EZ paintbrush cleaning

[JDgreen227]

While I hate to clean paint brushes, I hate even more having to throw away an expensive paint brush. Had about two dozen very good quality brushes, sizes 1 1/2 inch to 4 inch, some of which had been sitting for six or seven years with oil base stain or water base latex hardened on them.

Purchased a gallon of brush cleaner, let the brushes soak overnight, and combed out as much gunk as I could, then before putting them back in a new jar of brush cleaner, I used a 1400 psi power washer to remove as much of the softened paint as I could. Another soaking in brush cleaner, and another round of power washing. The third and last time I cleaned them, I used a mixture of about half cheap liquid laundry soap, and half water, with bleach added. Then after soaking, I put a turbo nozzle on the power washer wand and REALLY blasted the bristles, including directing the jet up at the ferrule where the bristles were set in.

Then I combed the bristles out and hung the brushes up to dry, the cleaning removed every last trace of the hardened paint and stain except in a few spots on the handles, and amazingly enough, there was only ONE brush that didn't come clean. I thought perhaps the method would ruin the bristles, many of which were nylon, but they were such good quality they retained their shape and the flagging on the tips.

Last week when I finished staining my deck, when I was done, I used the power washer method to remove the latex stain on the brushes after letting them soak in soapy water overnight. Wish I had thought of using the power washer sooner !!!!

 

[LD1]

For me, cleaning an old brush isnt worth the hastle. Even a good quality brush isnt expensive enough to make me want to clean an old one.

But I will say, they are a lot easier to clean when you are done with them then 6-7 years down the road.

Latex cleans up with just water very easially. Oil-based stuff takes a good thinner to cut it. And if I am into a project that stretches more than a day, or I am going to reuse the brush in the near future, throwing them in a ziploc and tossing them in the freezer is a quick way to avoid having to clean.
Actually they will keep in the freezer for a long time. Last time I cleaned out the freezer, I ran across a couple of brushes that had been in there for a few years, they were still soft and usable:thumbsup:

 

[JDgreen227]

Several of my 3 and 4 inch brushes are natural bristle, and no way am I gonna toss out a $18-$20 brush....for my latex stain deck job that took over a week, I would just wrap the brush tightly in a freezer bag when I was done for the day.

 

[tomt2828]

you used natural bristle with a latex stain. i painted for many years and that ruins a bristle brush. one of the greatest time and brush saving tricks i ever learned was dropping your oilbased brush in a bucket of water. it will stay uncured for i dont even know how long. i just used a brush that was in water at least 2 weeks. if your brush is bristle i would make sure the oil paint has soaked all the bristles into the shank. works great. tomt

 

[Soundguy]

For me, cleaning an old brush isnt worth the hastle. Even a good quality brush isnt expensive enough to make me want to clean an old one.

:

I hear ya. I'll clean a brush to get me thru a multi day job.. but past that I toss them.

I can buy a mid grade brush for each such job and toss and save the 5 hours of cleaning and soaking.

for odd and junk jobs the lil 1$ disposables are fine. and for other stuff.. the mid grade brushes do as good as the high dollar ones.. just their bristles discolor, pill or fall out faster... no biggie if I toss it after the job..

soundguy

 

[ray66v]

Overly aggressive cleaning can cause a brush to "blow out", which leaves all the bristles bending outward. This damage is usually not reversible. And you cannot use the brush for any tasks where control of the edge of the material being applied is important. At that point, for me, it becomes a duster.

While a good latex brush, (I like Wooster), is only about $20, when they get used enough, they break in for your painting style and their performance as far as edging goes improves, so the speed you paint at increases. I have several brushes I do critical work with, that are more than 15 years old, and they still work very well. They are worth more to me than the $20 it would take to replace them. Cleaning them is not a big chore, if you don't let the paint dry on them. If you are going to take a break, put the brush in the paint, or a plastic bag. If the brush gets a lot of paint all over it, a few minutes cleaning at the midday point, quickly remove the residue.

I do also buy dozens of Chinese brushes at a time, from a closeout store, for $1- $3, to do small touch ups, primer, Kilz, rough service, etc., which I toss in the trash after use.

 

[JDgreen227]

About a year ago the local Menards stores were selling a regular price, 59 cent 1 inch bristle brush for 9 cents each, I purchased 200 of them at the time, used as throwaway brushes for small jobs.

