After all the prepping and painting is over, you still have to clean your equipment. Ryobi is looking to make that last step a little easier with its paint brush cleaner. Plug in the cleaner, fill it with water or thinner, and it’ll supposedly clean any brush up to 3″ wide in a few seconds.

What’s more, they claim the cleaner will make your brushes last longer and perform better. Soft brushes rotate at 950RPM to “gently” clean the inserted paint brush. The 10″ x 11″ x 12″ cleaner weighs 4 lbs. and can hold up to 1 gallon of cleaning fluid.

The paint brush cleaner only seems to be available online at Home Depot for $30, but at least it looks like there’s free shipping.

Paint Brush Cleaner [Ryobi]
Paint Brush Cleaner [Home Depot]

In the recent post Tool Pr0n: Would You Pay $280 For A Brace?, reader PutnamEco mentioned Protool — a company that sells tools in Australia, but not in the U.S. Seems like our friends down-under see a lot of tools we don’t here in the states. One product they sell which you won’t see anytime soon is their unique ProJet mixing system which looks more like a modern art project than a mixer.

Supposedly the ProJet mixing rods use the same principle as jet engine turbines. Three cones create an intense flow without introducing air into the mixture, which allows you to quickly and completely mix most materials without foaming.

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Instead of adjusting the air flow at the compressor, Astro Pneumatics’ digital flow regulator screws right onto your spray gun or other air tool to precisely control the flow of air. Love it or hate it, instead of a analog gauge it uses a digital readout.

Constructed with a mirror-plated finish, the regulator’s electronics are sealed and the display is behind impact-proof glass. Unfortunately this also means the battery’s not replaceable, but the display shuts off 45 seconds after you press the button to give the battery a life expectancy of 5,000 readings.

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The environment seems to be the latest flag to rally around, so it should come as no surprise when companies tout that their product “saves the environment.” Why should Prazi be any different? They waste over half their copy on how their product is “Green.”  Cut through the bullsh@t and here’s what’s left.

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There are numerous methods for stripping paint such as shaving, scraping, applying Dr. Pepper, and heating, but if you don’t want to spend lot of time and sweat equity, paint strippers are usually the way to go. They have their disadvantages: traditional strippers can use nasty chemicals you don’t want to inhale or get anywhere near your skin, not to mention they’re messy to clean up and they bring possible disposal issues.

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Ever get bored of being able to see the paint you spray? Probably not, since being visible is one of the major selling points of paint, but here comes a challenge to conventional wisdom from Clearneon. They produce a line of UV-reactive paints targeted mostly at computer modders and car customizers, though a clever mind could easily twist this fun stuff into a genuinely practical chemical. Imagine invisible serial numbers and permanent glow-stars on your kids’ ceilings.

With a per-can price hovering around $20, painting a wall will be pricey. Amazon has the best selection of colors with both aerosol and liquid paints available, but computer parts retailer Xoxide has the best prices. Grab a can, and relive Gone in Sixty Seconds 21st-century style.

Clearneon Paint [Xoxide]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

I’ll freely admit I laughed at this recently when I saw the ad for sample 8 oz. cans of paint for just under $3 at the Depot. I should have known better; every time I scoff at something like that it winds up biting me in the rear.

What could you possibly do with that? It’s not enough to really accomplish anything. I mean it’s not as if you could try out a few colors you were having a hard time deciding between in the room you wanted to paint. Oh wait, that’s just what my other half did this weekend — and spent less than ten bucks putting actual paint on actual walls — worked pretty well on the whole.

Also, you have some touch-up paint afterwards for pesky nicks and holes to be fixed. So let me just point out: sample paint, The Depot, 8.oz — don’t laugh.

Sample Paint [The Home Depot]

If Rust-Oleum’s claims about their Universal spray paint working on all paintable surfaces are true, you might be able to stop keeping a cabinet full of rattle cans for every type of surface. Wood, plastic, metal, concrete, glass, and vinyl are just some of the surfaces you can cover with this paint.

What’s more is that the Universal spray paint comes in a can with Rust-Oleum’s Advanced Delivery System which can be sprayed from any angle (read: you can actually spray it upside down). The new “ergonomic” grip with built-in drip guard will supposedly prevent finger fatigue and keep paint from dripping on your fingers.

The spray paint comes in primer, gloss, satin, flat, hammered, and metallic versions in a variety of colors. Cans run somewhere in the $6 to $10 range each.

Universal [Rust-Oleum]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Cutting in corners can slow you down when you’re painting — plus the paint texture where you’ve cut in with a brush never seems to match the paint texture applied with a roller. In certain lights it can even look like different shades. The CornerEase roller from Hyde lets you cut-in corners using a roller for a faster and more even paint job.

