This unique form of paint tool cleaning uses tools that you probably already have around the house. Learn our best tips regarding paintbrushes cleaning and drying.
You’ll save time, resources and money by taking care of paintbrushes, rollers, and plates. Do not put your tools in a bucket or sink and expect them to clean themselves; they are going to be destroyed, and you’re going to end up throwing them away and buying new ones. It is luckily no pain to maintain. When working with water-based paint and at the end of your job, clean your paintbrushes every two hours. Read below for tips on keeping your paintbrushes in good condition. These same steps can also be used to clean the paint rollers and plates. You’ll love our top, fabric softener paint cleaning solution!
Remove Excess Paint
Rid any excess paint from your brush or pad by scratching it with the edge of a 5-in-1 tool or the teeth of a self-cleaning machine. You may also use a fine-tooth hair-comb for extra small brushes. To remove the accumulated paint, scrape the side of the tool onto the bucket or paint tray between passes.
Make Solution
Being your own paint remover solution doesn’t take much. Mix many gallons of this magic potion in a 5-gallon bucket: add 1/2 cup of fabric softener for every gallon of warm water. The fabric softener is a surfactant — it simply makes the cloth more weathered, so it can remove paint more quickly. This DIY edition will save you money and going to the store will cause you problems.
Do not clean the brush with dish soap, as opposed to common belief; it will mess up the ferrule and the bristles. And the device doesn’t need to be rinsed in fresh water. The more often you clean the solution with the softener, the better it gets. The fabric softener covers the handle, ferrule, and bristles, allowing paint to float off the tool effortlessly. With this trick you can see the life of your paintbrushes growing considerably!
Clean Brush
Dip the brush into the mixture, swish through the water briskly, and count to 10. The paint will loosen from the bristles and settle down to the bucket bottom. Be careful not to mix too vigorously and cause spills if your solution hits the top of your container.
Rollers take a little more time — about 30 seconds — and can need a few dipping. We can also require more time to dry after washing.
Dry Brush
Using a paintbrush spinner to flush water from the brush and dry the paintbrush quickly. We suggest that you do this over a spare bucket so you don’t mind being dirty. You may also turn the brush into a bucket of wet waste. Start with an empty 5-gallon plastic seal with lid to make one. Cut an 8 “hole in the middle of the cover. Place a bucket with a plastic trash bag and click onto the top. The lid holds the splatter inside the bucket; when done, throw the bag in. Using a small towel to fry the machine dry. It doesn’t work with a roller to turn the hair, so let those air dry when sitting on an open surface.
Oil-based paints Sadly the fabric softener trick only works with water-based paint. Oil based paint should be handled differently, including stains or varnishes. The paint may suggest which form of solvent is best for the product; it may be a thinner paint or mineral spirit. Clean the brush as before, except for the oil-based solvent when changing the fabric softener solution. Let the brush comb dry and run through the bristles one more time to ensure there are no paint chips left.