How to Clean Paint Brushes Easily To Keep Your Artistic Skills Top-Notch!

Being a painter is hard. It takes a lot of practice to become a good one as well. But other than practicing and being excellent in your art is not your only duty. Artists have to take care of their cleaning supplies, especially pain brushes. They need to be cleaned well to maintain their quality. A lot of artists struggle with cleaning their painting supplies and thus need help. Do you know how to clean paint brushes as well? Worry not; we are here to answer them all. Let’s begin!

How To Clean Paint Brushes?

It is difficult to paint with hard brushes. Thus cleaning becomes an important task. No one likes to clean the dry paint off from paintbrushes. But you need to do it at some time. Hence, you must know how to clean paint brushes easily.

Do not use paints when they are too concentrated. Dilute them to make sure they don’t stick too much to your brushes. Concentrated paints are harder to clean from brushes.

When it comes to cleaning them, the processes are time-consuming but easy. Let’s look at our first process:

1. Using solvents

• Remove the paint from the brushes:

You need to remove the initial paint you have by hand before cleaning them. If your brushes that need cleaning are still wet, pat them on an old cloth. Brush them repeatedly to make sure most of the paint is gone.

• Soak the brushes in a container with the appropriate solvent of the paint you used.

Not all paints have water as their solvent, hence do your research and use the right solvent for your brushes. You can hurry the process by moving your brushes in the solvent in a circular motion. Or else just keep them soaked for a few minutes.

After your brushes have been soaking in the water for some time, rinse them with running water and make sure all the paint is gone from the brushes. If the paint is still stubborn, you can use some mild dish soap. However, that is safe only for water-based paints. Make sure the dish soap is mild as strong ones with harmful chemicals can ruin the quality of your brushes.

After your brushes are clean, shake the water off them well. You can also tap them lightly on a clean cloth or shake them above the cardboard. Besides, you can spin the brushes individually using two hands with the bristles facing downwards so the water falls off. Ensure all the water is out of the brushes and they are dry before you store them away.

2. Using Fabric Softener

• Similar to the last process, you first have to get rid of any paint that might still be there in your paintbrushes. To do that, brush it along an old discarded cloth. You can also wash the paintbrushes and then pat them dry on an old discarded cloth. If the paint has hardened, we recommend you soak it in warm water for a while. That will remove most of the paint.
• The next step is to create a mixture of water and Fabric Softener. Take a bowl and make the mixture in it.
• To create the mixture, pour four cups of warm water into the bowl along with a one-eighth cup of Fabric Softener. Do not use hot water, which might manage your brushes. Use slightly warm water. Besides, remember to use a mild fabric softener that is suitable for paintbrushes. Mix the water with the Fabric Softener.
• Take your paintbrushes that need to be cleaned and move them around in the mixture for a while. Soon, you will see the paint coming off. When all the paint is off, you will see the paint starting to come off. The paint should settle to the bottom of the bowl.
• Once your paintbrushes are cleaned, rinse them off under running water. This will remove any remaining paint or fabric softener.
• Make sure to dry your paintbrushes before storing them away. Brush them on an old cloth or tap them on cardboard to get rid of all the water. Ensure the brushes are back to their normal shape and the bristles aren’t harmed before you store them.

3. Using Vinegar

Another effective way of cleaning your brushes is to use vinegar. It is a common household product, much more common than a Fabric Softener or a solvent you will have to buy. Follow the given instructions to clean your brushes successfully with vinegar.

• Take a bowl or a pot that will not be used to store food. Pour vinegar into it. Then place your paintbrushes in the bowl or pot. Make sure all the paint-covered areas of the brushes are completely covered with vinegar.
• Now you have to put the pot or bowl on low flame and let it simmer. You have to bring the vinegar to a boil. Use a lid to cover the utensil to prevent your kitchen from the smell of the boiledvinegar.
• After the vinegar starts boiling, remove it from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Do not touch it unless it has completely cooled down.
• Once the bowl or pot has cooled down along with the brushes, take the brushes out of the vinegar. Remove the paint from the brushes. The paint will still be on the brushes, but due to the vinegar, it will come off easily. Do not touch the bristles if they are hot. Wait a little longer.
• Once all the paint is removed from the bristles of the brushes, rinse your brushes in cold water. Take your time to do this step, as it may take time for the paint to come off completely.
• In case your paintbrushes have very hardened paint, place them in the vinegar again and bring it to a boil.
• Once your paintbrushes are clean of any paint and you have rinsed them in water, dry them by brushing them on an old cloth. When they are dry, store them away.

Conclusive Insights

We have come to the end of our blog on how to clean paint brushes; we hope to have been of help. And we hope to have answered all your questions. It isn’t easy to take care of paints and brushes. Hence we hope the solutions provided by us have helped you. What did you think of this blog? Tell us in the comments below.