Have you any ideas as to what I could use on paintbrush handles to afford a better grip?

Duct tape or cloth-based electrical tape. like this

@elbanditoroso -What could I put under the tape to “fast track” it or build it up quicker?
The thought of building tape up to ½” thickness on 100’s of brushes makes me want to cry. XD

Foam. Not sponges, per se, but foam. Go into a fabric store. There are about a dozen gradations of foam firmness and width. Try some and see what works,

Would pencil grips help?
Crap. My link doesn’t work. Well, google “pencil grippers” to see what I mean.

@elbanditoroso That is a very good idea! Thank you!

@canidmajor -I have used them for pens. The ones I have are blue silicone and work well as they have some give to them.
The problem is that the holes are too big for the diameter or the brushes I often use and I want to do this to all the brushes I have.

Sand the handles with fine sandpaper, then spray with a good polyurethane clear coat. Before the clear coat dries, sprinkle with salt or sugar. When the clear coat is dry, wash the handles to remove the salt/ sugar.

@kritiper -That is similar to putting sand in poly on docks and it does make for a pretty good non-slip surface but I also need to increase the diameter of the handle to around ½” or so.
I like your idea very much.

There is a liquid rubber product at lumber/building supply stores that you can dip the handles in (more than once, if needed) and let dry, and, if you desire, add the salt/sugar like I mentioned above. This would make the handles thicker.
You could also find some clear vinyl hose at hardware stores, of various inner dimensions, and slip precut lengths of hose over the handles to make thicker.

@kritiper -I thought about Plasti-Dip I think that’s the name
How do you think vinyl hose coated with the plasti-dip would do? If I could get the thickness in one fell swoop, it would make things much easier and faster.
I am also wondering about polymer clay. That bakes at a fairly low temp…i wonder about shrinkage though.

I think you could only experiment to come up with what might work best. I have no other ideas at this time. Good luck.

@kritiper Yep and you gave me gave me a good starting point, thanks :)
I will have the time to do it as my computer died last night and I can’t take much more of my husband’s keyboard. ;P

I do but they’d not be very practical & certainly not as good as you already got here.

@ucme -If I laugh, it’s worth just as much as a practical idea.

@lucillelucillelucille Oh it wasn’t going to be funny, just a rubbish suggestion :D

@ucme -Lots of ideas are based in rubbish…like the Seatless Unicycle Motocross races.

@lucillelucillelucille Ouch!!
Okay, but you must not laugh as this was a genuine suggestion.
You might cut off fingers from washing up gloves &...see, I knew you’d laugh @*#¥☆¡

@ucme -and make paintbrush condoms?

@lucillelucillelucille Brush up on foreplay…I used to think that related to golf!

@ucme -Use them for your clubs as you’ll end up with twice the amount before you finish the first nine. It’s called safe golf.that’s all Ive got

Wrap it a few times with a leather strip that you get at hobby lobby

@josie That would work too. I’d need to buy a ow as I have a lot of brushes.
I need to buy a consonant too while I’m at it, Pat XD

This stuff

Was going to say plasti dip.
Also, you can buy foam tape to build it up.

Do you have a hot glue gun? You can glue on some stripes of glue for better grip. I’ve seen videos of people doing that on the bottoms of high-heeled shoe soles. If you already have a hot glue gun, this could be a very easy and inexpensive option. You can probably peel or scrape it off of your brush if it doesn’t help.

@ARE_you_kidding_me -Yep. That stuff is interesting.
@raum -Another good idea!
@Cupcake-I do. I will definitely try this.

Have you considered a length of Tygon tubing, (clear vinyl tubing at Lowe’s)? It comes in many different sizes and can be easily cut with a knife or scissors.
Pick the correct size, cut it to length and push it on over the handle. And it is removable.

I think that this question pretty much implies that @lucillelucillelucille is losing her grip.

Would silicone cooking pan handle covers help at all??? I’ve seen them on Amazon & in some of. our stores They fit over cast iron pan handles & some of the oven safe pans with metal handles. I’ve not thought about using them for paint brushes so not sure how useful they might be.

