Make functional disposable paint brushes with junk you probably have laying around in the garage right now! You can make these REALLY fast and costs basicly nothing.

The other day, one of the kids was wanting to paint his lego man's visor with silver paint. The paint was easy to find, but I was unable to find those disposable brushes. I looked at my rather messy workbench and saw everything I needed to make a brush quick and easy!

Step 1: What You Need.

You only need a few thing...

MATERIALS

some solid core wire (one of my most favorite things!)
an old shoelace
some tape

TOOLS

wire cutters
tape
scissors and/or utility knife

Step 2: Cut the Wire

In this example, I show two lengths: 4 inch and 6 inch
The longer 6 inch wire gives you more material so you can put a hook or loop on the end of the brush handle.
This can be very convenient.

Step 3: Cut the Shoelaces.

I used 2 inch segments - one for each brush.
After cutting the segments, I sliced one end of the given piece.
This made the shoelace look a bit like a comb.
Notice, you'll need to remove the excess cross fibers such that you have only fibers running long ways.

Step 4: Bend the Wire (handle)

Optionally, you can bend the end of the handle. I used a very elaborate jig system to get the beautiful curves. (my yellow highter).

The open end curve looks like a cane. This can be nice if you want to hang your brush off something like a can/bucket.
The closed end curve works great for hanging on nails or hooks.
The straight variety can be used in the traditional ways.

Step 5: Tape the Shoelaces to the Handles

I used some rather small pieces of duck tape to hold the shoelaces in place. It worked well. Notice I used the day-glo red tape to help with the activity illustration. You can use masking, electrical, probably almost any kind of tape.

I found it best to:

Wrap the piece of tape around the end of the wire.
Lay the lace on the tape.
Wrap the lace and tape around the wire until the tape was fully wrapped.

Step 6: Finished Brushes!

Here's some pics of disposable brushes I made. After you use the brush, you could simply throw away the shoelace and keep the handle to use again.

I've been trying to think of a way to have a shoestring feed sort of like a mechanical pencil does. Don't know if that will be a green light or not...

Also with the handles being wire, you can easily attach them to longer poles etc.
Perhaps touch up that spot you missed on the gutters up on the second story...
This is a lot easier than dragging the ladder out!

Step 7: Paint Job

Here's some pics showing a brush in use. I trimmed the brush further and de-furred some more. Sort of "thinned it out" as a hairstylist might say. Using some model paint and a lego as my demo materials...