How-To: Clean your paint brush
November 16th, 2007 | by Art Supplies |A well maintained paintbrush will last you for a long time and if cared for properly it will give good results time and time again. Although not a difficult task to master you should take time and care when cleaning your paint-brushes as you will need patience to achieve the best results.
Always remember that to get the best out of your paintbrush, use a different brush for different paints, oil colors and water based paints should never be on the same brush and could make a mess of work you are doing. Always use separate brushes for solvents and cleaning products.
Don’t let the paint stand on the brush and be allowed to dry, as this can damage the bristles and the paint may never wipe off. Treat them delicately when cleaning, don’t crush the bristles with your fingers when you are trying to get the paint out, just keep rinsing it, this should remove the excess paint. Some brushes can be softened by a cleaning oil such as natural bristle brushes, and synthetic brushes. They can also be reshaped after washing and by soaking in hot, not boiling, water.
To ensure you get the best results before washing you should take a clean cloth to your brush and wipe off any excess paint and gently squeeze the bristles towards the tip to coax the paint out, but be aware that too hard and you damage the bristles.
Rinse the brush in clean oil or turpentine for oil based painting and lukewarm water for water-based, never apply hot water as this can damage the bristles.
Once this is done wipe once more to ensure that all paint is gone and then wash the brush gently with soap and lukewarm water, dabbing the brush with a miniscule amount of soap and working up a lather, you should repeat this until you can see no more color. With several uses you may find the brush is stained but repeat the cleaning process to ensure that the paint is gone.
Rinse the brush in lukewarm water to get rid of all the soap and shake the brush, after this, using your fingers you should reshape the bristles into the perfect shaping. This can be achieved by placing the tip in tissue/toilet paper.
Leave the brush to dry at room temperature and stand the brush on the handle, never on the bristles, as this is damaging. If you are afraid of toxicity (and we all should be) then use gloves and protective clothing and keep yourself safe.
Following these guidelines you should have your wonderful brushes for many art sessions in the future.
