Foam Brushes vs Bristles

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Foam BrushesHave I mentioned how much I hate painting? If not, let me reiterate. . . I hate painting. I consider painting a more extreme version of Chinese water torture. About the only thing I hate more than painting is trying to clean the brushes afterwards. As much as I do not want to recommend something disposable, I love foam brushes for some painting tasks. They also work great for applying varnish to woodwork. Although disposable does not equal environmentally friendly, when you factor in the 2000 gallons of water I use trying to clean my paintbrush, I am not convinced a disposable brush is worse than cleaning and re-using brushes. Purists and paint pros always seem to recommend a high quality regular brush. However I think foam, especially versions resistant to breaking down, is a very viable alternative. Just avoid rough surfaces and replace the brushes frequently to keep them from falling apart and leaving little foam particles in the finish. I got mine from a big box store, but I found what appears to be a cheaper and better source online. A box of 50 2″ brushes is just $12.50 from WoodworkingParts.com. That’s 50 brushes for about the cost of one high quality standard brush. I have not tried them, but they have disposable foam rollers as well.

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About Marc Lyman

Marc grew up under a brave single mom who "encouraged" home improvement on the family home. Early toddler gifts included a tool set, and even a cordless Bosch drill when cordless drills first came out. In grade school (give or take a few years), Marc's mom said, "We need to cut down some trees. . . . here's a chainsaw." A father figure also involved Marc in many home improvement projects, including a summer of home remodeling in Palo Alto, CA. Toss in some Obsessive Compulsive personality traits researching everything home improvement related. The end result: a genetically pre-disposed, socially sculpted home improvement machine! For his complete profile, please visit our About page. Really, it's worth it.

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1 thought on “Foam Brushes vs Bristles”

  1. I started using foam brushes in the 70’s and it was love at first brush. They were made to replace the foam part with the handles reusasble and were so much better and they did not fall apart. They were not cheap like the ones now but no carboard showed up and they lasted threw freezing them and using them the next day. That is what I would like to find another manufacturer that made a better brush. I think they were made by GM and they stopped making them. They worked 100% better than their replacement ones now.

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