Paint maintenance

[West]

Hello everyone the question is what do you do to keep your bottle paints in good shape. Also having trouble with my paint brushes they get stiff after I clean them. 

[yh70]

first thing i do is i put BB's in them to help keep the paint shook up. when i get thru using a bottle i wipe the bottle & the cap out good with a paper towel to keep the lid from sticking, as far as my brush i clean them in lacquer thinner..

[Bainford]

As Dave says, clean the bottle top and inside of lid after use to maintain the seal, keeping the paint fresh. If there is crusty paint already dried there, use lacquer thinner and a rag/tissue to do this..

If brushes are stiff after cleaning, then they are either not fully clean, or you are using the wrong cleaner. Give them a double cleaning, making sure to wick the cleaner out of the brush with a tissue. For enamel and lacquer paints, I clean with lacquer thinner. For Acrylic paints, I clean with 91 or 99% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. Many builders use lacquer thinner for cleaning acrylic, too, with good success. I have brushes that have been in regular service for over 25 years without issue.

Edited December 14, 2023 by Bainford

[Rich Chernosky]

I also clean the tops of my jars then wrap some Parafilm around the lid.  This forms a very tight seal.  You are not cleaning your brushes properly.  Squeeze as much paint as you can out of your brush onto a white paper towel.  Thin dip the brush in a very strong solvent  (do not swish, the solvent needs to stay clean)  I use Savograms Paint Brush and Roller cleaner. Its stronger than lauquer thinner. Roll the brush all the way to the ferrule. Repeat until you see very little color on the towel. At least 4-5 times. You can save your hardened brushes by soaking them over night in the Savogram. They need to be tip down. Then clean as normal.  You will be surprised at how much paint has gotten up into the ferrule.

[peteski]

I stay away from using ball bearings or BBs (any metal objects) as agitators. Steel ball bearings can rust, and lead can also oxidize in water-based paints, discoloring them.  I also had that happen in some solvent-based paints.  I now only use glass craft beads about 1/16" is diameter.  Glass will not react with any solvents. Larger glass marbles are used as agitators in spray cans.

I'm also very fastidious in cleaning the bottle lip and the gasket on the cap before screwing the cap on.

I also use Parafilm-M for masking but I noticed that some solvents will soften the film. I notice that when I remove the film fresh after painting. It is likely paraffin-based (hence its name).  Naphtha for example will dissolve paraffin.  I have not done any experiments with it and solvents such as acetone or mineral spirits, but I suspect those will also soften or dissolve it.  Should be safe to use on water-based paints.

[Mark]

I don't soak brushes in such a way that the cleaning solution gets all the way up to the ferrule on the brush.  That way, nothing gets on the portion of the bristles inside the ferrule, which could build up and dry causing the bristles to fan out.  I only dip the brush in the paint a third of the way up (if even that).  I'm notoriously bad with cheap brushes, but pretty meticulous with the good ones.

[stitchdup]

you can fix stiff brushes by soaking them in dettol for a couple of days. its a decent paint stripper and after a rinse in clean water the brushes are good to go again. you will lose the handle paint but who needs it anyway. i think most of us have some in the medicine cupboards at home. but if you dont like the smell of dettol you can use la's tottaly awesome cleaner (also safe to use for stripping resin but its slow)

[Tom99]

After each use, I wash them out with lacquer thinner.

[bobss396]

I use only lacquer thinner too. I use a small jar for it, chuck it after it gets too murky. I have a bunch of good Mack brushes and the rest are general use sable so they hold up over the years.

[Mothersworry]

This is what I use for cleaning my brushes, the Silicoil Brush Cleaning Tank. I have one tank filled with Lacquer thinner and one filled with Mineral Spirits. These tanks work very well, you simply run the brush across the coils and the brush is cleaned and what ever comes off the brush settles to the bottom of the tank. 

They can be found at Hobby Lobby. 

[bill-e-boy]

I use lacquer thinner to clean brushes too. Used to use turpentine for oil based and water for acrylics but just use lacquer for everything now. swirl round in the top of the jar and clean off with paper towels until clear. Then I dress the brush with my wetted fingers so that they keep their shape. If the brush comes with a plastic cover then I use that to protect the tip. I also store my brushes laying flat in a suitable container. Some of my brushes are well over 20 years old and are still in good shape.

