When learning how to clean oil paint brushes always work in a well-ventilated area when cleaning brushes in solvents such as paint thinner, lacquer thinner, alcohol and ammonia. In fact, it's best to work outside. Don't ever clean solvent-laden brushes around water heaters, stoves or any device with an open flame or potential electrical spark. Proper paintbrush care requires cleaning the brushes immediately after usage to prevent the paint from adhering to the bristles. Latex is a water-based paint, so you won't need to use any type of.

1. Washing Paint Brushes In Sink
2. Washing Paint Brushes
3. Washing Paint Brushes With Septic Tank
4. Washing Paint Brushes In Kitchen Sink

Over time how I care for my brushes has evolved to what I feel is the most efficient while minimizing damage done to the brush. Long story short, my process is this:

• Use a paper towel to wipe excess paint from the brush.
• Optional: Rinse the brush in *oil* not mineral spirits or turpentine.
• Lather-Rinse-Repeat with a simple white bar soap until all color is removed.
• Gently squeeze excess water from brush and dry flat on a paper towel.

For those who want to know more, here's a longer explanation of each step, why I do or do not use certain products, what I do outside of cleaning to help keep brushes in good shape and prevent problems, and what you can do to try and salvage a brush with dried paint on it.

Washing Paint Brushes In Sink

First Thing's First: Preventative Measures While Painting

One of the easiest ways to improve the longevity of your brushes is to take good care of them during the painting process. It is advisable to never use your brushes to mix paint and instead use a palette knife. However, I admittedly break this rule daily. The next best thing is to make sure you do not allow paint to creep more than half way up the hairs of your brush while painting. It is relatively easy to clean paint from the tip of your brush, but difficult to clean paint from in and around the ferrule where hairs are tightly packed together. Furthermore, paint stuck in the ferrule area causes the hairs to spread out and the brush loses its shape.

Using solvents while painting can draw pigment up into the ferrule, so I recommend only using inexpensive brushes if you decide to paint while using solvents.

If You Don't Have Time To Properly Wash Your Brushes

I don't want to be deterred from painting by thinking about how much time it takes to clean my brushes, and I want to make sure I am able to take advantage of short windows of time where I can paint. When I don't have time for a thorough cleaning at the end of a session, I follow these steps to buy some time:

• Leave as much paint as possible on the tips of my brush AND/OR
• Dip the brush in a slow-drying oil
• Wrap them tightly in plastic cling wrap
• Pop them in the freezer

While this isn't a perfect solution and it's possible the freezing process somehow causes small amounts of damage to my brushes (though I have no evidence that it does) the drying of the paint is slowed enough that I can leave them for several days before washing them or simply continuing to use them. The idea is that 1) thicker paint takes longer to dry than thin paint if I were to wipe the brushes, 2) slow drying oil can slow the drying process, 3) plastic wrap retains moisture and helps block oxygen from reaching the paint and causing the chemical 'drying' process oil goes through, and 4) freezing the brushes both retains moisture and slows chemical drying.

In this situation the paint would eventually dry, but I have forgotten brushes, gone on vacation, and had minimal amounts of paint dried to the hairs of my brushes. If I hadn't frozen them, surely the brushes would be trash! Keep in mind if you do this between numerous painting sessions, that paint is curing in between freezing times, so you should try to clean them before long. Also, if you use a drying medium like an Alkyd the paint may still dry in the freezer in a day or two, so use caution.

Solvents

Many artists use solvents to clean their brushes, and this is a logical first choice. Solvents break down the bonds between little paint molecules which helps to rinse away paint easily. However, solvents can be harsh on brush hairs, causing drying and breakage, and possibly breaking down glue if it reaches the ferrule. Think about brushes as if you were caring for the hair on your head, and how your hair feels after being in a chlorine pool, and this will make sense. I've found this to be true of all solvents including turpentine, OMS, Gamsol, Turpenoid, and Turpenoid Natural.

In place of solvents, I like to use good old oil for rinsing my brushes.

Using Oils for Rinsing

My reasoning for using oils for rinsing is that oils do not dry or damage brush hairs. People have used olive oil to condition hair and hands, for example, and I see rinsing brushes in linseed oil as a similar idea. Any kind of linseed oil, safflower oil or walnut oil works perfectly. Another reason I like the idea of using these oils is that they are already a component of oil paint, so they do not become an additive if some is left on your brush when you resume painting. For example, Turpenoid Natural should only be used for cleaning and never for painting, so having any residue of it on the brush while painting can cause problems in the paint layer. This is something you don't have to worry about when using a simple oil.

Just how many artists like to keep a jar of solvent that they reuse repeatedly for rinsing, you can simply replace the solvent in the jar with an oil. When the oil becomes dirty with pigment, allow the pigment to settle to the bottom before pouring the clean oil above into a new container. Alternatively, simply rinse your brushes in oil leftover from your painting session.

