Purdy – the paintbrush and painting tool company – has come out with their own modular tool storage system designed with painter’s in mind.
Purdy says that theirs is the first tool box system created for Pro painters, allowing users to “Organize, Stow, and Go.”
The system came out a few months ago, but only recently came to my attention thanks to Purdy’s targeted ads on social media.
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The Purdy Painter’s Storage Box line features an XL rolling tool box, an XL brush and roller box, and a smaller sized supply box.
They advertise that the “two bottom boxes offer plenty of space for all the tools needed on the job – including power tools.”
The rolling box also features “ample space to store multiple gallon cans.”
The rear of the rolling tool box has two extension pole holders.
While some other brands’ modular tool box systems have fixtures or accessories for holding levels, this is the first I’ve seen of a built-in painting pole holder.
A dedicated brush storage bars helps painters “keep brushes orderly and bristles in top shape” by storing them vertically. Purdy says this can be used before, on the way, or during painting jobs.
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The smaller tool box has a removable covered wet brush and roller bin, with room to hold up to 18″ rollers. Purdy says “it’s designed for moving used brushes and rollers from jobsites to where they’ll be cleaned,” and without getting paint on anything else in the tool box.
The tool box also has plenty of room for tools, fresh rollers, and supplies such as tubes of caulk.
The boxes have an IP65 water and dust resistance rating.
The 9-inch all-terrain wheels are described as being replaceable.
It’s also notable that, based on the product images, the wheels don’t eat up too much of the rolling tool box volume.
Price: $330
The Purdy Painter’s Storage Box looks to only be available via Sherwin Williams.
Thanks to Aaron for the heads-up!
Discussion
This does look to be a well-thought-out storage system for painters.
Here’s what I’m thinking. Couldn’t Purdy have designed inserts for popular brands’ modular tool box systems instead, such as Dewalt ToughSystem or Milwaukee Packout?
It’s unclear as to whether Purdy will ever offer the different tool boxes individually, or if they plan on expanding the line with additional options.
What if a painter wanted one small tool box for patching tools, and another for clean paint rollers and wet brush storage?
Video
Here’s a 30-second intro video:
Jared
Sort of looks like my Toughsystem 1.0 boxes. Maybe the color scheme is what’s creating the impression though.
While I’m not sure the market needs yet another mobile storage system, it does look like Purdy designed the boxes for a specific task – like the extension pole holders and paint brush bars, etc. In a crowded market, I think that’s better than just coming out with yet another generic option.
Rog
This feels verrry niche. I was thinking the same thing as Stuart: Couldn’t they have offered inserts??
MM
Yes, agreed. This does look like it has some useful features but it really does feel like re-inventing the wheel. Inserts for existing systems would have made more sense to me. They also would allow people to buy them bit by bit instead of having to buy the full system all at once.
I could see a similar product with organizers for drywall tools like trowels, hawks, and taping knives making sense. I don’t do much drywall but I still find it a hassle to keep the tools organized and safe since they don’t really play nice with most tool bags/boxes. I built something similar to what’s in this video. A lightweight plastic solution would make a lot of sense be it a standalone product or an insert for a 3rd party brand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foX3lfZAI1E
Blocky
This is cool. My system was to make cardboard sleeves for each knife and label the sleeves in huge print so they are easy to match up and don’t get tossed. I only do drywall once or twice a year.
Peter
My favorite drywall guy on yt but I have not seen that one.
Thank you for sharing.
William
I feel like they should have partnered with an established brand to do this. Dewalt or Milwaukee ideally but even Craftsman versastack could have worked. There’s a wagner or graco sprayer that uses Dewalt batteries. Really the only new parts are the brush holder and the paint pole holder. Someone should 3D print those items for another box. I would have liked to have seen a storage box specifically for drywall tools. those frequently seem hard to store to me and would do nice in a box.
Do any painters here actually hang their brushes like that? What’s the benefit of hanging a brush vs just laying it down?
William Adams
The bristles stay straight, the brush as a whole maintains its shape, and it doesn’t have to be pitched because it’s become deformed.
William
I understand the benefit from just dropping them in a bucket. But if you laid the brush on its side, does it still deform like that? You’re not setting the brush down on the bristles, you’re setting it down on the ferule and the handle.
Bonnie
I don’t bother with house brushes, but for artist brushes I dry them hanging down. It helps maintain a straight point and reduces buildup of dried paint in the ferrule. Once they’re dry there’s no reason not to store them flat.
Joe H
It might be nice if the box for brushes had a vent that can be opened and closed so that after brushes are cleaned and rinsed that the lid of the box could be closed without worry of any residual moisture being trapped inside on a hot day. Might be nice to have a caulk gun hanger on the side as well. I’m no painter but I would have liked those options. Could be made myself but it would be nice to not have to. A different color than black would have been nice to set them apart from the market full of black modular toolbox systems as well. I hate dark colored tool boxes since the insides are harder to see stuff.
Jeremy
These boxes do have vent holes in the sides.
fred
Sherwin Williams has been selling a painter’s tool carry bag for some time – and did come out with a backpack version under their Purdy brand. So, this does seem like a logical extension. Most of their own brand items are sold at their free-standing paint stores – but they have Lowes as a big-box outlet for Purdy – now that HD has gone over to Wooster. That connection probably ruled out partnering with Milwaukee or Ridgid for this toolbox stack – but I guess they could have gone with Stanley or Keter – and may actually have if one of them (Keter or Zag) are the OEM. If you are a commercial painter with an account with Sherwin Williams – thay probably will soften the price-blow (probably by 15%).
