Brush cleaning and care.

For years I ended up wrecking good brushes, using all different paints. Acrylics seemed the worst, if not cleaned well every few minutes they got totally gummed up, with the set up paint clogging the rear portion of the bristles. Lacquer thinner did a fair job of reducing the build up, but still the stuff would break up into tiny dusty like particles, transferring into the finish being brushed on.

I don't recall why, but for some reason I tried acetone and a several minute soak in a shallow metal bowl, with the entire bristle end submerged. After making brush strokes around in the bowl, the build up began breaking up into those tiny particles and settling at the bottom. Drying the brush and repeating the process with clean acetone, soon enough the brush was clean as new and in fully restored condition, or remarkably close to it..

To the best of my knowledge, the acetone has no damaging effect on the quality of the brush material, (I think most of mine are sable.) I rarely do any brushing, except for very small components, but so far this method is working quite well for me. After cleaning I use a very small dab of mineral oil on the bristles, brush strokes working it in, then a wipe down after to keep the bristles from getting stiff, Must remember to clean that out with a compatible thinner and clean kitchen towel, before painting. I do try to keep the brushes dedicated to certain paint types, not going from type to type with the same brush.

Hope it works for you. Best

Patrick

I use hardware store thinner- actually I insist on turpentine or mineral spirits.  I will no longer buy something labeled "paint thinner."

I have a little jar- old baby food jar- with a hole in top and a cover for that hole, that I keep thinner in.  I sometimes let brush sit in that jar for a couple of minutes, but I never let a brush just sit in jar resting on bottom- that ends up bending bristles.  Ordinarily I dip brush in jar and wipe with paper towel, repeat about four times till it stops coloring towel.

I found that dipping the brush in thinner and giving it a swipe on a paper towel before dipping it the paint for the next application prevents any paint from clogging the bristles.

Marcus

Don and Marcus both make good points.

Don correctly states the brush should not be left standing vertically, the little metal tin that is use is 1/2 of an inch deep, the brush lays nearly horizontal as it soaks which is only for a few minutes. What I find most useful about the acetone soak is the complete breakup of the tiny fragments that form between the bristles, as I continue the process eventually all of the bits do come out of the brush. That can be observed by checking the bottom of the tin, when final rinse is completed.

He's also quite right about avoiding the generic labels, name brand thinners are generally of dependably superior quality. I find the higher priced and smaller quantity stuff from the hobby manufacturers to be objectionable, for cleaning things a paint store purchase will provide much more product for the buck.

As Marcus says, cleaning and wiping the bristles as you proceed with painting helps a great deal, but as I began with acrylics I found that it did set up quickly and left some behind in the brush, even after a cleaning. The tiny little bits were continually getting in new applications, the acetone soak got virtually everything out as it broke up the remaining bits of built up paint. Enamels are far different for me, they clean up quite well and quickly.

Thanks for the additional thoughts.

Patrick

Thanks for the info everyone, I will admit I am a bit hesitant about using acetone though. I have used acetone for many other things and I am well aware of acetone's nasty habit of spontaneously combustion, and since I live in Las Vegas were the temps get really hot I'm nervous about having anything with acetone on it especially in an apartment. Now keep in mind I have seen acetone ignite in 70 degree weather when I lived in the Pacific Northwest. Am I being a little paranoid about this or is it a point I need to consider??

No, that's not being paranoid at all, EVERY potential risk issue must be thoroughly guarded against as much as possible. Although I have a spray booth with powerful fan ducting through the shop exterior vent, I never spray anything through it while cleaning anything. For cleaning I turn on the ducted garage overhead fan above the ceiling, that forces the air outside with positive flow, not suction. So, for all thinners or cleaning agents I rely on that system, it is positive enough that I can't smell anything, I feel it provides a more than sufficient risk management margin. But that's just my assessment, in my application.

Everyone needs to be aware of risks, managing them in the best way they can. Clearly your concern about acetone is at an elevated level, so you're best off just not having it around. Best way to manage a risk is to just plain eliminate it. Besides, lacquer thinner may be all you really need anyway, it is after all a very aggressive agent. Like Marcus says, just clean the brush often as you paint.

I used to use it, I just find the acetone does a bit more complete job of removing all of the residuals remaining after using acrylic paints. Also, I'm a really fussy old bugger, old enough to be allowed that luxury, (I think I am, but maybe I'd better go check with my wife.)

Patrick

A little bit of a different take on cleaning, I use a process that runs from pre-paint to final cleaning.  First, I dip the brush in thinner (enamels) or alcohol (acrylics) prior to use to keep the paint from clogging the bristles and to keep the paint from getting into the bristle base.

I also just started using a small container of thinner or alcohol when painting to keep the paint loose on the brush while in use.  So far it seems to be getting me a smoother finish.

When I'm finished, I clean the brush in thinner or alcohol first, but then I clean it at the sink with a small sample size of shampoo (it costs like $1; anti-dandruff seems to work best).  I reshape the brush when wet and then let it air dry.

This seems to work pretty well. The shampoo does a real good job of cleaning the paint from the brush and my brushes have stopped having stray bristles that stick out