Cleaning natural brushes, what am I doing wrong?
 

I clean white china bristle brushes using paint thinner and one of
those metal combs used for cleaning brushes. This appears to work but
after time the amount of "usable" bristles gets smaller. From the
metal piece growning downward it turns into a rock.

I purposely try to get this section by turning the brush upside down
with fresh paint thinner on it and working it with the comb.

What am I doing wrong, or is this just life? Thanks.

You are not cleaning them well, you are leaving in paint.

"raymondj"
I clean white china bristle brushes using paint thinner and one of
those metal combs used for cleaning brushes. This appears to work but
after time the amount of "usable" bristles gets smaller. From the
metal piece growning downward it turns into a rock.

I purposely try to get this section by turning the brush upside down
with fresh paint thinner on it and working it with the comb.

What am I doing wrong, or is this just life? Thanks.

A few thing I find helpful:
Clean brush *immediately* after using it, and put in freezer between coats,
rather than wrap it or stick it a thinner can.
Work brush briskly in pint of thinner, bending bristles and sloshing well.
Then hold brush, bristles up, and pour lots of clean thinner slowly down
towards the handle, squeezing dry periodically , freeing paint at the base
of bristles.. Once fairly clean, I dry thinner-soaked brush in large rag,
then hand wash brush in warm water and dish detergent to get the thinner
out, squeeze till just damp, and wrap in paper towel tightly to settle
sproinged hairs, and to set the brush shape. Put in dry place to thoroughly
dry. Leave it in the paper, for next use. I know this is complicated, but I
have good brushes that have been used for 15-20 years and are still usable.

raymondj wrote:

I clean white china bristle brushes using paint thinner and one of
those metal combs used for cleaning brushes. This appears to work but
after time the amount of "usable" bristles gets smaller. From the
metal piece growning downward it turns into a rock.

I purposely try to get this section by turning the brush upside down
with fresh paint thinner on it and working it with the comb.

What am I doing wrong, or is this just life? Thanks.


Do not use paint thinner to clean brushes. Use a brush cleaner.

On 29 Aug 2004 16:04:38 -0700, (raymondj) wrote:

I clean white china bristle brushes using paint thinner and one of
those metal combs used for cleaning brushes. This appears to work but
after time the amount of "usable" bristles gets smaller. From the
metal piece growning downward it turns into a rock.

I purposely try to get this section by turning the brush upside down
with fresh paint thinner on it and working it with the comb.

What am I doing wrong, or is this just life? Thanks.


It takes me about 10-15 minutes to clean a brush and there are several
important steps to doing it well. That's why I buy a box of
throw-away brushes and have a (very) few $25 brushes. My expensive
brushes are usually the ones I reach for, at the penalty of spending
the time to clean it. Expensive brushes will hold up well to
multiple cleanings, cheap brushes lose their bristles and fall apart.

besides what others said, if you got a good brush you really want to keep
clean, you shouldnt get paint up in the heel of the brush to begin with.
dont dunk it that deep in the paint.

if you want to slop it on get cheap brushes.

randy

"raymondj" wrote in message
om...
I clean white china bristle brushes using paint thinner and one of
those metal combs used for cleaning brushes. This appears to work but
after time the amount of "usable" bristles gets smaller. From the
metal piece growning downward it turns into a rock.

I purposely try to get this section by turning the brush upside down
with fresh paint thinner on it and working it with the comb.

What am I doing wrong, or is this just life? Thanks.

"Bill Schnakenberg" wrote in message Do not use
paint thinner to clean brushes. Use a brush cleaner.

Geezzzz, I just use soap and water, until the water runs clear from it. Is
it bad to clean them this way?

First, I would never use water on natural bristle brushs. The way I
clean my brushs after a full eight hours of use in oil base primer or
finish only takes a few minutes and never leaves them hard. Begin by
filling a 1 pound coffee can about 1/3 of the way up, then dunk the
brush repeatedly in it, next use a wire brush or comb to remove any
heavy dried stuff or paint inside the brush. Finally, spin the brush for
several seconds. Repeat these steps three more times with new thinner
each time, then replace the brush into it's holder or shuck

I find the key to clean brushes is pretreat them prior to dipping into
the finish. Water for latex and thinner for oil. Wet them up to the
ferrule. Stops the finish that migrates toward the ferrule due to
bristle moving against each other from drying and making the brush
less limber. Also makes clean-up much easier as there is no dried
finish to try to soften. I salvaged a neglected brush by soaking in
CitriStrip to remove the dried stuff then went through final cleaning
with Dawn and water. CitriStrip is a friendly and gentle stripper.

