How to Clean Paint Brushes for Oil Painting

Proper cleaning

Employing proper cleaning methods can ensure longer life for your paint brushes. Your brushes are both your tools and an investment, and knowing how to care for them is important for preserving the shape of the bristles and integrity of the brush. There are a variety of products on the market for cleaning oil paints from brushes, but the following steps require only a handful of simple materials.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Gloves
• Paper towels or newspaper
• Glass container
• Cleaning solvent, like turpentine, mineral spirits or paint thinner
• Liquid soap

1. Before you begin handling chemicals and cleaning solvents, it is a good idea to protect your skin from irritation by wearing gloves. A pair of latex gloves will do the job. If you are allergic to latex, try using synthetic gloves. Both types are available in most craft stores.

2. Squeeze the excess paint from the brush. Using a folded-up piece of paper towel or newspaper, hold the brush firmly by the ferrule, or metal band at the base of the bristles. Cover the bristles completely with the paper towel or newspaper, and squeeze firmly down to the tip of the bristles. Repeat this step a few times, until most of the excess paint is gone.

3. Pour 1 to 1 ½ inches of cleaning solvent into the glass jar, or just enough to cover the bristles. Glide the bristles back and forth across the bottom of the jar to loosen any paint solids. After removing as much of the paint as possible, dry the bristles with a fresh piece of paper towel or newspaper. Squeeze out as much of the solvent as possible.

4. To remove the stain left in the bristles from oil paint and to remove any remaining residue, pump a quarter-sized amount of liquid soap into the palm of your hand. Wet the bristles with tepid water, and scrub across the soap. When the soap turns the color of the paint, rinse the bristles and soap from your hand, and repeat until the color has been removed from the brush. Rinse the soap from the bristles.

5. Dry the brush with the newspaper or paper towel, careful to wring out any excess moisture. Place the brush in a clean can or jar to dry, bristles downward. Leaving the brush pointing bristles up can cause moisture to seep into the wood, which can begin a process of weakening or rotting, in addition to loosening the bristles.

Tips & Warnings

• Clean your brushes as soon as you are finished using them. Letting even slow drying oil paint remain on a brush can make cleaning more difficult and eventually shorten the life of you brush. If you are using a brush cleaning tank, such as the Silicoil Brush Cleaning Tank, the use of soap and water as an additional step is unnecessary. Vegetable oil can be used in place of chemicals to clean oil paint from brushes. They are non-toxic and condition the brush's bristles.

• Avoid skin contact with chemicals and cleaning solvents, as they can cause irritation. Always use chemicals in a well-ventilated area to minimize the potentially hazardous inhalation of fumes. Leaving paintbrushes to soak for extended periods of time can loosen the bristles, as solvents can degrade the glue used in the brush. Using extremely hot water can also degrade the glue in a paintbrush.

Resources

• Empty Easel for more information
• Explore Drawing and Painting website