8 Tips for a No-Drip Paint Job
Painting can be very messy, especially when you’re a beginner. Use these interior designer tips to paint your home without all the cleanup.
Bruce and Jeanne Lubin
Keep your doorways and wall corners safe from drips!
Painted Fence, Un-Painted Grass
If you’ve ever painted a fence, you know that the task can be onerous, and you can end up dripping paint all over your lawn. Protect the grass by placing an old dustpan under the section you’re working on. It will catch spills and help prevent you from picking up pieces of dirt and grass on your paintbrush. If you don’t want paint splatters on your dust pan, cover it with newspaper first.
Drip-Free Doors
Painting doors? Avoid getting paint on the hinges by coating them lightly with petroleum jelly before you start. It’s easier to protect the rounded corners than when using painter’s tape, and it wipes right off!
Hammer and Nail Drips Away
Maybe we’re just messy painters, but when we paint a room, we find that the interior rim around the paint can is never big enough to catch the paint that has slopped over the edge—eventually it fills up and runs down the side of the can. To solve this problem, we make several holes in the bottom of the rim with a small nail and hammer. Now the paint drips back into the can rather than running down the side.
Paintbrush Pointer
For your next paint job, prevent drips and messes with this great trick: Stick a magnet against the inside of a clean metal can. When you’re not using the paintbrush, attach it to the magnet (with bristles facedown) until you’re ready to use it again. Paint will drip into the bucket, not on your floor!
Rubber Band Trick
To keep your paint can and your workspace as clean as possible, wrap a rubber band around the height of the open can. The band should sit over the opening, so you can dab the paint-filled brush on the rubber to wipe away excess paint.
Milk Jug Paintbrush Holder
Finally tackling that room that needs to be repainted? Create your own drip-free paintbrush holder with a plastic milk jug. Cut a hole in the side large enough to fit your paintbrush, and you’re ready to go! The handle will allow you to easily carry it around the room and up and down ladders without making a mess.
Styrofoam Plate Drip Catcher
When painting a room directly from the can, it’s nearly impossible to keep paint from dripping down the side. So instead of stopping the drips, catch them! To easiest way? Affix a paper or Styrofoam plate to the bottom of the can with some glue or duct tape. That way, it go with the can wherever you move it, and you can just tear them off when you’re done painting.
Tennis Ball Drip Cup
To catch drips while you paint, try this makeshift drip cup: Cut a tennis ball in half and slice a thin slot in the bottom bowl of one half. Then slide your brush handle through the slot so the bristles stick out of the open side. A small paper plate or cup works, too.
Aluminum Foil Fix
Before you begin that big painting project, cover doorknobs, drawer pulls, and any other small object you’re worried about catching spills with aluminum foil. The foil easily molds to any shape and comes off when you’re done.
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About the Author
Bruce Lubin and Jeanne Bossolina-Lubin are the proud parents of three boys and more than a dozen books. After saving thousands per year using everyday tips and simple lifehacks, they started their own business in the hopes of sharing their knowledge with others. They have been known to go into their friends’ refrigerators to turn their eggs upside down so that they last longer.