Caring for your Brushes
Paint brushes are an investment, and you want to get the most for your money you possibly can. If you care for it properly, a good brush will serve you for many years. Here are a few ways you can protect your investment, and avoid having to replace your brushes before they’ve reached their life expectancy.
• Clean your brushes as soon as you are finished painting. Paint of any type, even water-based paint, should never be allowed to dry in a brush. If needed, use a formulated brush cleaner to remove paint from hair. Then use soap and warm water, rinse thoroughly and reshape.
• Between use, soak your brushes in water or solvent to keep the paint from drying in the hair. A brush holder that will hold the brushes suspended in the liquid, without crushing the hair, is an excellent investment.
• Brushes should dry in an upright position to protect the shape. Allow your brushes to dry thoroughly before storing them in a closed container. A storage container made just for brushes is ideal, but a tool box with a separate compartment for brushes will also work well. Don’t store your brushes in such a manner that the hair will be bent or have paints and other materials resting on top of them.
• Keep your brush handles dry. Even the finest brush handles will loosen and crack when left soaking. Fill your water or solvent container so that it just covers the brush head, and the handle doesn’t get wet.
• Don’t use watercolor brushes in acrylics or oils and expect them to deliver the same performance afterwards - they won’t. You can use watercolor brushes with other mediums, but don’t switch back and forth.
• Don’t use expensive natural hair brushes on rough surfaces, including rough or textured canvas, or they will wear out very quickly. Synthetics are more suited to these surfaces, and less costly to replace when they wear out.
• Condition your Natural Hair brushes. Lard oil is our recommendation. It’s inexpensive, found in any good hardware store and is just what a brush needs after weeks of painting on rough surfaces, and being cleaned with solvents. To rejuvenate your brushes, spread out an old turkish towel or other heavy rag, lay down your brushes with heads all pointing in one direction, then put a drop or two of oil on each brush head. Gently work the oil into the hair and wrap the brushes up in the towel (making sure brush heads aren’t bent). Store for up to 2 weeks and when you unwrap the brushes, the oil should be fully absorbed. Wash brushes gently and they are ready to paint.
By taking care of your brushes they will last much longer!
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