Toolbox: Painting Mitts

Help Around the House : Episode ARH-403 -- More Projects »
If you need to paint an item that's difficult to cover, such as a chair, skip the brushes and try a better tool such as a sponge or painter's mitt.
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Figure A
PHOTO

Figure B
A painter's mitt features a plastic liner so your hand doesn't get covered in paint. Just use a sponge to apply paint directly onto the mitt. Wrap the mitt around the item you're painting, such as a spindle on a chair, and just massage the paint onto the surface (figure A). Finish with the sponge and get into any recesses you might have missed and clean up any drips.

A sponge brush with its sharp, tapered tip is especially good for getting into tight crevices and recesses (figure B). A sponge doesn't leave brush marks or air bubbles and gives full, even coverage.