Cleaning Brushes: Possible or Cruel Hoax?

[Steve H Graham]

I have to ask: is it actually possible to clean paint brushes?

I'm using oil-based paint to cover a shelf I made. The paint takes 24 hours to dry, and it looks like it's going to need at least 4 coats. That means I have to clean the brush 4 times.

I soaked the brush in turpentine and did my best to get the paint out. Left it sitting to dry overnight, and when I picked it up to use it, the bristles were stuck together. I had to use turpentine to get it working again.

This always happens to me when I try to clean brushes. Is there a secret they only teach to Masons or what?

[Barry McFadden]

I've had good luck with putting the brush in a zip lock bag and putting it in the freezer between coats of paint...

[Steve H Graham]

The thing I don't get is that self-help gurus always say, "If you keep your brushes clean, they'll last for years." I've never been able to do a good job of cleaning a brush once, let alone over and over. There is always paint hiding up under the ferrule. And it seems like you would end up using $50 worth of thinner to keep a $10 brush going.

[Steve H Graham]

I checked Youtube for helpful videos. I saw some guy cleaning white oil-based primer out of a brush. He used about a quart of thinner. That would cost about four bucks. If you keep the brush and use it ten times, that's forty dollars. Seems to me it makes more sense to throw the brush out.

I hate tool experts who give bad advice.

[Jerry Thompson]

There is always the aggravation factor. If the brush doesn't clean well no matter how meticulous is follow instructions I will toss it. With great pleasure I might add.

[Steve H Graham]

Now that's what I'm talkin' about!

[Stan Calow]

I am so glad I am not the only one with this problem.

[Steve H Graham]

I admit I started the thread while in a post-brush-cleaning rage. But there seems to be some legitimacy to my complaint.

[Prashun Patel]

I hate using solvent based finishes with brushes too. I found keeping them soaked in MS during a project works well. Also, keep your 'old' ms as paint cleaner. It doesn't have to be totally clean to be reusable. You then only need a little fresh stuff to finish out the job.

Also, try a brush spinner. It's amazing what a little centrifugal (yeah I know, centripetal) force can do...

[Julie Moriarty]

Years ago my grandfather showed me how he cleaned paint brushes. That was when oil based paints weren't as rare as unicorns. First of all, he was pretty neat when he was painting. That meant the bristles only got paint on them to about half their length. He was very patient but the results showed it.

For cleaning, he'd dip the brush in solvent and "paint" the bottom of the container over and over. Then he'd start with fresh solvent and push the bristles hard against the bottom, one side to the next, being careful to not to distort them. Next he'd take something like SpicNSpan and mix it in warm water and repeat the process. After that he'd take some of the cleaner granules and rub it into the bristles and rinse. He'd finish with a milder cleaner and rinse thoroughly. Then he'd take a paper towel and neatly wrap the brush so the bristles kept their shape and didn't fan out. Prior to him teaching me that, I threw a lot of brushes away.

In between coats, he'd wrap the brush in aluminum fail, the same way as the paper towel method and put it in the freezer overnight. You could do that for 3-4 days but any longer and you'd have to clean the brush.

[Allan Speers]

The thing I don't get is that self-help gurus always say, "If you keep your brushes clean, they'll last for years." I've never been able to do a good job of cleaning a brush once, let alone over and over. There is always paint hiding up under the ferrule. And it seems like you would end up using $50 worth of thinner to keep a $10 brush going.

The trick with that is to pre-treat the brush before painting. Completely dip it in whatever you use to thin / clean the paint (turps, etc) then wipe the main part of the brush dry.

This also works great with brushing laquer, etc.

[Scott Holmes]

Steve,

I'm going to guess you use your brush dry when you start... That's why paint gets up in the Ferrule. Watch the video I did for American Woodworker a few years ago. It's the "Sticky Note" at the top of the finishing forum.

Conditioning your brush before you use it WILL make it last for years and years. AND it will clean up easily. The brush in the video has been used for varnish for many years (oil based paint is varnish with pigment added); it is actually better than new.

Why do I say this? Well when a quality brush is new it will lose a few bristles during use; once it is broken in it may only lose a bristle once or twice a month, if that often.

If you have a brush that has "seen better days" you can clean it using a chemical stripper as you would to remove old finish.

FYI a $10 brush is not a quality VARNISH brush; more like 4 times that much. The one in the video is a good brush not my best brush; video guy and editor said the brush I used showed better on the video than my $45 2" Gramercy ox hair brush...

[Prashun Patel]

Scott-
Does pre-soaking the bristles in water have the same effect for latex paint brushes?

[Mike Ontko]

I don't know if it's still appropriate or not, but years ago (1978) in a vocational program I took in painting/finishing we were given the following pointers regarding brush care, and it's always worked pretty well for me:

- Dip sparingly when loading your brush, you only need to submerge maybe the first third or half of the bristles in the medium you're using. The idea is not to allow the material to wick all the way up into the ferrule.

- Wash well after each use and whenever the brush begins to get gummed up, first using an appropriate solvent to remove the paint, shellac, etc., and then with a light detergent (dish soap or Wisk is what we used at the time) to remove any residue left by the solvent. Be sure to wash all the way down and into the ferrule.

- Shake out the bristles after washing and then fold into a paper towel to maintain the shape and draw out moisture.

- Store the brushes by hanging, if possible, with the bristles pointing down, or keep wrapped in a dry paper towel to maintain the shape.

[Steve H Graham]

I don't go anywhere near varnish. You practically have to have a Ph.D. to apply that stuff.