Your paintbrushes are your most important creative tools. Whether you are working with rich oils, vibrant acrylics, or fluid watercolors, taking the time to properly clean and
maintain your brushes will keep them performing like new for years.
Neglecting brush cleanup can ruin the structural integrity of the hairs, but knowing how to properly care for them takes only a few simple steps.
Step 1: Wipe Away the Excess
Before water, soap, or solvents touch your brush, you need to remove as much raw paint as possible.
- The Technique: Gently pinch and pull a folded paper towel or clean rag along the brush in the direction of the hairs.
- The Warning: Never push the bristles into the towel or scrub aggressively; this will fray the hairs and bend the shape of your brush.
Step 2: Choose Your Cleaning Agent
The next step depends entirely on the medium you are painting with.
For Acrylics
Because acrylic paint dries quickly and behaves like a plastic binder, it needs to be cleaned immediately.
- The Method: Swish the brush in a jar of clean, lukewarm water, pressing lightly to the bottom to allow the paint to release. You can use a specialized plastic brush washer, which has bottom ridges that help shift stubborn paint out.
- Eco-Tip: Never pour acrylic wastewater directly down your drain as it introduces microplastics into the water supply. Let your wash jars sit and evaporate, then dispose of the dried residue in the trash.
For Oils
Oil paints require a breakdown of their linseed oil binder before they can be washed.
- The Method: Swish your wiped-off brush in a glass jar or metal wash can filled with an artist-grade solvent, such as odorless mineral spirits (like Gamsol). Alternatively, you can use a safe, solvent-free method by dipping the brush in safflower, sunflower, or walnut oil to dissolve the paint, then wiping the oily residue on a cloth.
Step 3: Deep Clean with Soap
Solvent or water alone isn’t enough to guarantee that paint particles haven’t hidden deep inside the ferrule (the metal part of the brush).
- The Routine: Wet the bristles under lukewarm running water. Lather up a specialized brush soap, like the highly recommended The Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver, or use a gentle, fragrance-free dish soap.
- Scrubbing: Gently swirl the bristles in the palm of your hand or directly on the bar of soap to work the lather down to the base of the hair. Rinse, and repeat until the water runs completely clear.
Step 4: Reshape and Dry
Improper drying is the #1 reason brushes lose their shape or begin to shed.
- Reshape: Gently use your fingers to smooth and shape the wet bristles back into their original, intended form (points for rounds, chiseled edges for flats).
- Drying Position: Lay your brushes completely flat on a dry paper towel or rest them in a suspended, hanging position.
- The Rule: Never store a wet brush standing upright in a jar. Gravity will pull moisture directly into the ferrule, rotting the wooden handle and dissolving the glue that holds the bristles together.
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