A painting contractor would agree that some of the paint applicator gimmicks advertised as the all in one silver bullet can actually increase your labor time and deliver poorer quality work. You’ve probably noticed them in the paint stores before. Most of these paint applicators try to advance the average person past just good old experience with the brush and roller. Most gimmick tools fail miserably, and are for the most part, are a waste of money and time.

As an example, below are a few products to avoid

1. Avoid foam painting pads. Foam painting pads with the edge guide leave about a 1/64 to a 1/32 of an inch gap of unpainted area beneath the guide. Because it leaves a gap, you will have to resort to using a brush anyway. Since the foam pad spreads paint poorly, you get less coverage. Using foam pads usually requires 2 coasts to attain adequate coverage. In addition, some of the foam applicators require you to purchase a special pan.

2. Avoid any products that have multiple parts and pieces. Fumbling around with all these loose parts will waste your time. Keep in mind, all these extra parts have to be cleaned, thus increasing your time.

Below I have listed some things you can do to decrease your painting time. These include equipment know by professionals to increase productivity.

1. When rolling your walls use a ¾ to 1 inch nap for your roller frame. Thicker naps hold more paint providing more roll time per dip.

2. Andropolis sells a roller nap that holds 100 percent more paint and works with a standard size roller frame. This will cut down on the time it takes to roll paint on your walls

3. Purchase a good quality brush.

a. Quality brushes pick up paint more easily.

b. They hold more paint.

c. They allow you to cut in more accurately.

d. They spread paint more evenly.

e.They significantly save on brush time.

Our painters use Purdy brushes for all the above reasons. The Bottom line is they save us money because they cut down on labor cost.

4. You can save a lot of time and create straight lines by taping off your trim and walls with blue tape. If you are not a professional painter, you can lose a lot of time trying to create straight lines. Blue tape works wonders for taping off trim or walls to create clean looking lines.

5. Cover up cost a lot less time than clean up Be sure to protect floor areas and furnishings by covering with tarps.

Sometimes a new product comes along that truly can save time. It is best to ask a seasoned painting contractor what he thinks about the product. If he has used the product for very long he will be able to give you valuable feedback . Packaging can be ambiguous . They are designed to sell. The above recommendations will give you the best results for the money.