Shop Tips: How To Properly Clean Your Paint Brushes

Frank shows us his workflow and tips for keeping his paint brushes clean after using them, including what cleaners to use and how different types of brushes can be treated differently. Whether you run a large workshop or just work out of your garage, we want to hear your shop tips that you rely on in your projects. Post them in the comments below!

Shot and edited by Joey Fameli

Tested is:

Thanks for watching!

[jamesbuchanan]

Videos without Adam help me fall asleep at night. Thank you for this.

[jeaap]

According to bob Ross, I only have to wash my brush in odorless thinner and beat the devil out of it

[kleinaca]

Just dunk it in some odorless thinner and beat the devil out of it!

[aksopmodd]

Don't forget to beat the devil out of it

[LivefreeanddiyTv]

Would be great to have a "If it's this type of paint, use this type of solvent"... 🤓👍🏼

[cymeriandesigns]

I recommend viewing some of the other youtube videos on the subject of brush cleaning. The most helpful one I found illustrated the technique of using a tiny amount of solvent, like an eighth of an inch, immersing the brush and swooshing it around, then using a stainless steel wire brush to scrub the bristles out. Discard the solvent, use fresh, and repeat a couple more times. It requires a miniscule amount of solvent and leaves the brush about as free of paint as it's possible to get. If you want to minimize solvent use even further, you can try discarding into a container and letting the paint settle to the bottom and decant and reuse the solvent for the early cleaning stages, finishing with fresh.

[pedrolara]

tips on how to get rid of solvents and keeping the shop environmentally friendly would be interesting too

[HomegirlKikimora]

Cool!
I'm in school majoring in painting so I work with oil paints frequently. I just use ivory soap worked into a lather with warm water. I clean my brushes after each use (unlike some of my fellow classmates lol).

[holestdrillpresschannel]

Now I´ll start painting, just to have the fun to clean my brushes... :-)

[benshepherd]

The reason why natural brushes are better is because they hold onto the paint better, synthetic brushes have a tendency to release all of the paint at once onto what you're painting, pretty catastrophic for painting minis. Also really important for detail brushes is to clean with a brush conditioner, it keeps the bristles uniform and in shape. "The Masters" brush cleaner and preserver is what I use.

[lunhil]

I have a jar of mineral spirits with an upside down can with holes punched in the bottom. It keeps the bottom clear of sludge when I drub the brush on it. The goop falls through the holes. I've used it for years just occasionally adding more spirits as needed. For natural bristles I just use a bit of hair conditioner on them after cleaning to keep them supple.

[Bob_Burton]

Summary : clean your brushes in something that dissolves what is on them.

Who would have thought it ?

[Monsterist]

I paint model kits. Another tip when using water soluble paints is to have three receptacles of water for cleaning brushes between colours, not just one. The first will remove the majority of the paint, but the last will remain clear and ensure you're not cleaning your brushes in dirty water. When I'm done, I give the brushes a final clean in Revell's powerful brush cleaning solution to remove any stubborn paint, then reshape the bristles.

[thatsameoldsong]

thumbs up for the right idea. I'm commenting here because you are being to general. Pardon my boldness but you need to be talking about specific compounds.

As an example I would say something like.
for acrylic paint I would use
for watercolors I would use
for painting leather I would use ____
Keep making!

[Gothead]

I do Warhammer 40k, so thanks for the tips!
I always wondered if Acetone would kill natural brushes, but never was curious enough to try it out...

[JayAdan]

It's also a good idea to not mash the brush into the bottom of the cup for the same reason you don't want to leave it sitting at the bottom of the cup. Spin the brush against the side of the cup at a slight angle to work the solvent in to the bristles.

[SiegeTF]

For acrylic paints (nameley Citadel, Golden, Vallejo) I work the bristles around pomade. The wax, or fat, or whatever the stuff is will remove the paint residue and help keep the bristles (the sable hair ones at least) from fraying.

[MCAR]

great video any chance you can do one for clean airbrushes still think im doing it wrong

[xenonram]

You should had mentioned how to stop your brush from getting excessively dirty in the first place. Wet the bristles in the solvent that the paint is based, and tap upside down so it works its way into the ferrule. It stays wet so that the paint that runs in doesn't get stuck inside the ferrule; which is otherwise impossible to clean since paint dries so quick when it gets inside the ferrule.

[The__Creeper]

How to clean things the right way:
1. Get bag
2. Put brushes in bag
3. Take bag to dump
4. Go to store
5. Buy new brushes
6. Buy yourself a drink because you earned it after all that hard work. I suggest a fruity seltzer water. They're rather tasty.