I was painting my kitchen cabinets wrong for a solid month

I was brushing on a water-based enamel, getting super frustrated with the brush marks and slow dry time. My neighbor, who used to paint houses, saw me working and said, 'You're using the wrong brush and not thinning that paint at all, are you?' He was right. I switched to a good quality angled brush and added just a little water to the paint, like he showed me. The next coat went on smooth and dried way faster. Anyone else have a simple tip that fixed a big painting headache?

3 comments

3 Comments

alice9913mo agoTop Commenter

Tbh a painter told me rollers give way less brush marks than any brush.

the_kim1mo ago

The thing nobody mentions is how much the quality of the paint itself matters. Cheap paint dries too fast and leaves terrible lines no matter what you use. A good thick paint with a high solid content will self-level way better than the thin watery stuff. Even with a paint sprayer, which is the smoothest option, you still have to back-roll it to get it to stick. Rollers are just easier to control for most people and you can always tip off the finish with a dry brush if you really want that sprayed look. It's all about getting the paint to flow out nice and even before it starts to set up.

bethjackson3mo ago

Wait really? I always thought brushes were the way to go for a smooth finish lol. That actually makes a lot of sense now.