On 29 Aug 2004 16:04:38 -0700, (raymondj) wrote:

I clean white china bristle brushes using paint thinner and one of
those metal combs used for cleaning brushes. This appears to work but
after time the amount of "usable" bristles gets smaller. From the
metal piece growning downward it turns into a rock.

I purposely try to get this section by turning the brush upside down
with fresh paint thinner on it and working it with the comb.

What am I doing wrong, or is this just life? Thanks.

raymondj wrote:
I clean white china bristle brushes using paint thinner and one of
those metal combs used for cleaning brushes. This appears to work
but after time the amount of "usable" bristles gets smaller. From
the metal piece growning downward it turns into a rock.

I purposely try to get this section by turning the brush upside down
with fresh paint thinner on it and working it with the comb.

What am I doing wrong, or is this just life? Thanks.

1. Don't dip the brush so deep into the paint (1/3 is fine)

2. After use, suspend in thinner. By "suspend" I mean hang it so the part
with paint is covered and the brush bottom doesn't rest on the bottom of the
receptacle. Most of the paint will dissolve out and settle to the bottom of
the can. I then squeeze out as much as possible by wrapping a paper towel
around the bristles and "milking" them from ferrule to brush tip. Still
dirty? Repeat suspending and milking as necessary; use clean thinner for
the final go. If there are bits/flecks of dried paint that the thinner
won't touch, I use a comb, never a wire brush.

3. Once clean, shape the bristles, suspend again until dry and then store.

4. To remove the crud now in your brush, use brush cleaner.

As an aside, the thing that ruins most brushes is standing them on their
bristles and/or drying them so that the bristles aren't down. I have always
used shaving brushes...rinse, squeeze and shake, stand up to dry. I went
through a lot of brushes that way because ultimately the bristle base would
get compacted with soap and the bristles would loosen and fall out. Finally
wised up and started suspending with bristles down...that brush is now 30
years old and good as new.

--
dadiOH
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dadiOH's dandies v3.0...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
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Opps, I was talking about synthetic brush and latex paint.

"call_me_al" wrote in message
...
First, I would never use water on natural bristle brushs. The way I
clean my brushs after a full eight hours of use in oil base primer or
finish

"Bonnie Jean" wrote in message ...
"Bill Schnakenberg" wrote in message Do not use
paint thinner to clean brushes. Use a brush cleaner.

Geezzzz, I just use soap and water, until the water runs clear from it. Is
it bad to clean them this way?

Are we talking Natural Bristle brushes that were used with oil based
products like Polyurethane?

That's great except that I frequently have to varnish something that
requires the brush to be turned upside down (think about varnishing
something on a ceiling.)

"xrongor" wrote in message ...
besides what others said, if you got a good brush you really want to keep
clean, you shouldnt get paint up in the heel of the brush to begin with.
dont dunk it that deep in the paint.

if you want to slop it on get cheap brushes.

randy

"raymondj" wrote in message
om...
I clean white china bristle brushes using paint thinner and one of
those metal combs used for cleaning brushes. This appears to work but
after time the amount of "usable" bristles gets smaller. From the
metal piece growning downward it turns into a rock.

I purposely try to get this section by turning the brush upside down
with fresh paint thinner on it and working it with the comb.

What am I doing wrong, or is this just life? Thanks.

"raymondj"
That's great except that I frequently have to varnish something that
requires the brush to be turned upside down (think about varnishing
something on a ceiling.)

The painter we had last time varnished a ceiling, using a tiny roller that
fit into the gallon can, and rolling it on a smallish area with that, then
brushing it out with a good brush.. This meant the brush took a long time to
saturate to the ferrule. The roller was a throw away type.
And sorry about that earlier advice re using a final detergent rinse to wash
out the brush - do that with synthetic bristles only when using oil paints,
not natural bristles.

No ****, Sherlock!

"m Ransley" wrote in message
...
You are not cleaning them well, you are leaving in paint.

There are several waterbased polyurethane brands on the market as well
as oil based. Natural bristles for oil and synthetic for waterbased.

On 30 Aug 2004 17:12:08 -0700, (raymondj) wrote:

"Bonnie Jean" wrote in message ...
"Bill Schnakenberg" wrote in message Do not use
paint thinner to clean brushes. Use a brush cleaner.

Geezzzz, I just use soap and water, until the water runs clear from it. Is
it bad to clean them this way?

Are we talking Natural Bristle brushes that were used with oil based
products like Polyurethane?

As others have said, prime the brush before using it with the
appropriate thinner then give it a spin dry.

Never clean a natural bristle brush with water, it'll swell.