Brush Soap

I've tried numerous fancy brush soaps but I haven't liked any better than a plain old bar of white soap, like Ivory. Avoid anything that includes lotion or pumice, which can wear your brushes down. I like to keep a bar in a plastic travel soap container.

I used to start by lathering with my hands, but then I thought of all the pigments I must be jamming into my fingers when I do this. So, after I rinse my brushes I start the soaping process by swirling the brush in the soap under running water until the brush is almost totally clean. Certainly this speeds up how quickly I go through soap, but it's very inexpensive so I am not concerned. Once the brushes are as clean as I can get them this way, I finish the lathering and rinsing process with my fingers before squeezing excess water and laying the brushes to dry.

Lathering Techniques | Removing Paint From the Ferrule

As with painting, it is wise to avoid jamming the brush into the soap or doing anything that pushes the soap up into the ferrule. However, sometimes it's unavoidable if there's paint up there that needs to be cleaned out. Start by laying the brush flat against wet soap, applying pressure, pull the brush back while wiggling it slightly side to side. The goal is to allow soap to enter between the hairs with the wiggling motion, while continuing an 'away from the ferrule' motion with the dragging. With soap now high up in the hairs, use your fingers to lather, making sure to get to the middle of the brush. Once you've lathered as much as you can, pinch the ferrule firmly with your thumb and pointer finger. Pull the brush back while continuing to pinch and rotating the brush. This action should help draw paint and suds away from the ferrule and center of the brush toward the tip where it can be easily rinsed.

Do finish up with a good rinse, aiming the brush tip down so that water is not seeping into the ferrule (which can cause loose hairs) and making sure to separate hairs to clean out what's inside.

Leaving Brushes to Dry

Squeeze or blot excess water with a paper towel before leaving brushes flat to dry. Avoid standing brushes handle down as this will cause water to enter the ferrule and loose hairs. Do not allow the brush to lean against anything as this can cause the hairs to bend and become misshapen.

Reshaping a Sad Brush

Sometimes brushes become splayed or frizzy with age, or perhaps they were dried in an awkward position previously, or they may have a couple stray hairs that are bothersome. When this happens, or to maintain the perfect shape of a favorite brush, wrap a small strip of damp paper towel tightly around a freshly washed brush. Make sure that the paper towel is holding the brush in the perfect shape, using the least amount of paper towel as possible to achieve this. The brush should maintain the shape well once dry.

Reviving a Brush With Dried Paint

Winsor & Newton makes a Brush Cleaner and Restorer, which I have to admit I have not tried, but I have heard great and incredible things about it. I've used other cleaners or solvents and even simple white soap to clean a brush with dried paint, and for all cleaners I recommend the same process:

• Do your best to lather the tip of the brush in the cleaner (even if it's solid, try anyway!) and hopefully start getting things to move even a small amount.
• Leave the tip of the brush in the cleaner, laying almost flat perhaps propping up the handle end of the brush so that the tip of the brush points down slightly.
• Periodically check (don't be afraid to leave it for hours or overnight) if you are able to get more movement and continue to agitate the tip of the brush. The hope is that the cleaner or soap will weaken the paint, and the agitation and movement will open up more areas for the cleaner to 'work' on.
• You can try pulling the hairs apart with your fingers, just be aware that this could be damaging to the brush. It might still be better than having to throw a brush away! You can also scrape with your nails at the paint left on hairs to loosen it, or use an eyelash comb to help.
• If paint is up in the ferrule, try the ideas above in 'Lathering Techniques' to remove paint from this area.
• Once you have done all you can with these steps, if the brush is usable follow the steps in 'Reshaping a Sad Brush' to neaten the hairs as much as possible.

Hopefully by this point your brush will be good as new! If it is unfortunately still in rough shape, consider that it still may provide you some use. If the brush is at least more flexible than a stick, it might be a good brush to use when painting a rough layer with solvents, for dripping paint, or for scrubbing in scumbles. These techniques would damage a good brush, so it's good to hold onto your tired brushes for these jobs.

all about paintbrush care

Learn how to clean a paintbrush properly, to ensure that your paintbrush has a long lifespan!

The sign of a happy paintbrush is one that is gooped in paint, dripping with color, and skipping freely across a canvas - gleefully leaving behind a trail of peppy pigment. A happy paintbrush is a faithful sidekick and as such, deserves to be well-treated. It's important to take good care of your paintbrushes, so that you can enjoy one another's company for a long time to come!

So to keep your paintbrushes happy, remember these few points:

The most important thing to remember in terms of brush care when working with acrylics is that acrylic paint dries very quickly. Always keep your brush wet or moist. Whatever you do - don't let the paint dry on the brush! The longer it is allowed to dry on the brush, the harder the paint will become, which makes it more difficult (if not downright impossible) to remove. Dried acrylic paint on a brush basically ruins the brush, effectively turning it into a crusty stump. Even if you know how to clean a paintbrush, there's really no way to de-crustify a crusty stump of a paintbrush.

