A few weeks ago our friend CoCo from The Crowned Goat asked us to participate in a blog hop with a few other furniture painters. The idea is that we each share some of our favorite tools for painting furniture. The tools and products we use most frequently. I loved the idea because even though we mention some of our favorite products in each tutorial, we don’t have a list of our favorite products all in one place on the blog. I’m also looking forward to finding new products to try from the other painters participating.
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So without further ado, allow me to introduce you to some of our favorite tools.
RYOBI CORNER CAT FINISH SANDER. We have 4 different power sanders, and this one is by far our favorite.
ELMER’S WOOD FILLER. Our favorite wood filler. Goes on purple and dries to a light tan. We prefer to buy several small containers rather than one large one, because once you open the container it will slowly dry out over time. You can purchase a 6-pack of the 4 oz. containers for almost the same price as one 8 oz. container on Amazon.
DEWALT DRILL. This is a great drill, and not too expensive. We also have a few drill bit sets and we use them all. We have this one, this one, and this one.
CHEAP BRUSHES. We buy cheap chip brushes and foam brushes by the bunch. It’s nice to have throw-away type brushes on hand when you’re using a product or technique that could damage your good brushes. You can find a pack of 24 chip brushes here, but if you live near a Harbor Freight, they have a pack of 36 2″ chip brushes at the best price I’ve found anywhere.
One-inch and two-inch foam brushes are also a must and perfect for decoupage work.
*Of course we have nice brushes too, but we’re holding off on making a recommendation on one because we don’t have a favorite yet. We have a few different Purdy brushes that are nice. We also have a couple Annie Sloan brushes, but we don’t love any of them. If you have a furniture painting brush that you absolutely love, let us know in the comments so we can try it out!
SANDING SPONGES. My favorite tool for distressing furniture. Easy to hold and use. I find that I have a hard time controlling the level of distressing when using a power sander, so unless we’re doing a really heavy distressing, these sanding sponges are our go-to.
PRIMER. We tend to use Zinsser primers a lot. Zinsser Bulls Eye 123 is the paint on primer we use most often, and Zinsser Bulls Eye Shellac comes in a spray can and is perfect for spot checking problem areas or for quickly priming small pieces. Both dry extremely fast.
GENERAL FINISHES WATER BASED TOP COAT. We don’t usually seal our furniture with wax. It’s definitely a personal opinion, but to us, it just isn’t very durable. Wax has its place, but if we’re looking for a stronger sealer, we often use GF Water Based Top Coat. It’s easy to work with, cleans up quickly and comes in several finishes, including Flat.
What are your favorite must-have tools and products? We’d love to hear about them in the comments!
*We are not affiliated with any of the products listed above, nor are we being paid to promote them. These are simply the products we use and purchase ourselves on a regular basis.
Want to see what the other painters have in their paint bags? Just click on the blog names below to go directly to their posts.
The Crowned Goat || 2 Bees In A Pod || Orphans With Makeup ||
The Painted Drawer || Primitive And Proper || DD’s Cottage And Design
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This is a great list of essentials, Amy! I’ve never tried the GF top coats before so I’m definitely looking forward to trying it now. Thank you so much for being part of this post. You’re always so much fun to work with. Hugs, CoCo
oh i need a good corner sander! i will have to look into that one!
I forgot to add the sanding sponge in my post 🙂 – totally necessary! This was so fun to do this blog hop with you guys!
Great list, Amy. I now realize how many items I forgot too. Love seeing everyone’s tools.
I was thinking the same thing, Mary! Lots of essentials I forgot to mention.
I would LOVE to seal with something other than wax, but they are all too shiny for me. Where can I purchase the GF flat sealer? In a local hardware store like Lowes?
Hi Tracey! Our local Woodcraft Furniture stores carry GF products, and that’s usually where we buy it. You can also order it through Amazon, or if you go to GF’s website, they have a “where to buy” tab where you can put in your zip code and it’ll tell you the retail locations near you.
Hey Amy – this is a fabulous list! We have never tried the GF topcoat but we will definitely try it now. We imagine it would be a lot easier than hand waxing 🙂 Great roundup of tips…thanks for sharing!
You have to try GF topcoat! It’s my favorite and I think you guys will like it too :).
Regarding favorite paintbrushes, I’ve read good things about “Cling On Brushes” which you can purchase on Etsy from Brass Tacks Tulsa. They have two different sets of brushes (3 per set) in small and medium in the $20-$25 range. I’m planning to give them a try myself.
Thank you, Peggy! I’ve never used that brand of brushes and I’m going to check them out. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and I hope you have a great week!