Painting and decorating

Cheap own brand rollers from B&Q are fine. Throw the roll away rather than try and clean it - although if you are going to use the same paint the next day, wrapping in clingfilm or wet cloth to stop it drying out means you can re-use it.

Brushes I tend to spend a bit more on - Harris for example - as it's worth cleaning them.

For preparation, use masking tape on e.g. skirting/door frames/cornices/sockets/switches etc so you can roller right up to the edge thus reducing or eliminating the cutting in time.

For wood, use water based paint rather than traditional oil based - easier to clean brushes, easier to wipe off mistakes. Although for some things e.g. windowsills I'll still sometimes use oil based gloss.

As silvertabby says, its all in the prep.

Rollers come with different degrees of fluffiness. Use a flatter one for smooth walls, and a more fluffy one to get into textured surfaces.


The paint texture you get using brushes or rollers is never the same. So I tend to pick one or the other. But if you do use a roller, then you will need a small brush to do around the edges.

I cut the top off a 2ltr bottle and fill with soapy water to soak roller sleeves.
Ypu can get cleaning rings to push them through to remove a lot of excess first.

If they get a bit tatty keep them for outdoor use.

I've found the paint brushes Aldi sell to be very good.

I've bought cheap and expensive bushes from the big DIY stores in the past and been dissapointed by both.

A good tip above on Screwfix too - I always forget to look there as they tend to be in out of the way places but have found better choice and stock levels than B&Q and Homebase when doing a couple of recent jobs.