Cleaning Paint Brushes: One step at a time!

If you're like me, the last thing you want to do after a long day of painting is clean the brushes. A good brush, if cleaned properly, will last through dozens of paint jobs. I will go through the steps of cleaning your brushes no matter what type of paint or you use and how to maintain the shape of the brush once it's cleaned. A little elbow work now, will help protect your investment without having to buy brushes every time you paint trim or a whole room.

First of all, start by purchasing a good brush. Those $2.00 brushes will not give you good results when painting. For latex paint, purchase a quality nylon or polyester brush. Oil based paints should be painted with a natural bristle brush preferably out of animal hair.

5 STEPS FOR CLEANING WATER-BASED PAINT FROM A BRUSH

1. Scrape off excess paint. This may seem obvious, but getting the brush as free from excess paint will be beneficial. Use the rim of the paint can or I paint the excess off on newspaper.
    
2. Wash the brush. In a pail of soapy warm water, work the paint off of the bristles with your hands or a brush comb (available at home improvement stores).
    
3. Spin the brush. You can purchase a brush and roller spinner, but I usually swirl the brush with my hands. In the same soapy bucket, spin the brush handle through both hands back and forth. This may take several minutes depending on how clogged your brush was with paint.
    
4. Rinse the brush. In a pail of clean water, work the bristles with your hands and spin the brush again. Dump out water and repeat in another pail of clean water.
    
5. Wrap the brush. I like to use a paper bag from the grocery store. Make an envelope for your brush with the bristles facing into the fold of the paper bag. Fold each side in around your brush and tie loosely (but securely) with twine. This step is critical for maintaining the brushes original shape.

6 STEPS FOR CLEANING OIL-BASED PAINT FROM BRUSHES

This process is very similar to washing latex paint except you'll use mineral spirits (paint thinner) instead of soapy water to get the brush clean. Always work in a well-ventilated area when cleaning brushes in solvents such as mineral spirits.

1. Rinse the brush with paint thinner. Wearing chemical-resistant gloves and protective eye wear, work the bristles with your hands. If necessary, use a brush comb on any hardened paint spots, but this is usually more of a problem with latex paint.
    
2. Spin the brush. With your hands or a brush spinner, rinse the brush for 10 seconds after nearly all of the paint solids are out of the brush.
    
3. Dip the brush. In a clean container of paint thinner, work any remaining paint out of the bristles.
    
4. Spin the brush again. Agitate the bristles and spin the brush in paint thinner for at least two minutes.
    
5. Dip the brush in lacquer thinner. Lacquer thinner is flammable so please proceed with caution or use outside. Agitate the brush for a minute to remove any remaining paint and shake out brush on newspaper to remove lacquer thinner residue.
    
6. Clean the brush in warm soapy water. Dish soap will work fine for this step. Work the bristles for about a minute. A quick cleaning in water won't damage the bristles, spin the brush to get out any extra water. Shape brush and store in a brown paper bag envelope as stated previously.

TIPS:

• After using the container of paint thinner, let the paint solids settle, then pour off the rest in a clean container for reuse.
• Make sure you check your local hazardous waste department for proper dumping of any solvent.
• Solvent-based brush cleaners are available for the hardened brush that never was cleaned.
• Don't clean brushes with solvents around water heaters, stoves, or any open flame with potential to spark or ignite.
• Cleaning shellac or varnish requires a different solvent than latex and oil paint. Follow the same steps for oil-based paint but use  denatured alcohol instead of paint thinner.