How to Clean and Store Paintbrushes
A quality paintbrush cleaned properly lasts for hundreds of uses. A quality paintbrush cleaned improperly lasts for one. Here is how to clean natural bristle and synthetic brushes so they hold their shape and their softness.
Immediately after use
Never let paint dry in a brush. The moment you stop painting, begin cleaning. Dried paint in the heel of a brush (where the bristles meet the ferrule) is nearly impossible to remove completely and ruins the brush's flexibility.
Oil-based paint
Rinse in mineral spirits or paint thinner. Work the solvent into the bristles with your fingers, starting at the heel. Squeeze out the dirty solvent. Repeat with fresh solvent until it runs clear. Then wash with warm water and dish soap to remove the solvent. Rinse until the water runs clear.
Latex paint
Rinse under warm running water. Work the paint out of the bristles with your fingers. Use a brush comb to work paint out of the heel. Wash with dish soap. Rinse until the water runs clear. For stubborn latex, soak in fabric softener and warm water for 30 minutes.
Reshaping
After cleaning, reshape the bristles to their original form with your fingers. Natural bristle brushes should taper to a chisel edge. Wrap the bristles in the brush keeper (the cardboard sleeve the brush came in) or wrap in paper towel to hold the shape while drying.
Drying
Hang the brush bristle-down or lay it flat. Never stand a brush on its bristles: this bends them permanently. Never force-dry with heat: this damages natural bristles.
Storage
Store clean, dry brushes in their original keepers or wrapped in paper. Hang them or store flat. A properly cleaned and stored natural bristle brush improves with use: the tips develop a natural flag (split ends) that holds more paint and lays it down more smoothly.
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