Cyclopedia of Painting/Poor Tools

by George D. Armstrong

POOR TOOLS.

It is false economy to work with poor or cheap brushes. A good painter can not do good work, or the amount of work he should, with poor tools.

Time is money and time is lost by trying to paint with a cheap stock brush.

It is a mistake to try to work half-handed or with too few brushes.

The kit should consist of a good full stock body brush for each color, the size depending upon the width of the siding to be painted, 3+¹⁄₂ to 4 inches long stock brush is the one usually used, a full stock trimming, brush, well broken in. There is no economy in using a half worn out body brush for trimming colors. A good trimming brush is just as essential as a good body brush, as it is impossible to cut in on cornices, corner boards and window and sash frames with a ragged edged brush, a good chiseled sash tool or a 1 inch or 1+¹⁄₂ inch chiseled varnish brush for brackets or mouldings, also a ¹⁄₂ inch flat chiseled varnish brush for sash colors, a good duster and putty and scraping knife. This completes an ordinary kit of tools and is sufficient to do good work. It is not economy to attempt to work with less.