What does this paint gadget do?

It probably comes as no shock that painting a room yourself is far less expensive than hiring someone to do it for you. But there’s a reason the professionals can charge so much: They have all of the tools and tricks to make sure the job is done with perfect precision. No matter — keep your money. These little paint gadgets can make all the difference when taking on your next painting project.

Splattering paint all over when all you want to do is paint the corners of a wall is the No. 1 amateur mistake. Fortunately, there’s a tool for that. The edge painter is actually a painting pad, and you use it by filling the base with paint and then attaching a pad head. You squeeze back on the handle to release the paint to the pad in small amounts, thus letting you avoid bleeding paint along the edges of your ceiling, windows and more.

The handles of paint cans quickly become torture devices when they sink into your fingers. Carrying heavy paint cans by the handle hurts, and the weight of the paint makes an open can swing from side to side, causing spills. Take the pain out of painting with a can claw. This plastic device attaches to the side of the paint can and is held in place by the wire handle for a perfectly comfortable painting handle.

All paint cans should come with one these, but since they don’t, adding one to your painting tool belt will save you a ton of hassle and spills. These plastic paint lids come with a collapsible, closeable spout for easy-pour paint, resulting in fewer droplets landing on your carpet or tile.

Few things are worse than spending hours painting a room only to find dozens of paint drips that ruin your work’s perfection. A razor scraper can help. Run the scraper over the dried paint drops and they’ll fall right off. However, you might need to take a small paintbrush and retouch any paint that didn’t stay on the wall post scrape.

Yes, you can spend 10 minutes trying to open the can with a flat-head screwdriver, but why waste precious painting time? This tiny plastic tool can be purchased for under one dollar at a hardware store, and it can save you a ton of hassle. Simply press it under your paint can’s lid and lift. It’s a little tool you won’t think about buying until you really need it, so put it on your list when you head out to purchase your favorite paint.

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