The Best Paint Brushes For All Types Of Painting

Harris built the Seriously Good range for walls and ceilings, and it's a good match for cutting in a room with a good emulsion paint. The pack has five brushes, a 0.5, 1 and 1.5 inch plus two 2.5 inch brushes, so you've got a narrow one for tight corners and a pair of wider ones for the long lines along the ceiling.

We used the set with emulsion and it washed out in plain water, ready for the next job. Harris also guarantees the bristles won't shed. The weak spot is the handle stem, which is fairly thin and becomes uncomfortable if you're holding it for many hours at a stretch.

Purdy brushes are what you'll find in a lot of decorators' kit bags, and the Monarch Elite set makes sense if you paint regularly enough to look after a good brush. The set has three brushes at 1, 1.5 and 2 inches, each with a stainless steel ferrule that won't rust when you wash it out.

The Purdy line-up we bought in for testing, shown above, is a different range from the Elite set, so the handcrafted and made in the USA wording on that packaging isn't a guide to where the Elite is made. Purdy says the set suits all paints, and a good brush that keeps its shape is what gives you a smooth, even finish on woodwork. It's the most expensive set in this roundup, so it only makes sense if you'll clean it properly and keep it for years.

The Perfect Finish set has a triangular brush head, which is what sets it apart from everything else here. The pointed shape puts the tip of the bristles exactly where you want it, so cutting in against glass, along a ceiling line or round a light switch is meant to be easier for anyone who doesn't have a steady decorator's hand yet.

You get three brushes at 1, 1.5 and 2 inches, and Dulux also sells them singly if you only want one size. The bristles have split tips to lay the paint down smoothly, and Dulux says they won't shed. They clean up easily, too. The triangular head is built for edges and frames, so for big flat areas you'll still want a wider standard brush or a roller.

Hamilton's Prestige brushes use pure synthetic filaments, which suit water-based paints far better than natural bristle. Natural bristle soaks up water and goes floppy, whereas synthetic filaments keep their spring, so the brush picks up a good load of emulsion and spreads it evenly. Our testing photos show a batch of Hamilton brushes still in their sleeves.

The set has five brushes covering 1, 1.5 and 2 inch sizes, each with a stainless steel ferrule. Hamilton aims them at walls and ceilings, and they're easy to clean, which is what you want from a set used mainly with emulsion. They cost more than the budget sets here but sit well below the Purdy.

Ten brushes ranging from 0.5 to 3 inches make the Stanley Hobby set a handy box to keep in the shed for the jobs you wouldn't trust to a good brush. Think primer on bare wood, knotting, creosote-substitute on a fence post or a quick coat on garden furniture.

The bristles are a synthetic blend and the handles are moulded yellow plastic, which wipes clean and doesn't swell if it sits in water. They're easy to rinse out after water-based paint. As with most cheap brushes, you'll get the occasional bristle coming loose, so pick it out of the wet paint as you go and keep these brushes away from finishing coats of gloss. The 3 inch brush is the widest in this roundup, which helps on rough timber and larger areas.

Fastcar's mixed set gives you five brushes at 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 and 2.5 inches, which covers most sizes you'll need around the house. The bristles are synthetic, the red handles are shaped to sit comfortably in your hand, and the set suits all paint types.

Treat these as single-use or rough-work brushes. They're fine for slapping primer onto new skirting, painting the inside of a cupboard or putting undercoat on a door that's getting a better topcoat later. Expect the occasional loose bristle, which is normal at this price, and don't expect the finish you'd get from the Harris or Purdy brushes. They're easy to clean if you do want to keep them for another job.