Besides corners, you can use the CornerEase to paint siding and bead board, paint around obstructions like conduit, and even apply drywall mud. A V-shaped hub is what shapes the 100% lamb’s wool cover so it can reach into corners and grooves. The handle also fits any standard extension pole.

You’ll pay between $25 and $30 shipped for a CornerEase Combo pack, which contains the roller hub, cover, and tray. Replacement covers run about $10.

CornerEase (pdf) [Hyde Tools]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Are you sure you want to carry that sharp and dirty painter’s 5-in-1 tool or putty knife in your pocket?  With FastCap’s new folding pocket putty and combo putty knives you don’t have to worry. Both tools use the same folding handle as the rest of their pocket tools to protect the blade and keep your pants clean and free of holes.

The pocket tools feature a thin, flexible blade made from heavy-duty stainless steel that can get behind molding without damage or spread fillers. The combo putty knife also allows you to scrape, dig, and clean rollers like any painter’s 5-in-1 tool.

Either pocket tool will run you $10, plus Amazon will ship the tools for free if you purchase over $25 — you’ll just have to throw some extra tools on the order.

Pocket Putty Knife [FastCap]
Pocket Painter’s Tool [FastCap]
Putty Knife Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Painter’s Tool Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Saving the original covers for your brushes is a good idea; they help to keep the brushes’ shape when you store them. If you threw out the covers, you can still make yourself new ones from paper — or you could buy these cool magnetic covers from Whitney Innovations.

The breathable, waterproof cover allows the brushes to dry while holding their shape during storage. The adjustable cover uses a Velcro catch to fit both straight and angled 3-1/2″ brushes. The coolest part is that the cover has an integrated magnet for hanging the brush on metal surfaces.

The copy on the site is written like a Babelfish translated it from English to some other language and back again, so we can’t tell exactly if you get one or two covers for $10, not including shipping. This seems rather expensive for a brush cover. If they could price them at $2 a piece — and actually sell them someplace you’d actually shop — they might really have something.

Magna Catch Brush Cover [Whitney Innovations]

To borrow a phrase from Dirty Harry, “Do I feel lucky?” While a caulk gun can’t do as much damage as a .44 Magnum, you might think so after hearing a homeowner scream as you leave gobs of caulk on the new carpet. With the FastCap Caulked N’ Ready holster you’ll always have your caulk gun at the ready and won’t depend on luck to contain the mess.

Made in the USA from high-impact plastic, the Caulked N’ Ready measures 17″ long and has an inside diameter of 2-3/8″. When you slide the caulk gun into the holster a spike enters the tube tip, plugging it closed. A reservoir around the spike holds the excess caulk that inevitably seeps out of the tip, keeping it off hard-to-clean surfaces.

Cutouts in the top of the holster capture the caulk gun trigger so the gun won’t spin around, and a 6″ adjustable wire clip allows you to hang the holder from your pants, belt, five-gallon bucket, workbench, ladder, or wherever else you decide to dangle it.

Right now the only place we can find the Caulked N’ Ready holster online is McFeely’s for $12.

Caulked N’ Ready [FastCap]
Caulked N’ Ready [McFeely's]

Whenever you work with drywall, dust gets everywhere — ceiling, walls, and floor — and getting it off all those surfaces is a chore.  That’s where Wooster’s Drywall Dust Eater comes in.  It’s a triangular tool that looks like a mop but uses a specially-treated material that attracts and holds dust without water.

The 16″ Dust Eater head attaches to threaded extension poles with a 360° double-action pivot that keeps the head flat against whatever surface you use it on.  The triangular shape lets you clean large areas quickly and reaches all the way into corners.

You can pick one up for about $25.

Drywall Dust Eater [Wooster]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

We’re not sure how this one slipped by us, but in March 2009, Ideal sent out a press release detailing their new Mess-X Paint Shields. The idea is simple:  when painting, instead of taping off outlets and switches, you remove the cover plates and simply “snap” their paint shield over any exposed outlets and switches.  When you’re done painting, remove the shields to reveal pristine outlets and switches.

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The Belt Bucket is another product designed to solve the problem of never having enough hands when you need ‘em.  Rather than carrying paint in one hand and the brush in the other while you’re trying to hold yourself on the ladder with your knees, the Belt Bucket frees up a hand so you can steady yourself.

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You try to pull the roller cover off the frame without making a mess, but you have to apply so much pressure that paint starts seeping through your fingers.  After you finish scrubbing the paint off your hands you might want to check out Shur-Line’s Easy Release Roller Frame.

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BEHR has defied the convention of laying a coat of primer before a coat of paint by combining both these products in one can.  BEHR’s new Premium Plus Ultra paint supposedly cuts your painting time in half by eliminating the priming and drying stage.

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