Best way to clean a brush?
Sam Kex
My brushes start to stiffen up after a
few cleanings. I got the higher priced, labeled for oil paint, brushes at Lowes.
I'm afraid the problem is with my brush cleaning technic.
Just cleaning in mineral spirits doesn't seem to be doing the trick.
Would someone please pass on some of their secrets.
Thanks
Sam
Leon
then let them soak at least 10 or 15 minutes in paint thinner. Then repeat
this in clean paint thinner and clean with soap and water following that.
Be sure that all the paint is gone before going to soap and water.
.For Latex, at least 15 minutes of constant work with warm to hot soap and
water.
Lastly, are you using Purdy, Lensor or an equivalent brush? A decent 2"
brush will cost in the $15-$20 range. Brushes are like tools. Buy quality
the first time and cry only once. The good ones last for years and years.
"Sam Kex" <s...@larry.wvnet.edu> wrote in message
news:3d4f74fb.02020...@posting.google.com...
Philip Lewis
Carey
and found it works well. Before using the brush dip it all the way to the metal part
(ferrule) in the solvent appropriate for your finish. While using it, only dip the
brush in finish half way to the ferrule. When you're done dip the whole thing in
solvent again then wash it out with dishwashing soap and warm water. The article
also recommends spinning the handle between your palms to help it dry. This is one
too many steps for me. I just wrap them in paper towels to dry and help them keep
their shape.
Carey
Robin Lee
Ok - my favorites...
If you're doing a job that spans multiple sessions (or days) - don't clean
your brush....(or rollers, for that matter).
3 good ways to keep them from drying out :
1) wrap 'em in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer - ("burp" the air
from the bag..)
2) leave 'em submerged in water... (1-2 days at most)
3) leave them suspended in the appropriate solvent, with the bristles
down...
Basically, if you don't allow the finish to dry in the bristles, the brush
won't stiffen....
Cheers,
Rob
Sam Kex wrote in message
<3d4f74fb.02020...@posting.google.com>...
Andy Dingley
>My brushes start to stiffen up after a few cleanings.
So don't clean them.
I think a certain effect is inevitable, each time you clean them and
allow them to dry. I've now switched to storing them in a vapour box,
to minimise the number of times I clean them fully and let them dry.
The trick about soaking in solvent before paint is a good one too.
--
Smert' Spamionam
Steve Manes
>My brushes start to stiffen up after a
>few cleanings. I got the higher priced, labeled for oil paint, brushes at Lowes.
>I'm afraid the problem is with my brush cleaning technic.
>Just cleaning in mineral spirits doesn't seem to be doing the trick.
>Would someone please pass on some of their secrets.
I've not tried it but a friend swears that it works. When the brush
starts to stiffen up, simmer the bristles in boiling white vinegar for
a few minutes, then wash them in warm soapy water. He claims it
restores them to almost-new.
I plan to verify this once the weather warms up and I can open the
windows. Clean paint brushes don't mitigate being closed into a house
with the smell of vinegar.
------------------------------------------=o&>o----
Steve Manes, Brooklyn, USA
www.magpie.com
Walt Conner
water hose on them. Afterwards, I wash out with soap and water, wrap them
and let dry.
Walt Conner
NOSPAMBOB
rotate the ferrule. This makes bristles rub against each other which helps get
the finish off and drives the soapy mixture further into the ferrule.
In article <3C6178B2...@ameritech.net>, Carey <ufcra...@ameritech.net>
writes:
>When you're done dip the whole thing in solvent again then wash it out with
dishwashing soap and warm water.
Name works for E-mail
deacon
spiral type brush spinner that I use.This thing spins the brush fast
and it remove any cleaner that is left in the brush and leaves the
brush dry. This tool has been around for a long time, sometimes they
are not easy to find but they are well worth the hunt.( I think maybe
Ace Hardware has them.I remember seeing pro painter back in the late
50's and 60's use this tool and these guys didnot buy cheap brushes.
Just my 2 cents worth. Rich
NOSPAMBOB
Name works for E-mail
Jim Levie
<s...@larry.wvnet.edu> wrote:
It could be partly your cleaning technique and partly the way you are
using the brushes. When I'm painting I never continue to use a brush when
the paint gets within about 1/2" of the metal ferrule. At that point I'll
stop and throughly clean the brush. I find that throughly wetting the
brush with the appropriate solvent before use helps keep paint from
wicking it's way into the heel of the brush. Also you don't want to paint
with a brush so long that paint begins to dry on the bristles.
When I clean a brush I use small volumes of thinner and work the brush
vigorously in each change of solvent. I also shake out as much solvent as
I can each time I dump the contaminated solvent. When I no longer see any
evidence of paint in the solvent, usually about 4 changes for a small
(less than 3") brush, I'll shake out the brush and wash it in soap and
water, twice. Rinse well and dry.
By using small volumes of solvent one takes advantage of the serial
dilution phenomena. Each time the solvent is changed the remaining
paint/solvent in the brush is diluted to a much greater degree. It's
important when working the brush in the solvent to work solvent well into
the heel to dissolve out any paint. If paint collects and hardens in the
heel the brush will become hard and useless. So you really want to press
down and bend the bristles to one side and then the other.
When cared for properly a quality brush will last a very long time. I've
got brushes that I bought 20 years ago that are almost 'like new'. Oh
there's a bit of paint on the handles and ferrules, but the bristles are
still soft and pliable.
--
The instructions said to use Windows 98 or better, so I installed RedHat.
Robert Hartman
remove the rest. I've never been able to get a brush completely clean
without a final wash with soap and water.
Removing stuff that has hardened is a matter of breaking it up into
small enough chunks for soap and water to wash out. Even epoxy will
come out if you hammer it enough. (Although that might not be worth
the trouble.)
If the brush is full of hardened latex, you can use alcohol to
dissolve it. When you wash with soap and water the residue forms a
gum of sticky particles, but when they dry you can flex the bristles
under soapy water to loosen them and rinse them out.
Good brushes do two things. They hold a lot of liquid, and they last.
A good brush is tough, being made of hair or polyester, and is
actually quite difficult to ruin. Just don't use acetone, or the glue
that holds the bristles beneath the ferrule might weaken.
I like to keep my brushes clean. But I've saved 'em a few times after
being careless. Usually with soap, water, and a willingess to spend
time combing out and flexing the bristles. Don't use anything sharp
when combing crud out near the ferrule. You can always clip off a
bent bristle, but if you start cutting them by mistake, they're gone.
Robert
rdre...@yahoo.com (deacon) wrote in message news:<c446fad0.02020...@posting.google.com>...
Donald G.
The we professionals Clean brushes (solvent type ) China bristle is to fill a
container with appropriate solvent (mineral spirits) and dip the brush into the
solvent to pick it up onto the bristles and trun the brush sideways and and
squeeze the bristles in an upward motion,repete for about 30 or 40 times,spin
the brush and dump the solvent and do it a second time same way dipping and
squeezing, spin and dump, repete on more time for a final rinse.
Donald Grudeski,President Aesthetics Painting Inc.
Orlando, Florida
"Hey how'd he do that???"
"Remember that from small accorns grow mighty Oaks"
Remove biteme to email.
Donald G.
Never never never wash you china bristle brushes in water.