What to do with our brushes after painting?

I'm a big fan of sable brushes also.I've had some for over  30 years .I still have the bad habit of sticking them in my mouth to bring them to a point,after they are clean of course. Mike

Awesome, that is good to know.  I can't mail order anything that is flammable liquid through the mail and living in Italy it is hard to find craft stores.  Do you know if rubbing alcohol will work with an air brush too?  I just bought one and couldn't get the thinner with it.  Also, does rubbing alcohol only work with enamel or acrylic, or both.

Question for those who wipe their brushes on a bar of soap as the final step.  When do you clean/remove the soap from the brush?

Alcohol should only be used to thin acrylics. Water works with acrylics, too. I've also read many times that Windex (glass cleaner) can be used to thin acrylics, and to clean brushes that were use to brush acrylics (never tried Windex myself). 

Enamels should only be thinned with thinners made for enamels. Personally, I use thinner made by the paint's manufacturer to thin the paints for use, and then I use paint cleaner/stripper (not thinner) that I buy in bulk at Lowe's or Home Depot to clean my airbrush and paint brushes. Don't thin your paints with the paint cleaner - it will probably produce results that you don't want.

Not sure where you can buy paint cleaner/stripper in Italy. Most home repair stores should carry it. You should be able to buy paint thinner wherever  you buy your modeling paints.

DD,

    You've raised some good points there.  And those points are at the heart of a discussion on why MM intermediate blue isn't mixing for another member.

    They say that they used laquer thinner on enamel, claiming to have done so in the past with good results.  But that now they've gotten poor results.  And are now trying to say that they got a "bad" bottle of paint.  Even though "everyone and their brother" has tried to tell them that it's probably because they used lacquer thinner on enamel and/or thinned it out way too much.

Well;

    I could never figure out WHY anyone would use Lacquer thinner in enamel . I have posted before about my brushes and forgot to mention that I do hang them Bristles down in a cool dark place after reshaping the tips .You had to do this with Pin - Striping brushes anyway . Now those are over forty five years old and going strong  .Has anyone ever seen a brush made of Mink ?

   Made four about six months just to see how they would work ,Two 1/4 " by 1' flats and two 1 1/2 " long rounds . All I can say is WOW .Never made brushes before . Definitely will do it again . I still have the old Mink stole I made them from . Well a couple of inches of it anyway .The cat has claimed the rest .

TB,

    I have to admit that I have also wondered about that.  Everything I've read has always said to use enamel thinner with enamel and lacquer thinner with lacquer and acrylic thinner with acrylic.  And I would have to think that mixing them is just asking for trouble.

    Can't say that I have, nor have I ever considered making one.  How does one go about doing so?

use denatured alcohol for best results!!

Before there was a latex or water-based paint (I believe that Dupont Lucite was the first widely used latex house paint), painters customarily suspended their natural bristle brushes in linseed oil.  That kept them nice and soft and pliable.   Proper cleaning and storage is the key to longevity for brushes. 

I have brushes for house painting ( both interior and exterior), bristle and polyester/nylon, that are nearly 20 years old that have been cleaned hundreds of times and they are still viable tools.   To keep their shape, those type of brushes should be wrapped properly in paper or kept in their cardboard "scabbards".  

Gary

One thing i'll add, always store your brushes upside down - ie, with handles at the bottom of a jar/brush holder - don't store them bristles down.

This seems obvious to avoid splaying the bristles, but, i did it for years before reading about it - i might just be a slow learner though.

Alternatively, buy a long tupperware style container and store them lying down, again to prevent bristle damage.

I have the same problem as Digital_Cowboy.  I work at the VA craft center here in Tacoma, and most of the time when I clean up, I use alcohol, and just literally watch the paint come out of the bristles.  On a side note, I have helped one person literally get the modelling bug, and helping another.  He is coming around.

I paint icons as an exercise in prayer. I keep a separate set of brushes dedicated to that, as opposed to y modeling brushes.

Treat your brushes as an instrument of the way you wish to be remembeerd.

I use lacquer thinner to clean my brushes. It removes even dried acrylic. I have a clear jar filled half way and I gently roll the brush on the glass inside the jar, then wipe the brush on a clean paper towel and store it upside down in a plastic bottle to keep the bristles in good shape. Most of my brushes are at least 10-20 years old.

Hi ;

    Depending on what kind of paint you bought , I could see the recommendation for thinner . I would be willing to bet it is an acrylic thinner , such as Tamiya's or Mr. Color. I really don't understand the need for it except for thinning acrylic .It's too expensive to clean brushes in !