for latex-based paints. Nylon bristles may soften and become less easy to work with in warm weather, which should be considered before buying this kind of brush.

Nylon/Polyester Bristles

When using latex paint (as is the case in most interior painting work today), the bristle type most commonly chosen by professionals is a combination of nylon and polyester. The polyester gives stiffness and control, while the nylon provides better paint pickup and precise distribution.

What About Styrofoam Brushes?

Styrofoam brushes are cheap and may be attractive when you’re not planning to keep your brush around afterwards, but should not be used for painting of walls or other significant interior spaces. They are best used on small projects with stain or other less viscous finishes.

Brush Sizes

Brush sizes don’t require any special knowledge to perfectly select. It’s pretty easy: if you have a larger area to cover, get a bigger brush. You do want to tailor the brush size to your space and the level of detail you need to provide. A very flexible size would be in the neighborhood of 2 1/2 inches. Get a very small brush just for the areas of detail. The larger brush sizes often don’t make a lot of sense – most people will use a roller for the open spaces, and use the brush simply for cutting in edges and getting in corners.

Brush End Shapes

Trim refers to the shaping of the end of the bristles of the brush. Different trim styles are suited best for different applications.

Square

This is the most basic style, where the ends of all the bristles are lined up flat and cut square to the ferrule. The bristle end of the brush appears flat as a result. Square trim is best used when painting larger, flat areas that you don’t have to cut in, such as the middle of a wall. Of course, most people use rollers for this space. But when doing certain faux finishes, a square trim brush will come into its own.

Chisel Trim

A chisel trim brush has a bulge at the base of the bristles which bumps out the middle bristles more than those at the edges (when looking along the narrow side of the brush). Chisel trim brushes allow for more versatility and precision, and are often used for cutting in as well as general painting applications. They leave few brush stroke lines and are ideal even for applying thicker finishes to walls, cabinets, and furniture.

Angled Trim

This trim style is similar to the chisel tip, except that the bristles on one side, rather than the middle bristles, are pushed out further than those on the other side. Note that this is not the same as an angle sash brush. Though rare, an angled trim brush can produce really nice, long strokes on flat surfaces. They can also be great for neatly cutting into corners.

Brush Styles

Besides size, these styles will probably be the thing you most notice when you look at a brush.

Angle Sash

An angle sash brush is slanted, and often features a slanted ferrule which allows for consistent bend in the bristles. This shape allows for better access to corners and a smoother, more precise application of paint when cutting in or painting narrower spaces. Keep in mind that sash brushes do not have quite the same density of bristles as other styles, and will not lay down as much paint per stroke.

Flat Sash

This is what you would think of as a standard paintbrush. It is best for applying paint to open spaces that do not require much cutting in. As said before, sash brushes do not have quite the same density of bristles as other styles, and will not lay down as much paint per stroke. Often this is perfectly fine for most home applications.

Triangle Trim

Triangle trim brushes are angled in both directions so they will fit easily into corners of all kinds, allowing for quick, accurate, and smooth finish of all kinds of hard-to-reach spaces.

Round Sash

A round brush is good for certain detail work, including painting trim or painting in between trim. The bristles on a round brush are usually more pronounced in the middle, allowing for point detail to be applied.

Wall

Wall brushes have a substantial amount of bristles to hold large amounts of paint for the quicker, smoother painting of walls. They are quite thick and flat and usually on the wider side.

Hire a Team with All the Right Stuff

If all this has you thinking “Wow, I don’t want to try finding all the right brushes,” then reach out to us at Mt Hood Pro Painting. We will help take care of all your interior painting needs! Call today – it never hurts to get a free estimate.