The Best Painter’s Multitool | Reviews by Wirecutter
Top pick
This is the only painter’s multitool that we found that cleans two sizes of roller covers, and it can also open paint cans, scrape old plaster, and crack a beer, among many other tasks.
For a tool that weighs less than 5 ounces and has almost no moving parts, the Hyde 17-in-1 contains a vast amount of functionality—including one key feature your typical painter’s multitool doesn’t have. The Hyde is the only painter’s tool that has a second, smaller semi-circular cut-out to clean paint from a small-diameter roller. During our long-term testing (which included a major home renovation), we found this to be an invaluable feature and one that clearly set the Hyde above the rest of the tested models.
It can really cut costs on a paint job. Small rollers, known as hot dog or sausage rollers, are essential to any painting project. They’re not only perfect for tight spots, like behind the toilet tank, but they’re also good for window and door casings (apply the paint with a roller then quickly drag the tip of a brush over it, giving it a brushed finish. Having a 17-in-1 tool that can quickly squeegee off excess paint from these little guys is much easier than using the larger cutout found on any painter’s multitool. The big one doesn’t wrap around the sides of the rollers to push the paint off, so it takes about 16 passes, as opposed to eight or so with the small one.
Squeezing paint probably sounds like pinching pennies, but proper use of a painter’s tool for cleaning rollers can add up to significant cost savings. By removing the excess paint, you’re not only preserving the roller for the next use, but also putting a good bit of paint back in the can. An average-size 9-inch roller can hold about a half pint of excess paint. With a gallon of quality paint running anywhere from $30 to $60, this amounts to about $2 to $4 worth of paint per roller—easily worth a moment or two cleaning off the leftovers.
It helps in a lot of other ways too. Beyond the small roller bonus feature, the Hyde multitool has a lot of what you’d expect from a good tool of its kind. For prep, the edge of the tool can scrape old paint and apply putty; the pointed corner can gouge out a plaster or drywall crack for repair; the center hole can pry up a nail, and the little screwdriver can remove outlet covers and pendant lighting. During painting, the small flat edge can pry open a paint can, and the metal butt end of the handle can bang it back on. And when you’re done painting, the Hyde even has a bottle opener.
We’re not the only ones who like the Hyde 17-in-1. Joe Provey, writing at BobVila.com, states, “In the short while I’ve owned my 17-in-1 Hyde Painter’s Multi-Tool, it has come in handy for filling voids in the bathroom subfloor that I’m prepping for tile, removing old caulk along the base of the tub, setting protruding nail heads, removing old drywall screws, and knocking down the nubs on the wall I’m about to paint. It has now earned a permanent place in the kitchen junk drawer.”
David Frane of Tools of the Trade says that the Hyde is “along the lines of what a Swiss Army Knife might be if it had been designed by a painter.”
