30 years of painting trim and I just figured out the brush angle trick

My dad taught me to paint trim back in 1992 with a cheap 2-inch brush, but I always got paint on the wall no matter how slow I went. Last month I was helping a guy in Greenville on a kitchen reno and he showed me you're supposed to angle the brush like 45 degrees into the wood, not flat against it. Has anyone else had that moment where you realize you've been doing some basic home fix wrong for decades?

3 comments

3 Comments

daniel47428d ago

Wait, seriously? Thirty years? That hurts to read.

mitchell.lee14d ago

What kind of hack job were you doing exactly that took thirty years to figure out basic brush technique?

hannahm3928d ago

My grandpa had me doing it wrong for years too (bless his heart, he meant well). I finally learned from a lady on a Habitat build who showed me how to load the brush properly and then angle it just like you described. It made a huge difference for me because I was always fighting drips and getting paint on the ceiling line. That 45 degree angle lets the bristles lay into the wood grain instead of sliding off sideways into the wall. It's one of those small things that makes you feel silly for not figuring it out sooner, but hey, at least we know now.