Here's my cleaning formula:
1. The instant you're done with the brush throw it in a coffee can of
paint thinner. Now work it in the thinner. (swish, swish, swish...)
2. Now repeat #1 with fresh thinnner (ie swish, swish, swish...) and
spin it dry when you're done.
3. Now take some fresh laquer thinner and give it a third cleaning.
Laquer thinner removes some of the residual left behind with paint
thinner.
4. Now give it a final spin dry.
5. Finally take a few drops of mineral oil and massage it into the
bristles so they look shiny.
6. Put the brush back into the factory sleeve and hang it by the
handle. Never let a brush rest by standing it up on it's bristles.

(raymondj) wrote in message . com...
I clean white china bristle brushes using paint thinner and one of
those metal combs used for cleaning brushes. This appears to work but
after time the amount of "usable" bristles gets smaller. From the
metal piece growning downward it turns into a rock.

I purposely try to get this section by turning the brush upside down
with fresh paint thinner on it and working it with the comb.

What am I doing wrong, or is this just life? Thanks.

Thanks for your reply. I'll have to try 3 and 5, sounds like good
ideas.

I assume "spin dry" is the same as "shake violently dry"

One thing that I never do is hang the brushes. I always put them back
in their covers and lay them down horizontally. Perhaps this is my
biggest mistake?

(davefr) wrote in message om...
As others have said, prime the brush before using it with the
appropriate thinner then give it a spin dry.

Never clean a natural bristle brush with water, it'll swell.

Here's my cleaning formula:
1. The instant you're done with the brush throw it in a coffee can of
paint thinner. Now work it in the thinner. (swish, swish, swish...)
2. Now repeat #1 with fresh thinnner (ie swish, swish, swish...) and
spin it dry when you're done.
3. Now take some fresh laquer thinner and give it a third cleaning.
Laquer thinner removes some of the residual left behind with paint
thinner.
4. Now give it a final spin dry.
5. Finally take a few drops of mineral oil and massage it into the
bristles so they look shiny.
6. Put the brush back into the factory sleeve and hang it by the
handle. Never let a brush rest by standing it up on it's bristles.

(raymondj) wrote in message . com...
I clean white china bristle brushes using paint thinner and one of
those metal combs used for cleaning brushes. This appears to work but
after time the amount of "usable" bristles gets smaller. From the
metal piece growning downward it turns into a rock.

I purposely try to get this section by turning the brush upside down
with fresh paint thinner on it and working it with the comb.

What am I doing wrong, or is this just life? Thanks.

On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 18:43:21 -0700, raymondj wrote
(in article ) :

Thanks for your reply. I'll have to try 3 and 5, sounds like good
ideas.

I assume "spin dry" is the same as "shake violently dry"

[snip]

The poster may have been referring to a brush and roller spinner. IMHO
they're the secret to cleaning brushes. You can extract far more liquid than
by shaking. It also makes it possible to reuse good roller covers pretty
much indefinitely.

"KJS" wrote in message
The poster may have been referring to a brush and roller
spinner. IMHO
they're the secret to cleaning brushes. You can extract far
more liquid than
by shaking. It also makes it possible to reuse good roller
covers pretty
much indefinitely.

When using rollers on latex, I finish cleaning them by spinning
them at high speed by grazing the surface with the jet from a
blaster nozzle on the garden hose. Sweep the jet back and forth
across the surface, spinning the roller fast, until the water
coming off is clear.

Bob

All else being equal brushes with round shaped handles, like dowels,
spin nicely between the hands.

On Wed, 01 Sep 2004 15:16:03 GMT, KJS wrote:

On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 18:43:21 -0700, raymondj wrote
(in article ) :

Thanks for your reply. I'll have to try 3 and 5, sounds like good
ideas.

I assume "spin dry" is the same as "shake violently dry"

[snip]

The poster may have been referring to a brush and roller spinner. IMHO
they're the secret to cleaning brushes. You can extract far more liquid than
by shaking. It also makes it possible to reuse good roller covers pretty
much indefinitely.

thats great. dont use your good brush to do that unless you want to spend a
half hour cleaning it.

randy

"raymondj" wrote in message
om...
That's great except that I frequently have to varnish something that
requires the brush to be turned upside down (think about varnishing
something on a ceiling.)

"xrongor" wrote in message
...
besides what others said, if you got a good brush you really want to keep
clean, you shouldnt get paint up in the heel of the brush to begin with.
dont dunk it that deep in the paint.

if you want to slop it on get cheap brushes.

randy

"raymondj" wrote in message
om...
I clean white china bristle brushes using paint thinner and one of
those metal combs used for cleaning brushes. This appears to work but
after time the amount of "usable" bristles gets smaller. From the
metal piece growning downward it turns into a rock.

I purposely try to get this section by turning the brush upside down
with fresh paint thinner on it and working it with the comb.

What am I doing wrong, or is this just life? Thanks.