Todd
Hanging the brushes in the box? Great idea. For $330? No thanks, I can get a packout 3 piece system and make an insert to hang brushes out of plywood for less. While still having the expandability and flexibility of an established system.
fred
In the days when “paint” meant various lead pigments suspending in an oil vehicle – painters would sometimes hang wet brushes in a metal container filled with linseed oil to keep the bristles soft. Old 5-gallon cooking oil cans seemed to get repurposed for this. Between all the lead in paint, and plumbing (the name originates from the Latin for lead) caulked joints, lead shower pans and toilet bends – I’m not sure how I’ve lived as long as I have.
tim Rowledge
Don’t forget the lead in petrol! For you younger readers, yes, they really did used to put tetraethyl lead in petrol and thus into the atmosphere. Which got breathed in by everyone around. Brilliant!
fred
Yep – it improved the octane rating and helped lubricate engine valve seals.
In an earlier age (The Roman Empire) it was speculated that lead poisoning was even more common from drinking wine from pewter and lead-bearing goblets. Sour wine – containing traces of vinegar (acetic acid) would be improved (sweetened) with contacting lead – as lead acetate (also called sugar of lead) was formed. Did this help with the decline and fall of the Empire? Or did the corruption and bad emperors stem from something else entirely?
MM
It’s very interesting to read about old practices in the automotive industry. I learned a few weeks ago that whale oil was an important additive in early automatic transmission fluids. When the use of whale oil was banned in 1972 this resulted in a huge spike in the failure rates of the transmissions which lasted for many years until people could figure out a suitable replacement.
fred
When I was young – oil from Pennsylvania wells was touted as having better lubricity for engines and the like than its cousins from elsewhere in the county. That was capitalized on by brands like Quaker State and Pennzoil that presumably (if not actually 100%) came from that source.
My favorite old bit of trivia about the automobile business was how electric cars once outsold IC-Engine cars in many locales. There were 3 competing technologies – battery-electric, steam engine and IC-engine. The electrics were favored by many in the cities – where batteries could be charged, operation was quiet and mostly because they did not have to be cranked over. Despite Edison and other’s best efforts a lighter-weight better battery was not invented by the time that the Bendix gears electric starter was invented and EV’s faded in popularity – all but replaced by gasoline IC-Engine power.
JR Ramos
As a kid, I was one of those gas sniffers who would stand by the filler neck and absorb the fumes – to my best recollection, leaded gas smelled much better than modern gas. 🙂
The lead did indeed serve a purpose with the valves and when leaded gas began to be phased out many engines found themselves in a real pickle. They sold aftermarket lead additive for those vehicles that could be poured in the tank. I had some friends who purchased a 50’s BlueBird school bus to renovate into a hippy house, which turned out pretty neat, but when that lead additive disappeared from the market in the early 90s or thereabouts, they were stuck with that old engine. Rather than rebuild/retrofit it, they just parked it permanently.
That was before my time really but I’d always heard that the lead had more importance in lubricating the valve stem itself where they slide through the bushings and not so much the seals. Makes sense but I don’t know. That of course would not work in today’s direct injection engines.
AP
Pricey but I like it. Handy for a number of reasons but I love the brush storage. This screams version 2.0 (w/ a more durable telescoping handle & larger tires) if successful. Are different boxes and eventually inserts coming? Well done and interesting, thank you!
JoeM
I am completely with those others who believe Purdy really should have offered Purdy-Branded inserts or boxes that were other-system-ready instead of making their own fresh set of boxes. But, what’s done is done, and overall I do like what Purdy is showing us here. If they had released them as a TSTAK, ToughSystem, Packout, Lboxx(?), and Systainer-version system of additions, it would have sold much more, much easier. It’s more manufacturing, but that’s manufacturing that would pay for itself in volume of sales into the other systems’ ecosystems.
Stuart
Purdy hasn’t made it clear if the line will be extended past this 3pc combo kit, and I don’t have any contacts there to ask.
fred
Sherwin-Williams (Purdy’s parent) is certainly a big enough company (bigger in terms of annual revenues than SBD) to extend the line should they decide that it is profitable. They also have a very large number of their own stores (Wikipedia says 4631 – which is about the same for HD & Lowes combined if the numbers are correct.)
Doug N
I wonder if a standard large paint roller tray (20” long) can fit inside the XL boxes. The only modular system I’ve found to carry a paint tray is the Ridgid 2.0, which I’ve adapted for all my painting/mudding supplies. Works great.
Blocky
It’s concerning that the lids are indicated do not sit or stand.
I sit or stand on my ridgid boxes. Even if I didn’t, others would. The form factor implies that use.
TomD
Milwaukee says the same about packout for liability reasons, but they’re clearly strong enough.
Franco
“Sherwin-Williams (Purdy’s parent) is certainly a big enough company (bigger in terms of annual revenues than SBD)”…this I was not aware, and impressive.
Anyone know why with HD, Purdy out, Wooster in? I know it is contractual but did Lowes outbid HD, or HD tried to undercut many suppliers when contract time came (Ego, Purdy, Estwing and I assume others).