What happens if you do happen to let acrylic dry on your paintbrush? Is all hope for the brush lost? Not so, read here to find out what you can do with crusty brushes!

Because acrylics dry so quickly and I want to avoid letting the paint dry on the brush, I typically work by using one brush at a time. On those rare moments when I do use more than one, I keep a close eye on the ones that are not in use, occasionally dipping them in water and shaking off the excess, just to keep them moist. When I'm not using them, I rest them across the rim of my cup of water. As soon as I think I'm done using one of the brushes, I'll thoroughly clean it before continuing with the painting.

Let's refresh our knowledge of the basic parts of a paintbrush:

You see that silvery bit that connects the hairs of the brush with the handle? That part of the brush is called the ferrule. In general, try not to get paint on the ferrule. When paint gets on the ferrule, it's usually connected in a large blob between the ferrule and the hairs, and the result (even after you wash it) is that the hairs will spread apart and wind up frayed. So try your best not to get paint on this part of the brush!

3. Don't rest your paintbrush with bristles down in a cup of water

This is another important point - never leave your brush with the hairs down in a cup of water - not even for a few minutes. This will cause the hairs to bend and/or fray and go all wonky, and the effect is irreversible. If your brushes are precious to you, then this is a definite no-no. Even if the hairs don't bend, for example if it's a rather stiff brush, the hairs will still spread in the water and become frayed and puffed when dry. It will basically never be the same paintbrush ever again!

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When actively using more than one paintbrush at a time, it is best to place the brushes that are on 'stand-by' in such a way that the bristles are not touching your palette or tabletop, especially if there is paint on the brush. One easy solution is to lay them horizontally with the bristles hanging over the edge of your work table. This is what I do when I'm working in a place where the floor is either protected or allowed to get paint stains. A more posh solution is this Porcelain Brush Holder. You can rest the paintbrushes in the grooves, keeping the bristles raised. The brush holder is heavy enough that it won't slide around or easily fall over.

Here's another solution for keeping your paintbrushes upright and easily accessible whilst painting. It also serves as a safe solution for transporting your beloved paintbrushes! The Alvin Prestige Paintbrush Holder is made from sturdy black nylon with a handy velcro enclosure.

This brush holder folds up to protect your brushes during transport, and when you're ready to paint, simply pull the drawstring elastic to prop the holder upright, making your paintbrushes easy to reach. The Alvin Prestige Paintbrush Holder is available in two sizes.

Sometimes the unexpected happens. If there's a sudden emergency or interruption (the phone ringing, for example) and you need to dash off in a rush, try to take the extra 10 seconds to do this:

Quickly swish your paintbrush in water, then squeeze out the excess paint and water in a paper towel or rag. Then quickly swish it again in the water and leave it gently resting across the rim of your water cup.

This simple procedure can be done in under 10 seconds. This way, if you're gone for awhile, the brush will stand a better chance of being saved. Leaving it hairs-down in a container of water will surely ruin it, so why take the chance?

Of course, use common sense though. For example, if your studio is on fire, save yourself. You can always buy new brushes! That's an extreme example, but you know what I mean.

So what happens if you do wind up with a crusty stump instead of a paintbrush? To look at the positive side, you don't necessarily have to throw it away. Perhaps out of a deep sense of loyalty, I always have difficulty throwing brushes away after they've become crusty or frayed. So I keep them, and use them as 'alternative' art-making tools. Even if the bristles of the brush become hard and brittle, they can still be used to apply paint onto a canvas, albeit in a more rough, expressionistic way. This makes them great for painting abstract art or other styles of artwork that don't require intricate precision or gentle brushstrokes. You can also use the handle of the brush to scrape designs into a thick layer of paint on the canvas.

Be aware that the hairs of your brush may (and will, eventually) get tinted to whatever color you've been using. This is normal and nothing to worry about. The stained color is locked into the bristles, so the color won't stain or intermix with your paint the next time you use it. Don't worry, if your brush gets tinted with color, it's not ruined!

Caring for your paintbrush is mainly a matter of common sense. If you treasure your tools, you'll intuitively know how to treat them. Just follow these guidelines and you will have a set of happy paintbrushes on your hands!

Now, find out how to clean a paintbrush!

Washing Paint Brushes

Art is Fun Paintbrush Guide

Page 1........ describes the different types of brushes for acrylics and what each paintbrush can do.

Washing Paint Brushes With Septic Tank

Page 2........ answers all the questions that a beginning artist will have about paintbrushes.

Page 3........ explains how to safely care for your paintbrushes and keep them happy.

Page 4........ demonstrates the best way to clean, store and transport your paintbrushes.

read more...

Washing Paint Brushes In Kitchen Sink

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