# brush care



## greensboro84 (Feb 15, 2008)

How does everyone care for their brushes? i generally just use water at the jobsite, usually the houses are vacant and we clean them anyway. what about at someone elses house? is it ok to wrap the brush in plastic and clean at home? i also use the little wooster wire/nail brush to comb the bristles out and use the brass wires to scrape off dried paint. how about oil? we use kerosene mostly. we usually are just using yachtsman's and the buy lots of them, but i want to learn how to make my oil brush last, not just jam in to kerosene, cant be good for it. and how do you dispose of your used brush cleaner. i read a book buy that faux finish guy a while back and he suggested swishing the brush around in denatured alcohol and then mineral spirits and the a mixture of both. sounds alright to me but i rarely paint in oil and i use the company yachtsman's when i do, its usually just cutting in poly though.


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## EricTheHandyman (Jan 29, 2008)

After cleaning a natural hair bristle brush with mineral spirits, I rinse out the mineral spirits with soapy water, the I spray some leave-in hair conditioner and work it into the bristles. It keeps the bristles soft.:thumbsup:


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## timhag (Sep 30, 2007)

Try this http://www.painttalk.com/showthread.php?t=667&highlight=brush+cleaning


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## greensboro84 (Feb 15, 2008)

thanks for the info. sorry i forget that you can search forums for past topics. thanks again


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

EricTheHandyman said:


> After cleaning a natural hair bristle brush with mineral spirits, I rinse out the mineral spirits with soapy water, the I spray some leave-in hair conditioner and work it into the bristles. It keeps the bristles soft.:thumbsup:


Uh, something about this doesnt feel right. In fact a few things...

-non-synthetic brushes are usually used for oil products
-oil and water don't mix
-hair conditioner is for hair
-hair conditioner ingredients might not mix well with paint

We comb out the brushes and suspend them in thinner in something called a brush keeper. The solids come off the brush and settle to the bottom of the keeper. Take brush out, spin, comb, rinse and go. That way you start with a slicked up brush, an advantage with oil. 

I would really avoid water as it can cause those natural bristles to swell like my labrador retrievers' coats in a pond a summer day.


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## greensboro84 (Feb 15, 2008)

Take brush out, spin, comb, rinse and go. That way you start with a slicked up brush, an advantage with oil. 

What do you rinse with? Can you suspend latex brushes in water and maybe fabric softener? I've heard letting an old brush sit overnight like that will help restore to like new, even if it's really beat up. Also, what do you do when your cutting or painting trim and you get what I call a runaway bristle? Should I comb the brush out or just move the bristle back into the center of the brush. Sometimes I like to wash my brush out in the middle of the day when it's getting thick. One more, I usually spin out my brushes by hand and then hang them up for a while at home, has anyone ever used one of those brush spinner contraptions? Does it really make a difference, I could see it being needed more to spin out an oil brush, but what about for spinning out water and maybe soap?


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## Faron79 (Dec 11, 2007)

*Fabric-softener & Spinners...*

...two of the best "secrets" to ever happen to brushes!!

Using some Downy  in a gallon of water to clean brushes is a G0d-send!!
Brush-spinners fling all fluids off/out in seconds.
Because of the properties of Downy, it breaks-up paint Latex real fast, and just keeps making the brush easier to clean the next time!!

It DOES work!!

Faron


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

greensboro84 said:


> What do you rinse with?


 
Oil paint - mineral spirits
Waterbase - latex thinner

Yes, spinners are great. We wash and comb a latex brush a couple of times during the day. Keep a pair of scissors in your toolbox for the occasional out of control bristle.


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## Dustygirl01 (Feb 12, 2008)

What is the "brush and roller cleaner"? I rehabbed some of my old Purdy's that I was going to keep as primer brushes. Over a 3 day period I soaked them in that stuff...checking on them, combing them out, getting the gunk out of them...After three days I was amazed at everything that came out of them and I'm using them again as good cut-in brushes. The brush and roller cleaner just seems like a stronger mineral spirits. I probably took 5 years off my life working with that stuff...


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## bikerboy (Sep 16, 2007)

Try This:


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## bikerboy (Sep 16, 2007)

Brushes slinde into metal clamps at end. Roller pads fit over the end. Pump the handle (inside a 5 gallon bucket) and centrifugal force slings water, paint, thinner off.
Any good paint store has them.