Soundguy....5 hours of cleaning and soaking per brush....surely you jest. It took me 5 hours to salvage the entire group I originally posted about, and I considered it time well spent.

 

[MossRoad]

Sounds like a clash between labor and management here. :laughing:

My folks were artists. We were taught a LOT regarding how to treat your brushes. From the finest tiniest sable fur brushes to the big old stain brushes my dad used on the house. We cleaned a LOT of brushes! :laughing:

That being said, I now buy a brush for each project and toss it at the end. I figure its cost into the project as disposables. And that's what's happening in America and the rest of the world today!!! (queue the pfife and drum music ). You have true craftsmen who were tought the proper way to do something and then someone comes along and offers you NEARLY the same thing for much less money. Its the "just good enough" factor. Kinda like Harbor Freight tools. They stink but they are "just good enough" to get the job done. There isn't an emiticon for "indifferent" here, is there?

 

[retiredmgn]

Water based - I'm painting the exterior of my house - I head for the garden hose at least every 1/2 hour. Spray the he!! out of em before the paint dries up in the ferrel. They go for ever.
Cleaning oil based is a time honered tradition I recentely shared with my son. Fill a coffee can half full of solvent and set aside to soak. After about a month, when the solvent had dried up and the brush and can have become a solid mass, throw both of them in the trash.

 

[JDgreen227]

Water based - I'm painting the exterior of my house - I head for the garden hose at least every 1/2 hour. Spray the he!! out of em before the paint dries up in the ferrel. They go for ever.
Cleaning oil based is a time honered tradition I recentely shared with my son. Fill a coffee can half full of solvent and set aside to soak. After about a month, when the solvent had dried up and the brush and can have become a solid mass, throw both of them in the trash.

My county waste management authorities have Clean Community Events twice a year, they ask that households NOT throw oil based paints, stains, chemicals, etc. in the household trash, but turn them in at the CCE's for proper disposal (incineration). Latex and water based they say are okay to toss in the trash once they are dried. I even take in all my old alkaline batteries to the CCE's now.

 

[JB4310]

I only buy top quality brushes, the good paint costs $50.-60. gallon, why cheap out on the brush. So of course I try to keep them as long as I can, but eventually they get so stiff, even with the super duper cleaner.

Never thought about the pressure washer, I'll have to give it a try.

JB.

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. 5 hours of my time cleaning a handfull of brushes. HMM..

for the money i'm loosing with that time.. I can simply repalce the brushes, and if I 'cut' that with some cheap brushes here and there and a good one when needed.. I figure I'm actually ahead of the curve.

some things I don't mind giving away labor for free on.. like refurbing my old tractors. if Isold them.. to come out I'd have to consider my labor at cheap or free.

for anything else.. i don't feel like grabbing the ankles.... i got plenty of other tasks for my time..

at work we did a cost/benefit analysys on some renewable consumables vs straight disposables. surprisingly, and somewhat sadly.. it's generally cheaper to use a disposable consumable, vs a renewable consumable that taes man hours to renew.. sad fact...

soudnguy

Sounds like a clash between labor and management here. :laughing:

My folks were artists. We were taught a LOT regarding how to treat your brushes. From the finest tiniest sable fur brushes to the big old stain brushes my dad used on the house. We cleaned a LOT of brushes! :laughing:

That being said, I now buy a brush for each project and toss it at the end. I figure its cost into the project as disposables. And that's what's happening in America and the rest of the world today!!! (queue the pfife and drum music ). You have true craftsmen who were tought the proper way to do something and then someone comes along and offers you NEARLY the same thing for much less money. Its the "just good enough" factor. Kinda like Harbor Freight tools. They stink but they are "just good enough" to get the job done. There isn't an emiticon for "indifferent" here, is there?

 

[LWG]

For latex paint, I take some dish washing liquid and rub it into the top of the bristles, by the ferrule. That makes cleaning the brush much easier if you have to use it for an hour or two. This works best if the brush is thoroughly dry, so the soap doesn't migrate towards the tip of the bristles.

 

[Pete Judd]

I have a fine woodworking shop, and buy a lot of my brushes at HF by the box when they go on sale. Just toss them, but I flex and comb them before use. Of coarse on a lot of my finishes I just use cloth to apply the finish.

