Pro tip: Use a cheap paint roller grid instead of a tray for small touch-up jobs

I was painting a closet door in my apartment last weekend and had to choose between setting up my big messy tray or trying something else. I grabbed a 5-inch paint roller grid from the hardware store for about $4 and just poured a little paint into a plastic cup. It worked perfectly, used way less paint, and cleanup took 30 seconds. Anyone else have a better trick for small painting jobs?

4 comments

4 Comments

abbyr541mo ago

That bit about the 30-second cleanup is the real win. I've ruined so many good sweatpants wrestling a paint tray into the sink. Last time I tried using a paper plate for a tiny trim job and it just soaked through, left me with a beige pancake stuck to the floor. Your grid idea is way smarter.

skyler_johnson321mo ago

It's wild how many household messes come from trying to improvise with the wrong tool. @abbyr54, your pancake story is the perfect example of that. We keep trying to make regular stuff do a job it was never built for.

shane1701mo ago

That "beige pancake" disaster is too real. My buddy tried using a frisbee for some deck stain and ended up with a sticky plastic saucer he had to just throw away. The right cheap tool saves so much hassle.

tessap971d ago

Totally get the ruined sweatpants thing. That paint tray cleanup is a special kind of messy battle nobody needs. The grid trick sounds perfect for those little jobs where you just need a dab of paint. Might have to grab one for myself next time I'm at the store.