Haste makes waste and this type of action forces the bristle to splay out in every direction and may even push paint up into the ferrule – big mistake. Too often I see student artists take a fist-full of dirty brushes and attempt to clean them all at once by pounding them into the bottom of a cleaning jar. Pink Soap not only cleans the wet and dry paint from your brush, but it also conditions it bringing it back to its original condition. One option is to use “Pink Soap” by Mona Lisa. (Some of the following links are affiliate links which means we earn a small commission if you purchase at no additional cost to you.) When choosing a soap for cleaning brushes, manufacturers of art materials are your best bet, since they produce specialized soaps that won’t harm the bristles of the brush. Cleaning your brushes after painting with a water-based medium is as simple as using a bit of soap and water.ĭishwashing liquid is preferred by some artists, while others prefer a specialized soap. If you paint with watercolor or acrylics, then your solvent is water and it will not damage your bristles. Using Water and Soap to Clean Your Brushes (Water-Based Paints)

The longer you wait, the harder it will be to clean your brushes and it may even ruin them. It’s best to clean them up immediately after you’ve finished using them. But waiting to clean up your brushes can wreak havoc on them. After you’ve poured yourself into a work, it can be tempting to just get up and admire your work for a while and leave the clean up for “some other time”. Don’t Wait to Clean Your Brushesįor some of us, shifting from producing art to “cleaning up” can be a difficult mental transition. By learning to better preserve our brushes we can avoid extra trips to the supply store, saving both money and time. Brushes are damaged primarily due to our painting technique and secondarily by our washing and storage habits. No matter how well you care for a paint brush it will expire with regular use. Wipe away wet paint and solvents from your handles as you paint to keep them in good shape. Handles are probably the easiest part of the brush to care for. Thicker gauge metal indicates a higher quality brush. Using glue and crimped ends, the bristles and handle are fixed inside of the ferrule.

The ferrule is the metal part of a brush found between the handle and bristles. They are cheaper and easier to care for because of their durability but many artists still prefer the feel of painting with natural bristle brushes. Natural bristle brushes are made from the hair and fur of animals including sable, hog, goat, camel and others. Each of these parts require a measure of care to maximize the life of any brush.īristles are either natural or synthetic. There are three parts to a paint brush – the bristles, the ferrule and the handle. Properly caring for a brush starts with brush anatomy. First, let’s take a look at the parts of a brush. But how do you clean your brushes properly?īelow we will explore the best practices of brush care so that you get the most out of every brush, how to clean and store them. This may seems fairly obvious, but many overlook its importance. To keep your brushes performing at their best, you need to clean them.

More disappointing, however, is losing a brush before its time due to carelessness. It’s like dying from old age – sad but expected. I’ve used brushes until there was nothing left to use. One thing that remains constant is the disappointing feeling of losing a favorite brush. The brushes we use to make art are as variable as the artists that use them.

Cleaning a paintbrush