Paint Brush Cleaner

Paul Douglass

Member
Messages
4,984
Location
S E Washington State
I'm not sure this is in the correct forum but I will give it a try. I like good paint brushes and I like to take care of them. Been doing some deck painting recently. It got me to thinking. Are there any good paint brush cleaner available? I clean my brushes well after every use but there is still a build up of paint just under the handle, top of the bristles I'd like to get rid of. Several years ago I bought some brush cleaner and it worker great for cleaning the old dry stuff and acted like it "reconditioned" my brushes. Doesn't look like what I used before is available anymore. Maybe I just don't remember the name, I searched and nothing that came up look familiar. Anyone use one that they would recomment?
 
It is not a cleaner but it helps a lot for prevention.
Before you start, dip the brush in whatever thinner (water, mineral spirits, etc) you are using to the top of the ferrule and let it soak in. Shake or drain of course but the area under the ferrule will remain pretty wet. This will keep the paint/finish from wicking up into that area and keep it clean.
 
Thank you. I have always used a wire brush when I clean and it does great on the few outer rows of bristles but I have a build up more inside. I wonder is a comb helps in there. Maybe I'll pick one up. I picked up some brush cleaner at HD today and have one of my brushes soaking in it to see what it does. If it works as well as the stuff I use to have I'll be real happy. It sure is nasty smelling stuff!
 
Well, I have a purdy brush that got a little gunked up. Used it on latex, and then some poly, and well, it was kind of stiff and unusable anymore.

I know, Use the right brush and cleaner for the job, but whatever.

So I bought some Brush Cleaner at HD and let the brush sit in there overnight.

Used a brush comb on it today and I'll be darned if it didn't clean it up real good. It's now useable again.

Soft and clean and ready to do work.

The brush cleaner seems like it's just a mix of about every kind of solvent there is, so pretty nasty stuff.

The good news is that it's pretty reuseable, so I bought a little blank quart can with a lid and us that to store it. Next time I need to clean a brush, I can just pop the lid off and soak the brush. I may never need to throw it out...
 
Brent, I bought the same thing right after I started this thread. It does work, although not as well as I "think" I remember the cleaner I used years ago. Another way I have revived a brush is to soak it in paint stripper. But talk about nasty stuff! I still haven't purchased one of those brush combs yet. I surely well next spring when I proceed to do the underneath of the deck.
 
The pro painter at my old work used to put his built up brushes in acetone overnight, then hit them with a wire brush. He had been using some of the same brushes for 5-10 years. I've used the same stuff that Brent posted, and had success too.

I usually clean mine well, but a trick my aunt taught me (she used to do acrylic art painting) was to put a drop or two of dish wash detergent on the brush, work it in, squeeze out any excess/shape to a point, and let it dry with the soap in in. The soap helps keep any left-over paint residue from sticking the bristles together. Just do a quick rinse before you use it again and you're good to go.
 
Looking at the ingredient list, that brush cleaner has a little of everything in it. The mad scientist in me thinks I could have made my own from my collection of solvents I have around the house.

Acetone, Paint Thinner, MEK, Etc.... MWUwahahahahahahahaha....
 
It is a witches brew of solvents, so that works for me...

Or perhaps it's just the mad scientist in me...
 
Top