Prep Materials

Your project checklist should include the following items, which you'll find at your local Sherwin-Williams store:

  • Brushes / Rollers / Pad Applicators
  • Ladder
  • Safety glasses or goggles
  • Wire brush or paint scraper
  • Drop cloths
  • Wiping cloths or rags
  • Wood filler
  • Spackling paste
  • Putty knife
  • Masking tape / painter's tape
  • Rollers and trays
  • Extension poles
  • Caulk and caulking guns
  • Paint thinner
  • Sandpaper
  • Pail hooks

In addition to our high quality paints, stains, wallpaper and friendly expert advice, your neighborhood Sherwin-Williams store has all the "extras" you'll need for your interior or exterior project.

Masking Tape
Designed especially for painting projects, blue masking tape offers cleaner, sharper painting lines. Find a variety of 3M® and Shurtape® masking tape and tape products at your neighborhood Sherwin-Williams store.

Paint Tray Liners
Disposable plastic paint tray liners help protect metal trays from paint splatters. Your neighborhood Sherwin-Williams store carries paint tray liners in various sizes.

Extension Poles
Extension poles help you safely paint areas that are difficult to reach. Extension poles are ideal for interior and exterior painting projects. Your neighborhood Sherwin-Williams offers extension poles in sizes ranging from 2-feet to 16-feet.

Spackle / Wood Putty
An important part of preparing a surface for paint is to achieve a smooth surface. For walls, use Sherwin-Williams shrink-free spackling paste to cover or fill in imperfections, such as nail holes or gouges. For wood surfaces, use wood putty to fill in nail holes or other small imperfections.

Putty Knives
Putty knives come in a variety of shapes and blade types. Flexible putty knives are used to smooth spackling paste, while stiff putty knives are good for scraping rough surfaces. The most versatile is the Hyde 5-in-1 hand tool, which you can use to scrape surfaces or angles, remove putty, open paint cans or to clean paint rollers. You'll find this tool in several handle and blade styles at your neighborhood Sherwin-Williams.

Sandpaper
Available in different grit sizes (rough, medium, fine and extra fine), sandpaper is used to smooth a surface in preparation for painting or staining. Your neighborhood Sherwin-Williams carries a wide range of products, from sanding sponges to individual sheets.

Caulk / Caulk Guns
Caulk seals smaller cracks and surfaces around interior and exterior windows, doors, gutters and doorframes. Caulk guns, which help you more easily apply caulk, come in a variety of sizes to accommodate different caulk types. Sherwin-Williams stores carry a variety of specialty and general application caulks that will provide maximum durability, including ProSelect 850A, ProSelect 950A and ProSelect 1100A.