 

[MossRoad]

yep.. 5 hours of my time cleaning a handfull of brushes. HMM..

for the money i'm loosing with that time.. I can simply repalce the brushes, and if I 'cut' that with some cheap brushes here and there and a good one when needed.. I figure I'm actually ahead of the curve.

some things I don't mind giving away labor for free on.. like refurbing my old tractors. if Isold them.. to come out I'd have to consider my labor at cheap or free.

for anything else.. i don't feel like grabbing the ankles.... i got plenty of other tasks for my time..

at work we did a cost/benefit analysys on some renewable consumables vs straight disposables. surprisingly, and somewhat sadly.. it's generally cheaper to use a disposable consumable, vs a renewable consumable that taes man hours to renew.. sad fact...

soudnguy

Yeah. When I first started at my employer 25 years ago we actually disassembled and cleaned computer keyboards. Popped off every key, washed them inside and out. Cleaned the switches with contact cleaner. Blew them out with air, etc... took two-three hours of labor! I ended up fabricating a key cap washing machine out of a pickle jar and regulated air hose. Put in keys and soapy water then adjust air hose for fine bubbling action. A half hour or so later they were clean. :laughing: Anyhow, now we can buy a keyboard for one hour of minimum wage labor. Mouse is even less. Just not cost effective to clean them. Toss them out and swap in a new one in two minutes. A sad waste of equipment, but cost effective.

 

[JDgreen227]

Yeah. When I first started at my employer 25 years ago we actually disassembled and cleaned computer keyboards. Popped off every key, washed them inside and out. Cleaned the switches with contact cleaner. Blew them out with air, etc... took two-three hours of labor! I ended up fabricating a key cap washing machine out of a pickle jar and regulated air hose. Put in keys and soapy water then adjust air hose for fine bubbling action. A half hour or so later they were clean. :laughing: Anyhow, now we can buy a keyboard for one hour of minimum wage labor. Mouse is even less. Just not cost effective to clean them. Toss them out and swap in a new one in two minutes. A sad waste of equipment, but cost effective.

The three year old Toshiba L-355 I am using right now has several keys where the letters are worn down and now blank. Went to Ebay and priced replacment key caps, not the whole key, just the plastic cap. $4-5 per cap. Inane.

 

[JimRB]

The three year old Toshiba L-355 I am using right now has several keys where the letters are worn down and now blank. Went to Ebay and priced replacment key caps, not the whole key, just the plastic cap. $4-5 per cap. Inane.

If you bought a nice sable brush and some white oil based or lead based paint you could paint new letters on that keyboard after you ran the keyboard through the dishwasher. Or just get a new keyboard. It is a delight getting the keyboard off some laptops.

 

[scott_vt]

, I would just wrap the brush tightly in a freezer bag when I was done for the day.

Good Mornin JDgreen227,
Yep thats also a great tip and one that I have used successfully in the past also !

 

[Bird]

Yeah. When I first started at my employer 25 years ago we actually disassembled and cleaned computer keyboards. Popped off every key, washed them inside and out. Cleaned the switches with contact cleaner. Blew them out with air, etc... took two-three hours of labor! I ended up fabricating a key cap washing machine out of a pickle jar and regulated air hose. Put in keys and soapy water then adjust air hose for fine bubbling action. A half hour or so later they were clean. :laughing: Anyhow, now we can buy a keyboard for one hour of minimum wage labor. Mouse is even less. Just not cost effective to clean them. Toss them out and swap in a new one in two minutes. A sad waste of equipment, but cost effective.

Well, we're taking the thread off topic, but . . .. I'll bet a lot of folks have never seen the interior of a keyboard or know how many little springs are in there. I bought a new IBM computer in March, 1993, and in July I knocked over a glass of wine, right into the keyboard. I'd never taken one apart so I gave it a try. 101 little springs went every direction. After I found them all, cleaned everything, and put it back together, it didn't work. I called IBM, told the guy what I'd done and I wanted to buy a new keyboard. He just laughed and said to not do that again and he'd send me a new one under warranty. Before the new one arrived, I figured out what I'd done wrong, and fixed the original one.:laughing: But I haven't spilled tea, coffee, soft drinks, or wine into a keyboard since.

 

[DAY]

A quality brush will last for decades. Ask any old timer, who paints for a living. Use bristle brushes for oil based paints. Work some linseed oil up into the ferrule before first use.