[Skip]

These are all great methods for cleaning brushes, in my opinion you should treat every brush as if it were an expensive brush. Here's some brush tips from years of fooling around with pinstriping and sign painting (for profit). I apprenticed as a sign painter way back in the late '70s and have used it as a second gig for a lot of years after leaving the craft for higher paying work. So I've played around with an expensive brush or two ($40 - $70+ dollars per brush type expensive). 

You can rig a little clothesline thing up with some string and use regular clothes pins to hang the brush by the end allowing the brush itself to straighten out and air dry.  Gravity will keep the hairs of the brush straight.

The first rule to remember with good paint brushes is to never store them standing by the hair, or soak standing in thinner, and not to scrub the hairs against something like the bottom of the paint pot to clean the bristles. It can bend the hair, snap hair off at the ferrule or even give a good brush split ends, no amount of hair conditioner is going to get them unsplit again! With all cleaning methods, be gentle with the bristles, never jab or scour the bristles, you will only end up with a clean but damaged useless brush.

I almost always use low odor mineral spirits in a three-pot cleaning method, this method alone will keep your brushes cleaner. First pot clean looking but slightly contaminated mineral spirits, with maybe a slight bit of gunk settled at the bottom. Second pot, cleaner mineral spirits than the first pot. Third pot clean mineral spirits right from the container. Clean from pot one, two, three, using a soft cloth such as an old tee shirt material gently grasping the hairs between the cloth and lightly pulling away from the rag a few times until it comes out pretty clean. Then go to the next pot/cup until you get to the third final cup, you should now have a squeaky-clean brush.  Some like to use cheap lacquer thinner as a final clean, you only need one cup to dip and draw the brush. Goes without saying, that if you are using lacquer paints, use lacquer thinner to clean the brush, using the same three pot system.

Next step which is optional but works well if you are storing brushes for an extended period, dip the brush into some clean unscented mineral oil then pull the brush through a clean cloth. Leave a small amount of mineral oil on the brush and store it that way. The mineral oil will keep any paint trapped in the ferrule from hardening and causing the hairs to snap off the next time you use the brush. Before using the brush, the next time, clean the mineral oil out of the brush with cheap lacquer thinner, use like normal. I have stored brushes like this for several years at a time, it is a time honored signwriter's and pin striper's method of storing both animal hair and synthetic brushes. I also store many of my better Kolinsky and Red Sable brushes used for models this same way.  I store natural hair brushes flat, not standing on end, I've seen brushes develop a curl from standing on end.

Brushes used for Acrylic Paints - Acrylics have a bad habit of soaking into the ferrule of the brush, about the only way that I have found to clean the paint out of the ferrule is to use an ultrasonic cleaner with a couple drops each of dish soap and Windex. Lay the brush as flat as possible in the ultrasonic cleaner's vat and watch the paint boil out of the brush, even a squeaky-clean looking brush! For the most part, I use synthetic brushes for all my acrylic painting which is getting more and more as the paint gets better. (Or maybe it is me getting better with the paint!)

I store all brushes natural and synthetic hair lying flat where the surface supports the hair of the brush. Keeps the brush from having a bad hair day! If it happens, and it's happened to almost all of us, if it hasn't it will. Get some "The Masters Brush Cleaner & Preserver" sold a most art related stores. Wet the brush for an hour or two to hydrate the hair. Next, draw the brush across the Brush Preserver until it develops a soapy lather. Draw the hairs of the brush between your fingers until the hair is flat and straight without any hint of curl. Allow the brush to dry this way and it will set in a straight position. Let the brush lay flat and dry this way for a few days at least. Wash the soap out of the brush and you should find a straight brush again. If not, rinse and repeat until it does!  I've saved some pretty bent and dirty bristles this way, I know it works.

I could probably go on with brush trickery but for most this is the information needed to maintain a good set of brushes. So if you have any weird brush issues, I might be able to answer your questions, or at least I can find out through my contacts in the sign and striping world.

Edited December 18, 2023 by Skip