The outcome of your paintwork will depend on how you take care of your paint brushes.
It is not advisable to invest in high-quality paint brushes unless you are ready to clean and maintain them as required!
Proper cleaning and storage will keep your painting brushes in perfect shape and ready for your next paint project.
Learning how to clean paint off brushes is a vital practice that will help maintain your paint brushes in good condition for a long period.
Remember, different types of paint brushes will require different cleaning techniques and materials.
To guide you through the different ways to clean patient brushes, we have created this guide 🙂
So let’s enlighten you on how to clean paint brushes!
These procedures should be applied based on the type of brush.
How to clean your oil paint brushes?
- Start by wiping off the paint with a clean paper towel or cloth in an upward motion. The towel or cloth should be wrapped around the brush ferrule then pressed upwards towards the bristles until no much paint is left.
- Use white spirit or pure oil to rinse out any paint left on your brush bristles.
- A metal brush can be run up and down your bristles to help loosen and clean off any paint jammed on the brush
- If you are using oil to rinse out the paint, wipe your brush with a cloth or towel to remove excess oil on your bristles.
- Next, use a paint brush soap to clean off any pigmentation that may have been left on the bristles. Run your fingers gently through the bristles until no color can be seen. Ensure you use the best paint brush cleaner to get rid of any stain buildups on your brush bristles
- Rinse your brush with clean water, reshape the bristles with your fingers, and suspend your brush to dry up. If you don’t plan to use the brush any time soon, dip it in clean soap foam and let it dry. The soap will help shape the bristles and keep them in good shape for a long time
How do you clean paint brushes covered with a dry oil-based product?
It will require extra effort to clean a brush that is covered with dried oil-based paint. You might be unable to restore the original look of these paint brushes, however, there is still a way! These steps will help you get dry oil-based paint out of a paint brush without damaging its bristles.
- Submerge your brush bristles in mineral spirits for a longer time.
- Gently, comb out the bristles to loosen the stain.
- If need be, re-soak your brush bristles in the mineral spirits until the stains loosen up completely and become easy to clean up.
- Rinse the bristles thoroughly with warm soapy water.
- Air-dry your paint brush.
Learn how to clean acrylic paint brushes
Unlike brushes used on oil paints that demand cleaning with oil or spirit, paint on your acrylic brush can be washed off with water by following these steps:
- Use a piece of cloth or paper towel to cover your brush and apply pressure upwards, moving your fingers from ferrule towards your bristles. This will help in wiping out lots of paint.
- Put water in a jar or use a brush washer to rinse extra paint from your brush bristles. Rinse the bristles repeatedly until all the paint is washed out. Wipe your brush with a clean cloth to confirm that all the coloring is washed out. For a deep clean, you will need to use a quality paint brush cleaner.
- Dry your brush.
How to keep your watercolor paint brushes clean?
Compared to oil or acrylic paint brushes, watercolor brushes are fragile. However, cleaning them is simple and effortlessly. These are the steps that you need to follow:
- Always keep a water vessel next to you as you paint. Ensure it has a holder where you can suspend your brush bristles in the water when done painting.
- After washing out the paint thoroughly, discard the water responsibly.
- Next, dry your bristles by wiping them with a cloth or paper towel.
- Use appropriate cleaners and reshape your brush bristles before completely drying them.
- Lastly, allow your paint brush to air dry before storing it.
Cleaning other paint brushes
Most painting projects require the use of oil-based or water-based paint brushes. However, some will demand the use of specialized paint brushes that are thinned using spirits. Most of such brushes come with a manufacturer’s cleaning guide.
What if you are unable to clean your brush as soon as you are done using it?
It is advisable to clean your paint brushes after using them immediately. However, at times, you may forget to follow this guideline. When this happens, you should put your brush in a clean plastic bag. Tie a rubber band around the brush handle to ensure it is airtight. This will keep the bristles wet until you can clean your brush.
If you do not know how to restore old paint brushes, it is advisable to follow the above simple tips. If you want your brushes to work effectively and last longer, you should use the recommended procedures for every type. The above procedures will help you learn how to clean hard paint brushes easily and get an opportunity to reuse them.
Cleaning paint brushes the Quick Job Way
If you are wondering how you can clean your old paint brushes, with one cleaning solution, then we recommend trying out Quick Job’s True All Purpose Cleaner. Our incredible all purpose cleaning product that will restore the original appearance and functioning of your paint brushes.
Here are the steps to cleaning paint brushes, the Quick Job Way.
- Remove all excess paint to the best of your ability, ideally before the paint dries. We recommend using old newspapers or old clothes to help remove as much paint as possible.
- Take a container and dilute Quick Job’s True All Purpose Cleaner Concentrate 5:1, and submerge the paint covered areas of your paint brush. Allow the paint brush to sit submerged for 10 minutes (this allows Quick Job to break up the paint on the brush)
- Rinse your paint brush thoroughly to ensure that all the paint is washed out from the bristles.
- Dry your paint brush by shaking it to remove water and take a towel and gently dry the bristles.
- Your paint brush is now as good as new!
Order Quick Job’s True All Purpose Cleaner today for an amazing paint brush cleaning experience.
