Summary:
Cleaning a paint brush properly will add years of useful life to the brush. Most people clean paint brushes improperly. Their cleaning methods may actually shorten the life of a good paint brush. Proper cleaning starts before you even start to paint! Let’s let some of the painters from A Finishing Touch Paitnes, LLC (www.aftpainters.com) share some of their secrets.
Question:
I am having difficulties cleaning my paint brushes. My high-quality paint brushes are stiff halfway up from the tips, despite using latex paint and washing them with warm water immediately after each use. I have tried using a assortment of products that claim they will restore paint brushes, but with no success. Conversely, they seem to damage the brushes further. How do you clean paint brushes so they last for years? Is it possible, or should I just buy disposable paint brushes and throw them away after each job? Tom L. Finlay, IL
Answer:
It is time for some tough love. The expensive brushes are being ruined because; unfortunately you are not cleaning them properly. Believe it or not, I have a few paint brushes that have been used over 100 times. They look like new, and the bristles have no remnants of paint where they connect to the body/base of the brush body
I have read labels on many of these products, and the poison image tells me that most of these products are highly toxic. Read the label on these products and you will frequently discover chemical names such as acetone, methanol, methylene chloride, toluene and xylene. Many of these are very dangerous and can cause serious health risk. It is easier and safer to simply learn how to care for your paint brushes upfront rather than resuscitate.
At the start of your job is when you should begin the process of cleaning your paint brush. It’s not uncommon for people take a new brush or a dry one and dip it directly into the paint. At A Finishing Touch Painters, LLC (www.aftpainters.com), we feel this is a mistake. On hot, dry days the paint on the outside of the brushes up near the handle can harden within hours.
You can slow the hardening, or even prevent it from occurring, by wetting the brush with water before using it. Use water when applying latex or water-based paint. If using painting oil-based paint, dip the brush in paint thinner before applying paint to the brush. Be certain to lightly shake out any excess water or paint thinner before dipping the brush for the first time into the paint.
We all need breaks when painting, when you do you must be certain to move the brush out of the sun, and wrap it with a damp rag if you are using latex paint. This rag prevents the evaporation of water and other chemicals from the paint. It helps preserve the fresh paint on the brush. Use a rag soaked in paint thinner if you are applying oil-based paint. A Finishing Touch Painters, LLC (www.aftpaitners.com) advises to store the paint thinner-soaked rag and brush in a closed container for safety.
We have seen people ruin a brand-new paint brush the first time they clean it. They turn on the sink faucet and then turn the brush upside down to get the water stream to shoot straight into the tips of the bristles. No, no, no…never do this. It is absolutely unnecessary. Another myth is pushing down on the bristles so they bend at a 90-degree angle to squeeze out the paint. This only causes more stress to the bristles and causes premature bristle failure.
We discovered that the best way to clean brushes that have latex or water-based paint is to rinse as much paint out as possible with warm water flowing over the outside of the bristles, toward the bristle ends. The next step is to use an old paint can that has been cleaned of all paint. We fill this can halfway with warm soapy water and add two tablespoons of common liquid dish soap.
Dip the brush into the soapy water and rapidly move it back and forth, ensuring the bristles do not touch the bottom of the can. Twenty seconds of back-and-forth motion will remove 95 percent of the paint from the brush.
Refill the can halfway with clear (no soap) warm water and repeat If the water turns slightly cloudy, it means paint remains in the brush. Continue the fresh-water rinsing process until the water remains perfectly clear. If there is hardened paint on the handle or tops of the bristles near the handle, use a stiff nylon brush to clean off this paint. Scrub the bristles gently at a 90-degree angle to remove the paint.
A Finishing Touch Painters, LLC (www.aftpainters.com) has discovered the best way to determine if there is any residual paint in the brush is to suspend it in a clear container after you think it is clean. Use a toothpick through the hole at the end of the brush handle to suspend just the bristles in clean water. Let it sit in the water for about four hours. If there is any latex paint left in the brush, it will turn the water cloudy. This means you have to be more thorough when you are cleaning the brush.
Once clean, hang the brush to allow full drying. Do not shake the water out of the brush and bend the bristles. Once dry, insert the brush in the handy protective cover that came with it from the paint store.
A Finishing Touch Painters
Painting Houses Into Homes
One Home at a Time
866-308-0011
www.aftPainters.com
CustomerService@aftPainters.com
About the author:
A Finishing Touch Painters began as in interior and exterior residential painting company in the Southwest, West, and Northwest suburbs of Chicago, IL. Originally, the company focused on painting houses in the Naperville, Plainfield, Oswego, and Yorkville areas in the "South Region" and painting houses in Huntley, Lake in the Hills, Algonquin, and Crystal Lake in the "North Region." Over the years, A Finishing Touch Painters South Region expanded into painting homes in Bolingbrook, Aurora, Montgomery, Plano, and North Aurora. The North region expanded into painting homes in Elgin, Gilberts, Sleepy Hollow, Dundee, and West Dundee. Through their exceptional service, A Finishing Touch Painters has expanded again. A Finishing Touch Painters is now servicing most of the Chicagoland suburbs.
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