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## Wing 54 (Jan 3, 2008)

bikerboy said:


> Try This:





Wish I'd have invented it.


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## Paul_R (Apr 19, 2007)

I wrap my brushes in plastic grocery bags, and then clean at home. I generally use latex, and prefer fabric softener to clean with. I just use the cheapest softener I can buy. It cleans well, and I spin the brushes a couple times also. I use the softener to assist in wall paper removal also.

Happy Painting, Paul.


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## greensboro84 (Feb 15, 2008)

Thanks for the info everybody. Im gonna get one of the spinners and im gonna try the fabric softener tricks, especially the wallpaper one.


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## EricTheHandyman (Jan 29, 2008)

vermontpainter said:


> Uh, something about this doesnt feel right. In fact a few things...
> 
> -non-synthetic brushes are usually used for oil products
> -oil and water don't mix
> ...


An old timer taught me this, and it actually does work. It seems to have the same "slicked up" feel that you and others have described. It seems that the thinner would accomplish the same thing with less work, I'll give it a shot after my next oil based job.


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## stansoph (Dec 16, 2007)

For my oil brushes I soak,swish and spin in mineral spirits; the final rinse is in clean mineral spirits. The spinner is a must have for oil brushes. I will on occasion give my oil brushes a soak, rinse and spin in acetone to get any unwanted gunk out. I then dunk in mineral spirits.

Water brushes get warm water and Pert shampoo; it cleans and conditions. I have had better luck with Pert shampoo than fabric softener.

Both oil and water brushes get a dab of Flood Brush Stuff before going in their jacket.

If you don't have a spinner; get one.


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## Basil Brush (Mar 16, 2008)

Hey have you guys never heard of the WBS Solution (Wet Brush Storage). Cleaning your brushes and rollers out ..... thing of the past.


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## stansoph (Dec 16, 2007)

Basil Brush said:


> Hey have you guys never heard of the WBS Solution (Wet Brush Storage). Cleaning your brushes and rollers out ..... thing of the past.


Link?


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## Jannie (Dec 6, 2007)

My latex brushes get dipped in the paint and slapped to keep them wet and then folded in aluminum foil. When I get home I rinse out with hot water and a wooster comb/brush and yes I do use the brass bristles on the base of the exterior brush fibers to dislodge any dried areas. I then spray with Simple Green, using the brush comb, work it in and then rinse out throughly. 

I then walk into the bathroom and shake out water into the shower stall, reform bristles nicely with my hand and hang from a rack.

I found the spinner spread the bristles too much at the edges and the brushes didn't shape well and therefore didn't cut as well. I used one for about a year and then stopped. 

I have little hooks I slip into place on the rims of Rubbermaid 18"wx18"w laundry baskets where I hang the drying brushes on the job if I can clean there, which I usually can.

I carry several of these baskets with all my tools, rollers, tarps etc, and a ProPac tool bag.


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## greensboro84 (Feb 15, 2008)

i love my wooster comb, its essential for me. especially when painting all day and bristles start to tangle or fray out. by the way, i love woosters all around except for one thing that has been bothering me. i seem to get what i call stray bristles all the time, all the time!! i usually just pull them off if i cant manage to stuff them back in the middle. why does this happen to the woosters? im using the medium firm jaguar 3in( has extra wide ferrule) but i noticed this with the lindbeck as well, i never really have this problem with purdys, maybe cuz they are softer?


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## mickey (Jul 7, 2009)

*Simple Green H D = clean brushes forever*

I use Simple Green H D about 50/50 with tap water,suspend your hard as a rock brushes in the solution let them soak ,periodically agitate bristles and within 2 or 3 days ,at the most ,once you comb them out,yours brushes will be good as new. Have also soaked airless and hvlp parts in H D ,the paint falls off as if you were using a strong solvent. Couldn t believe how well it worked ,first time I tried it out. No more hand going numb from immersion in aforementioned solvents. You can reuse the solution several times ,before it appears to lose some effectiveness. It s right up there with the 4 inch roller and the perry step up ,as one of the all tim e greatest inventions for painters, hope this helps


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

soak in in cider. 

If you don't get it, speak the words out loud to yourself.


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