How to Clean Your Paintbrush

If you take care of your paint brushes, you should be able to use them over and over again for a long period of time. Good paintbrushes may be expensive, but they are worth the money as long as you maintain them. Cleaning your paint brush is easy. Here are some tips to follow to get the most out of your paint brushes.

1. Wipe any excess paint off from the brush using a cloth or soft piece of fabric. Place your fingers on the bristles and gently squeeze and push forward. Don’t push to hard to avoid tearing out any bristles.

1. If you have been using oil paints, rinse the brush in turpentine. If you used a water-based paint rinse it with lukewarm water. Never rinse the brush with hot water. This can cause the ferrule to expand which will result in the bristles falling out.

1. Wipe the brush on the cloth again to make sure you remove any excess paint.

1. Wash the brush again, but this time use a little bit of soap. Wipe the brush gently on the soap and rinse again.

1. Repeat step 4 until no more color (paint) is coming out of the brush. Then rinse again with lukewarm water and shake off the water.

1. Just like in step 1, use your fingers to push out the remaining water and re-shape the bristles.

1. If the brush is still wet, you may want to wrap the bristles in a piece of tissue or paper towel to completely dry it and hold the bristles in shape.

1. Let the brush sit in room temperature to fully dry. Don’t let the brush rest on the bristles when drying or storing.

1. If you are working with special paint that may contain toxins, be sure to wear gloves while painting and cleaning with your brushes.

Following these steps should help to maximize the use of your paint brushes. To watch a video on cleaning your brushes, click here.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 16th, 2008 at 6:08 am and is filed under Painting Tips & Tricks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.