Here’s a very handy tip to use when you’re painting around the house: WRAP ‘EM WET!
That’s right, wrap up your wet paint brushes and they won’t dry out whenever you take a break from painting.
Wrap Your Paint Brushes In Plastic Wrap
We recently painted one of our bathrooms, along with the cabinet.
We had a good friend that volunteered to come over to help prep the cabinet for painting and to prime the walls of the bathroom. (Now, that’s a really good friend to volunteer for the dirty work!) Not only did she help out with the prepping and priming, she also gave us this really great painting tip:
When you’re in-between coats of paint while waiting for it to dry, or if you want to end your painting day and pick up on it the following day — or sometime later — simply wrap a wet paintbrush or paint roller in plastic wrap (a.k.a. Saran wrap or plastic film). Doing so keeps the brush or roller wet until you’re ready to get back to your painting project.
You can even put wet brushes wrapped in plastic in the freezer to make them last longer. Just give them 15 minutes to thaw before you use them again.
You can even put the entire paint tray in a large plastic bag and it won’t harden overnight or get a skin on top.
Other Ways To Keep Wet Paint Brushes From Drying Out
Here are a few other good ideas for storing a wet paint brush for awhile: 
- Aluminum foil works well. If you wrap a wet paint roller in aluminum foil, then pop it off and stick it in the refrigerator, it will stay fresh for 4 days.
- This video shows you how to wrap a wet paint brush in a ziploc bag without damaging the bristles.
- A wet towel will work, also.
- If you’re wearing latex gloves to paint, then this handy tip for keeping your paint brush wet is really smart!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8OJatwjvoc
Wrapping Your Brushes Really Does Save Time… And Paint!
Wrapping your wet paint brushes and rollers really does work. It also saved me so much time cleaning my brushes and rollers.
I always buy really nice paint brushes and I take care of them — because I want them to last as long as possible. I rarely buy the “one-use” brushes because the results are usually not that good.
This handy paint brush tip has saved me a lot of time and energy, now that I don’t have to worry about taking so much time to get my nice brushes and rollers, well…nice.
It also saves paint. The amount of paint you’ll save wrapping your paint rollers and brushes versus cleaning them after each and every use is more than you might think!
Go ahead, use your handy 5-in-1 paint tool to squeegee the paint out of a roller and into the bucket. You’ll see what I’m talking about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWlvpNPmrT0
Anyway… wrap ’em wet is a great little painting tip that saves time, energy and paint. Plus, it’s cheap, too!
You could always buy the paint brush cover that made its big debut on Shark Tank, but the above DIY ideas work good enough for me and my frugal friends.
Here’s a review of the paint brush cover seen on Shark Tank.
Other Great Painting Tips
- The Best Way To Store Leftover Paint
- How To Clean Your Paint Brushes
- Alternatives To Wrapping Paint Brushes In Plastic
- The Family Handyman’s Timesaving Paint Tips
- How To Store & Use Leftover Paint
- Paint Safety, Clean-Up and Disposal
- Have You Tried Silicone Paint Can Lids Yet?
I started as a home-stalker… visiting brand new homes under construction in the neighborhoods near my house. That inspired me to write about home building and home renovation projects — chronicling homes during different phases of construction from a consumer's point-of-view. Basically, the tips you'll find in my articles are a collection of checklists for what I think should (and should not) go into building or remodeling a quality home.
