Today I’d like to give a quick round-up of the tools I find indispensable when painting in oils. My must-have tools for acrylics are somewhat different, due to the different types of paintings I create with the different mediums. I’ll do a post on my favorite tools for acrylic painting at some point soon!

1. Tube wringer

I love this thing. It’s fantastically sturdy and heavy duty. It squeezes even the largest tubes with ease and doesn’t slip on the tube during use like some of the less expensive ones do. It does a fantastic job of squeezing out the last bits of paint from the tube, so you don’t waste any.

2. Palette Knife

I use this primarily to mix paints on my palette. I have a whole set of various palette and painting knives, but mostly I just use this one. (In case you were wondering, a palette knife has a straight or very slightly bent handle while a painting knife has a large bend in the shaft between the handle and blade)

3. Bright Paint Brushes

My favorite brush is the ‘bright.’ It’s a shorter version of the square-shaped ‘flat’ brush. I use these in a variety of sizes and tend to have multiples of each size so I don’t have to clean them off when I switch colors during a painting session. I also prefer the softer synthetic bristle brushes to the traditional bristle brushes.

4. Mona Lisa Pink Soap

This stuff is amazing. I first discovered it during college when I was taking a painting class, though it was my mother, who worked at Michaels at the time, who introduced me to it. It does a great job of removing paint residue from brushes (and clothes, I’ve been told, though I haven’t tried it for that myself) and hands. The scent is pleasant and not overpowering and it works very well for cleaning up both acrylic and water-mixable oils. I also used it to finish cleaning my brushes after cleaning them with turpentine/turpenoid when I was using traditional oils. They seem to have changed the name recently, as my newest bottle calls it Speedball Pink Soap.

5. Mistake eraser tool

Another fantastic invention. My mother gave me one as a gift once and I wish I had found it sooner. It’s great for tidying up edges and removing slight mistakes when your paint is still wet. There are two ends—a pointed, cylindrical one and a straight-edged wedge end. I use the wedge end almost exclusively.

6. Glass Palette

My all-time favorite palette. I searched long and hard for something like we used in my painting class, which were glass-topped cabinets on wheels. I like to have my palette on the table next to me when I paint rather than holding it in my hand. I love how easy it is to clean off the palette too. Which brings me to the last item in my list:

7. Razor scraper

I use this to clean off my glass palette. Once the paint dries, all you have to do is gently scrape the palette and all the paint comes right off. You do have to take care with the angle of the blade while you’re scraping, to prevent scratching the glass. The scraper takes a standard razor blade which you can reverse so the sharp end is inside the handle for storage. I found mine in a small, local art supply store in Connecticut but I’ve also seen them in the paint departments in stores like Home Depot and Lowes. They’re inexpensive and so worth it!

What are your favorite painting tools? Tell me in the comments below.

* Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward me a small commission – at no extra cost for you.