@LuckyGuy -That’s been mentioned. I will see if they have thicknesses.

@elbanditoroso -All true.

They come in lots of sizes and thicknesses. And you can slip one over the other if you need something really thick.

@LuckyGuy – I need to check those out. I thought of using twine but am afraid it might rot after being waterlogged.

Not sure if this would work or not, but you may want to consider overgrips/replacement grips for tennis racquets. They come in rolls like tape and have a nice feel to them.

Dip it into FlexSeal paint and let it dry until you get the thickness you like.

Did someone already suggest Silly Putty?

@gorillapaws,-Nope but thanks.
@seawulf575 Is that the guy that cut a perfectly good boat in half? If so, I’m there! XD
@cheebdragon -That might work! and it’d bounce right back up into my hand when dropped!

@lucillelucillelucille Actually, it is the same guy, but this time he made a boat frame out of chicken wire and painted it with the paint. Same effect. But it is a real thick plastisol kinda product.

@seawulf575 The faster the result, the happier I’ll be as I have a few hundred I need to do. XD

Flex-Seal was the liquid stuff I was thinking of in prior posts.

Flex-Seal comes in a liquid & a tape. It’s not as good at plugging holes as they try to make it sound, but it might be good enough for paint brush handles!!!

@LadyMarissa I wonder if the liquid is thick as that is what I’d need.

I haven’t bought it, but it looks like tar in the pictures. It’s kind of pricey & I’m pretty sure that they were selling it by the gallon. My local Lowe’s was carrying it so I assume that Home Depot carries it as well. of course Amazon was carrying it which means that Walmart probably does as well. I wouldn’t order it off Amazon but try to buy it locally so you could ask to see it before you buy it. I’m sure that Lowe’s & Home Depot would let you look before you buy. Walmart should as well IF you can find an associate to assist you.

I never bought it because my health at the time wouldn’t allow me to do the work that needed to be done & I couldn’t find anyone who would do the work for a reasonable rate. Good luck & have fun!!!

@LadyMarissa -Thanks!
It makes me want to cut my canoe in half. ha ha!

NOOOOOOO!!! That’s the scam part of the advertisement. His boat sank IF it ever got below 50–60 mph. Of course they only recorded him flying across the water…NOT when he stopped. There was a whole study on the good & bad parts of Flex-Seal. Don’t remember where I found it; but IF I find it again, I’ll get you the link. From what I can remember reading, it should be safe for dipping paint brush handles but not much else.

@LadyMarissa Lol! I won’t do that.
I did not hear about the boat sinking though

@lucillelucillelucille While looking for the link to the report I had read, I discovered a video & watched it. A gallon of the Flex Seal costs a $90/gal so be prepared for the sticker shock!!!

@LadyMarissa -I didn’t price check it but did wrap some thick twine around a handle yesterday and it worked well.
The leather cord idea would work too as it’d shrink to fit even tighter I imagine.
Dipping would be good as I have 100’s of brushes but I can wrap them as needed I suppose

@lucillelucillelucille I would think that the leather cord would be more comfortable in the hand than the twine but I could be wrong.Only wrapping the one that you’re getting ready to use seems more efficient to me. In doing it that way, you won’t need to have the immediate expense of purchasing the product you choose to use. Instead, not only will the wrapping will be spread out as needed, but the cost of the wrapping will be spread out also. You might also discover that some of those 100+ brushes won’t ever be used again & probably should be discarded!!! ;)

@LadyMarissa -Believe it or not, they all get abused at some point.
They serve different purposes and I want to have them at the ready when I need to switch.
The thing I’m now wondering about is how bad they’ll smell if I use the leather. They are sitting in water as I work.
I guess there is one way to find out. XD

@lucillelucillelucille NOT the ideal situation; but IF you don’t like the way the leather smells, you can always remove it & replace it with the twine. Will the twine not also develop an odor over time as well???

@LadyMarissa -Probably but it comes in a huge roll.