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How to Clean Oil Paint Brushes With Linseed Oil

Linseed oil cleans an oil paint brush while also conditioning and preserving its bristles.
paintbrush image by Adam Borkowski from Fotolia.com

Linseed oil is made from flax seed and is one of the most multi-purpose natural oils available. Linseed oil can be found in wood and concrete as a preservative as well as an ingredient in paints, varnishes and even linoleum. Not only does linseed oil remove paint from oil paint brushes but it also conditions and preserves the brushes by conditioning their bristles and preventing damage. This natural oil is a nice alternative to other brush cleaning products that have toxic properties.

Things You'll Need:

  • Paper Towel
  • Palette Paper
  • One Pool Of Linseed Oil

Pour a small pool of linseed oil onto a sheet of palette paper.

Gently place the paint brush into the pool of linseed oil, covering the bristles of the brush.

Find a clean spot on the palette paper and press the brush onto the paper. Move the bristles around until a significant amount of pigment can be seen on the paper.

Repeat this process several times until there is no pigment left on the palette paper. The brush should be able to be used with white paint without any affect on the color.

Dry the paint brush with a paper towel to remove any excess linseed oil from the bristles.

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