How to Clean Paint Brushes
This year has been a year of DIY across the nation, but the big questions is, how do you clean a paint brush and roller effectively? Thoroughly cleaning brushes and rollers after painting is absolutely essential for their preservation, allowing prolonged use.
Things you will need
Synthetic or nitro solvent
Rubber bands
Plastic wrap or aluminium foil
Flaxseed oil
Step 1
How to Wash Paint Brush Bristles
How to clean oil paint off brushes
If you used oil or nitro paints, the bristles must be washed with the appropriate solvent (synthetic or nitro). Once it has dissolved most of the paint, place the brush under running water with the bristles facing upwards: the flow of water removes the paint trapped between the bristles, but now diluted with solvent.
How to Clean Acrylic Paint Brushes
If you used water-based acrylic or wall paint, all you have to do is thoroughly wash the brushes under tap water (with the bristles pointing upwards) to eliminate any trace of paint.
Step 2
Drying & Protecting The Paint Brushes
After the brushes have been thoroughly washed, they must be carefully dried. This is particularly important if the ring nut is not chromed and the water could lead to the formation of rust, with the consequent loss of bristles during painting or even dirtying the walls. To avoid this inconvenience, spray a few drops of WD-40 Multi-Use to avoid the any unwanted rust. While the brushes are drying, we recommend giving the bristles a pointed or flat shape depending on the type of brush, so that they don’t spread out, making the brush lose its shape and therefore leaving it unusable. A good system that helps keep the bristles compact is placing a rubber band around them not too tightly, which helps keep them in “shape”.
Step 3
How to clean dried paint brushes
If you weren’t able to immediately clean your brushes and the bristles have unfortunately hardened and dried, you can bring them back to full functionality. Simply place the paint brushes in a jar with a mixture of synthetic solvent, nitro solvent and flaxseed oil (40% + 40% + 20%), leaving them for a couple of days. Once this solution has had a chance to do its job, wash as described above. If you need to start painting again within a few hours (or a day), instead of cleaning the brush as directed, simply wrap the bristles in aluminium foil or a plastic wrap, then put it in the fridge. The brush will stay quite damp for a few days. Then, perform the general cleaning once the work is finished.
Pro Tip:
We hope this guide helps you get stuck into all your painting and DIY projects with ease. Look after your paint brushes and you will get great results! For more tips on looking after tools and equipment check out how to maintain a drill and jig saw or how to clean hand & power tools. For more excellent WD-40 Uses dive into our roundup of how you can use WD-40 here!
The uses shown and described for WD-40 Multi-Use Product were provided to WD-40 Company by the users themselves. These uses haven’t been tested by WD-40 Company and do not constitute a recommendation of suggestion for use by WD-40 Company. Common sense should be exercised whenever using WD-40 Company products. Always follow the instructions and take heed of any warnings printed on the packaging.
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