The Best Painter’s Multitool

I spent 10 years in construction, and since 2007 I’ve been writing about and reviewing tools. But for this guide, my more relevant experience is that I’ve completely painted, oiled, or stained every single room of my previous house (floors, walls, ceilings—three or four coats each). It was all part of a full gut and remodel and in the process, I became acutely aware of all the tools that added efficiency to what can be a mind-deadening job. A painter’s multitool is chief among these. While specifically made for the needs of the painter, many carpenters, myself included, use these items as all-purpose, prying, scraping, fill-in-the-cracks tools.

For this guide, we also spoke with Mark Clement, licensed contractor and co-host of the MyFixitUpLife radio show. Clement has written for a wide variety of tool and construction publications and has a very good grasp of the needs of the homeowner as well as the full-time carpenter.

When we asked Clement about painter’s multitools, he said, “Almost any time you need to lever, wedge, scrape, gouge, cut, clean … I can go on … they’re a go-to. We use them for everything from opening paint cans to what we call a ‘trim shim.’ From honey-do lists to down and dirty, all-in DIY, we use them constantly.” He then told us, “Every tool pouch and project should have at least one of these.” I couldn’t agree more. When I was a full-time carpenter, I always made sure to have one in my bag, which was difficult because they were constantly being stolen—another testament, I suppose, to how useful they are.

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.”

Where the Hyde 17-in-1 falters is with the screwdriver setup. To access the bit storage, the rear cap needs to be pulled off, which is difficult to do. Hidden in the handle are two double-headed bits (Phillips #1, #2 and slotted #1, #2) and a nail set, which is basically a pointed metal cylinder used in conjunction with a hammer to tap small nail heads flush before painting. Each of these pieces can be inserted into the removable cap, which provides something to hold on to while you use them. The nail set is really low quality and it actually bent the first time we tried to use it (none of the other painter’s tools come with a nail set). Also, one of the other 17 uses for the Hyde is to utilize the nail set as a scribe, but there are much easier and more effective ways to do that. As for the screwdriver bits, they work fine as an emergency option, but it’s not easy to remove them from their storage slots.

The butt end got a little dented. We also noticed that after a decent amount of use and banging paint lids back on, the butt end of the Hyde became dented. The dents don’t seem to be causing any problems, and the handle itself still appears to be sound.

You may never use some of the features. The blade of the Hyde also has two wrench cutouts (¾-inch and 11/16-inch), which are sized to fit the connections on a paint sprayer. As Clement told us, “They’ll never be used by anyone who’s not a pro painter.” Since it doesn’t detract from any other element of the Hyde, it doesn’t bother us that it’s there.

If you’re on a slightly tighter budget and willing to sacrifice a few of the more advanced features of the 17-in-1, we recommend the basic Hyde 06986 6-in-1 Multi-Tool. It doesn’t have the small roller cutout, the bottle opener, the nail puller, the screwdrivers, or the wrench cutouts, but it does have a stainless steel blade, the large roller cutout, the prying edge, the scraper edge, the gouging corner, and a metal cap for banging a paint lid on. It’s also “guaranteed forever” by Hyde.

What separates this one from the rest of the basic 6-in-1s that we considered were the stainless steel blade, the metal handled cap, the guarantee, and Hyde’s overall reputation when it comes to painting equipment.

After looking at about 30 different available painter’s tools, we noticed that the Hyde was the only one with the small roller cutout. We weren’t sure how successful it would be, so we also tested three other tools, each in the 14-in-1 category. With all of the units costing less than $20, it made sense to go for the ones with the added functionality of the bottle opener and nail pryer. Also, knowing from personal experience how nice it can be to have a quick and dirty screwdriver on hand while prepping a room for paint, we keyed in on tools with that feature as well. We ended up with three for our primary testing: The Hyde 17-in-1, the Linzer 5600 14-in-1, and the (now discontinued) Husky 482 256 14-in-1. As a control unit, representative of the simpler models, we also looked at the Hyde 06986 6-in-1 Multi-Tool.

The Linzer tool has much of the same functionality as Hyde’s 17-in-1, but is missing the small roller cutout. The screwdriver storage is a little better on it, with the bits accessed through the side of the handle and placed into the butt end of the cap when in use. The downside is that in order to accept the driver bit, the rear cap has a ¼-inch hex hole in it. So if you’re using the cap to tap a nail in and you’re not careful, you’ll end up with a hex imprint on the wood. But as far as the scraping, gouging, and prying functions of the Linzer go, it’s a solid tool.

The Husky 14-in-1 is very similar to the Linzer multitool but is marred by a very low build quality. Within four minutes of starting our testing, one of the magnets that holds the screwdriver bits to the handle fell off. Even at the rock bottom price of $6 (a third the cost of the Hyde), all of the testers said they would avoid this one. Husky also has a 15-in-1 model, but that one only has a flat screwdriver.

You can choose from quite a few other models, and its likely that they all perform the basic tasks of the tool, but, again, the Hyde 17-in-1 is the most complete version of the tool, with both the small roller cutout and the backing of a very reputable paint tool manufacturer.