The Case For Using A Paint Edger For Your Entire Wall
If painting is not your favorite chore, you may be willing to try just about anything to simplify the process. Several painting hacks are worth trying, although some work better than others. A paint hack that you may want to consider trying is using a paint edger for the entire wall. The paint pad that works for edging also can work to apply paint across the wall. Some people prefer this tool for painting large areas because it doesn't create splatter like a roller or leave visible brush strokes like a paintbrush sometimes does.
Traditionally, the best way to use a paint pad or paint edger is for borders when painting the wall in a room. The paint pad makes it easier to paint close to trim near the floor, ceiling, and around window framing. Because of the design of a paint roller, it's difficult to use it tightly around these items. Many people have difficulty controlling a paintbrush precisely enough without leaving paint on the trim. Fortunately, the paint edging pad fixes these problems.
Although it may not be a traditional way to use the paint edger, the design elements and ease of use make it great for painting a wall quickly and easily.
Why using a paint edger is so easy
Paint pads are available in a few different sizes, so you can select a large one to cover an entire wall. You can also select a smaller pad when applying paint carefully around a window frame. It has a convenient handle on the back for delivering precise control. Ultimately, the paint edger pad speeds up, cutting the paint into a corner of the room or along a window frame. Some people are so confident using a paint edger that they don't apply painter's tape to protect the trim.
Social media has plenty of videos showing how to use a paint pad to apply paint to the edges of a wall near the trim. But TikTok user @katgothistongue went further, gaining more than 500,000 likes on a video that uses the paint pad as a painting hack for the entire wall rather than using a brush or roller. In the TikTok post, Taylor claimed to put two coats of paint in a hallway in an hour by going back and forth with the paint pad.
Using a paint pad like this certainly looks effortless, which is a common reason people want to try painting an entire wall with a pad. When used correctly and with some practice, painting with a pad certainly can go quickly with minimal mess versus the potential splatter of a paint roller or sprayer.
Potential problems with using a paint edger
It does take a little bit of practice to learn to use the paint pad correctly. Some people prefer to stick with the tools they already know how to use, such as a paint roller, for painting an entire wall because they don't want to take the time to learn how to use the pad efficiently.
Applying paint to the paint pad can be challenging, as too much paint on the pad can cause drips and blobs of paint on the wall. Like with the ends of a roller, paint tends to accumulate at the edges of the pad. If you don't always hold the pad flush to the wall while painting, pressing hard on the edges could leave excess paint on the wall. If using this tool for the entire wall, watch for areas with too much paint and go back over them immediately with the pad to spread the paint before it causes streaks.
If you don't have an even amount of paint across the face of the entire pad, you may end up with small areas with a lighter coat of paint than the rest. You may have to go back over these spaces with the pad repeatedly to ensure a consistent concentration of paint. You could experience this same problem with a paint roller, though.