Assorted Paint Brushes

A broad selection of paint brushes is available at Staples® for decorative and renovative painting of homes or office interiors and exteriors, and furniture. These brushes are an essential part of paint supplies available for commercial or personal use. Many can offer double duty as arts and crafts brushes, and come in a wide array of shapes, sizes, and material that, like artist brushes, are appropriate for specific paint media and functions.

What To Look for in Decorative and Renovative Paint Brushes
Interior, exterior, and furniture brushes come in specific sizes and shapes for certain painting and staining applications. Rollers or sprayers work well for painting the broad fields of walls and ceilings, but smaller, more defined areas require precise tools. Many of these brushes come in 1- to 3-inch widths, with bristles or filaments between 3 and 4 inches long. The head can taper at the bristle or filament tip, providing more precise, narrower strokes, or untapered for broader paint coverage.

The tip shape may be flat (straight across), angled at about 45 degrees, or oval with a mounded profile. Each is appropriate for specific surface structures, but they have cross-applications as well. Angled brushes are commonly used to paint trimwork around the floor or ceiling, or to cut-in (paint) the edges of ceilings and walls. Use a flat-tip brush to paint a wide sash around a full-length window. Oval brushes work well on contoured surfaces or with profiled trimwork like crown molding.

The Composition of Brushes
Most paint brushes with natural bristles are made from animal hair such as hog or horse hair, including black or white China bristle brushes from Chinese hogs. Synthetic filament brushes are commonly made from polyester material or a blend of polyester and nylon. Because filaments are water-resistant, they’re ideal for use with water-based latex paint because the filament doesn’t absorb the water in the paint. Natural bristles work well with heavier, thicker oil-based paints, varnishes, and enamels because they’re much finer than filaments, so they leave behind a smoother, less streaky coat. Other brushes consist of Tampico fiber, a highly absorbent plant-based material that works well with whitewash finishes for sealing the pores of rough surfaces like masonry.

What About the Rest of the Paint Brush?
All bristle and filament brushes have handles. Some are solid plastic, while others are hardwood and lacquered many times for water resistance. Ferrules connect the brush head to the handle and provide a finger rest for maneuvering the brush. The ferrules are normally brass-plated or stainless steel to provide rust resistance when cleaning the brush after painting. The bristles or filaments attach to the handle with epoxy, and the ferrule keeps them intact with rivets or crimps. 

Are All Paint Brushes Meant Only for Painting?
Many manufacturers offer inexpensive brushes called chip brushes. They have short bristles, normally only 2 inches in length, and softwood handles. Mechanics use them for brushing metal shavings or wood chips from machinery. They're available in bulk because they're disposable after use, so they're ideal for applying one-time media like glue, adhesive, paint remover, and enamel finish. These are useful for testing paint samples on surfaces when making a final paint color selection.

What Other Brushes Are Available?
Like the chip brush, tapered high-density foam pads on rounded sticks are inexpensive, disposable paint brushes for paint sampling, and applying messy finishes. They provide a smooth, streak-free finish with varnishes and polyurethanes.