A paint edger applies paint with clean, straight lines against the outer edge of a ceiling, corner, or baseboard. With a paint edger tool, you will not need to take ceilings, trims, or cut-in using a paintbrush. Paint edging tool will help you paint like a pro!
A paint edger tool is an upgrade over painter’s tape and cut in using a paintbrush. It also saves time over removing masking tape or painter’s tape when you are finished.
When painting a room, users can use three methods when doing an edge:
- Cutting In – Professionals choose a cut-in technique when doing edging. However, few DIYers can do this well. This technique requires patience and experience to get right.
- Masking – using painter’s tape to mask off sections is time-consuming. A simple room can take half an hour to mask. If the room is more complex, it will take considerably longer.
While it will maintain a perfect edge, paint can bleed through. Additionally, when you remove the tape, you may discover your job wasn’t entirely lined up properly.
- Edger – They eliminate the frustration of painting freehand. A paint edger tool rolls or slides over surfaces in a straight pattern. This allows you to paint in a perfect line. An edger can cost a bit more money than other tools.
Yet if you consider this against the cost of painter’s tape, edgers come out ahead.
Things to Consider
Paint edging tools work in different ways. They are available in various sizes, configurations, materials, and shapes. Each of them has a unique purpose depending on your project.
A paint edger prevents the paint brush or paint roller from hitting the trim or ceiling. Edgers can be a paintbrush, pad, or roller accompanied with an attached or separate guard. Since the guard moves with the paint tool, users must determine the width of the paint strip.
For simple walls with baseboards, use a wider paint strip. Narrower areas will require a smaller edger. These will hit into tight spaces.
Material
Users need to pick an edger appropriate to their paint type. Natural or natural fiber edgers work best for oil-based paints and stains. Brushes with synthetic materials are for acrylic and latex water-based paints. Oil-based or water-based paints can be applied easily using paint pads.
Roll-on paint edgers are small paint rollers with a flocked cover. They provide coverage for smooth paint, and have a shield located to one side, keeping paint away from surfaces. It works exactly like a paint roller.
Smear-on paint edgers contain an absorbent pad. Users load them by dipping them into paint. Others may contain an onboard paint reservoir inside the handle. Paint reservoirs can paint 50 linear feet. Dip-in reservoirs can only hold enough to cover three linear feet.
Edgers with pads utilize the smear method when applying paint. They have a material that is absorbent, almost like a sponge, to get paint from the tray. The surface is textured, but it gives a clean finish. These pads can apply a smooth, full coat within a single pass.
Brush edgers operate like most paintbrushes. They will hold less paint over pads, so painting may take longer. The guard on it will not keep it crisp like a pad will. This is because the bristles require movement to release paint. They are more useful when covering a textured surface.
Extenders are used to paint high spaces. They are safer than painting on a ladder and will allow you to reach tough spaces. They are great for high ceilings as they provide greater range with fewer motion. It reduces physical fatigue that accompanies bending, reaching, kneeling, and squatting that occurs while using a regular brush or roller.
How to Use a Paint Edger
Edgers make painting along edges fast and easy. The following outlines the best way to use a paint edger:
- The guard should be away from the side of the paint roller. You want to avoid having paint on it, especially having it touch an area in which you do not intend to paint.
- The roller should be loaded with paint. Be patient and roll all the roller with paint evenly.
- Roll the paint on the wall. Paint a few strokes to even out the paint located on the roller. Keep the guard open and away from the edge.
- Put the guard in place. It should be next to the roller.
- Begin high on the wall with the edger rolled down. Begin six inches away from the edge. Roll downward and in until the trim is pressed by the guard.
- Move the paint roller up and down until the paint is even.
- The roller can be used to feather out paint onto the wall.
When painting the walls, use even pressure over the entire tool. Tilting it in either direction prevents it from contacting the wall. The line will not be smooth. Another tip is to remove the edger and place it in water between uses. Wet brushes create straight and even lines.
Avoid getting paint on tracking wheels. Every time you load the roller, ensure they are clear. If they are not, then you will get paint in an area that you had not intended.
How do you Edge Properly?
Some homeowners like to roll, then edge while others do the reverse. They like to paint down and overlap with the roller. Neither step is wrong, but both things need to be done before doing a second coat.
Avoid rolling two edgings then two layers. This will prevent the paint from blending. Do a single wall. The roller and the edger will not have a chance to thoroughly dry. You will receive a perfect look between the paint and the edge. You also won’t have to hurry to get the task done.
By following these tips and techniques, your painting and edging will be flawless. You will not be able to determine what tool reached what area. Both areas will be smooth.
Edging is a wonderful way to eliminate the hassle of masking an entire room with painter’s tape. Painter’s tape is time-consuming and expensive. There are many downfalls to it that edging removes.
While edging initially costs more, there is nothing more frustrating than spending money on painter’s tape and then dealing with the frustration on the back half when there is an easier way with better results.
