Sometimes paint can make all the difference for a woodworking project, adding color that catches and delights the eye, expressive patterns that create style, and fine details that inform the viewer. Difficult? Not at all. Decorative painting only takes a modest number of paints and brushes for most projects and the basic skills to handle those tools are easily learned.
I’d like to share with you the products and tools that I use to make decorative paintwork a simple and enjoyable process, transfiguring a project from plain to magical.
PAINT
My paint of choice is fluid acrylics. Fluid acrylics offer ease of use, endless variety of colors choices, and come in convenient squeeze bottles that allow you to use just the paint you need with no waste. These paints are water based, so no solvents, which means no smell, low toxicity, and easy cleanup. They are widely available in craft stores or online. Most fluid acrylics are made for interior and exterior use, but if your project is to go outside, check the lightfastness (resistance to fading) rating on the paint’s label. Ratings are given as ASTM (American Standard Test Measure) 1 (excellent), 11 (good), and 111 (poor).
 |
| Use paint that carries an ASTM rating of 1(excellent) for lightfastness for outdoor projects. |
BRUSHES
Paint brushes come in a bewildering array of shapes and sizes. However, I find a set of six brushes takes care of my painting needs. Here is what I recommend: 3/0, 3, and 9 round brushes, a liner, a ¾" flat, and a 2" flat utility brush, all with synthetic bristles.
ROUND BRUSHES. The most traditional of the brush shapes, a round paint brush feels like a pencil in your hand, so it offers excellent control. Round brushes are useful for painting thin to thick lines and for creating details, washes, and lls. Round brushes can have a rounded tip or a slightly pointed tip. The rounded tip can be used vertically to easily create perfect dots of paint for eyes or berries, or for filling areas and creating thick lines. Pointed rounds, are ideal for creating details with more precision.
Round brushes are numbered according to their size. The 3/0 brush is small and used for fine detail work. A #3 round brush works well for tight patterns and filling small areas. The number 9 round brush features size and heft. It can carry a lot of paint making it a great brush for dealing with large, organic shapes.
 |
 |
 |
| Round brushes are useful for fine details, lines and patterns, and filling areas with color. |
FLAT BRUSHES. Flat brushes look square and have a medium to long bristle length. Flat brushes are easy to maneuver and manipulate, making them the perfect brushes when you need to cover a bit of space with good control and lay down color smoothly and consistently.
The flat face works for blocking in solid shapes of color, but you can also turn the brush on edge to create fine lines. I like to use a flat brush for adding texture to a painted surface. For my painting kit, I have chosen a ¾" wide flat brush.
 |
 |
| Small flat brushes lay paint down with good control and consistency. |
LINER BRUSH. I often use natural or organic patterns incorporating vines, flowers, and grasses on my projects, and that means painting smooth, sinuous lines. This is where the liner brush excels. The bristles of all liner brushes are soft, long, and taper to a needle point at the end, allowing it to absorb the impact of any small, unwanted shakes or movements from your hand, so you can confidently lay down smooth and even lines. The long bristles apply paint with very little pressure and hold a lot of paint, avoiding lap marks.
 |
 |
| Liner brushes are used to create long, sinuous lines in paint. |
LARGE FLAT UTILITY BRUSH. It’s always good to have a large brush on hand. Little brushes do well with little things but sometimes you need a big brush to lay down paint, sealers, and clear nishes with smooth, sweeping strokes to cover large areas with ease. A large flat brush is also handy for decorative effects, such as glazing, dry brushing, and texturing. Flat utility brushes are inexpensive and available in many sizes. I find a 2" size works best for my work.
 |
 |
| Flat Utility brushes apply finishes smoothly over large areas. |
APPLICATION
Just like with stains and varnishes, painting requires preparation. Sand your work to a fine finish, fill any flaws, and remove all the dust. For most projects the paint can be applied directly to raw wood, however, sometimes a sealer coat of thinned varnish or shellac can be useful to fill the grain and prevent it from raising when using water-based paint. Exterior work should always receive at least one coat of primer.
Primer is designed to adhere to raw wood and provides a clean, even base on which to apply paint. Bright white primer can sometimes be tough to cover without multiple coats, so I find it useful to use gray primer.
Before starting a project, spend time getting comfortable with the paint and brushes first. Working on a piece of scrap material, practice any designs or details, teach yourself how to handle the paint and brush and develop an order to the process. Here is a tip I have learned: Before adding decorations and patterns, seal the base coat of paint with spray lacquer or clear water-based finish. This way if things go wrong, the mistake can be wiped off using a damp cloth without having to repaint the base color.
| Apply light colors first followed by dark for clean color separation. |
Another tip is to always apply the light colors first and overlap them with the darker, hiding colors for sharp, clean separation lines. Learning how to use new materials and new techniques opens doors for us to enjoy woodworking more, so think about adding paint to a project. It is great fun and with the right paint and brushes, surprisingly easy.
