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I bought a small container of "The Master's" Brush Cleaner & Preserver because of what people have written about this product on DakkaDakka. I've tried using it for a while now and it just doesn't work... at all. It neither cleans nor seem to preserve or restore any of my brushes. I've read the instructions and watched several videos of people using the brush cleaner, so I know how it's supposed to work. I'm both disappointed and puzzled, because everyone else seem to have great success with it.

Have other peoples claims about this product been wildly exaggerated, or could there be something wrong with the particular container I bought? Has anyone else had the same issue?

I use Vallejo brush cleaner and restorer - it's worked quite well for me.

I also use brush soap from the local art supplier.

How are you using the product and what are your actual disappointments?

mine works just fine. which reminds me I should do a round of cleaning brushes tonight.

All I do is dip the brush in warm water, swirl it around to get a decent amount of soap on it, then brush it against my hand in circles pushing down with a bit of force, then rinse, sometimes repeat, and then put a little on my fingers to shape the tip and done.

I learned how to do it from Les Bursley's video some years back.

chromedog wrote:How are you using the product and what are your actual disappointments?

I do like Aerethan described above me, except I keep swirling the brush around in the container and not on my hand. I just tried that but with the same result as usual. I can work out some of the paint in the brush if there's a lot, but I can't make it look anything like new again. I can do just as well if not better with just warm water. I can't really shape the brush with the lather (any better than with water) either. I shape it as best I can and let it dry, but as soon as I start painting with it, it goes back to its old shape. I think there must be something wrong with the soap I bought. I use regular brushes with regular GW and Vallejo paint, and I clean my brushes exactly like I see people do in videos.
At least it wasn't expensive, so I'm not sad, just a bit dissapointed.

Master's is magic, but it's not magic. Are you sure you're not trying to do the impossible (that is to say, restore brushes that are beyond repair)? Soap won't restore hooked tips on synthetic brushes, for example, nor will it fully restore a severely battered natural brush.

If you're having trouble removing acrylic paint using LBursley/Aerethan's method, you probably just haven't done it enough. I always give my brushes at least 3-4 lathers and rinses when I do a thorough cleaning - the first few rounds result in colored soap as little bits of stuck pigment come loose, but the last ones are what really make a difference, as the chunks of dried paint have broken down enough to finally come loose. Sometimes I'll go in with a fingernail and gently push into the bristles near the ferrule, pulling upward and physically lifting that tenacious ring of paint that always seems to form. I also tend to drag the bristles across my palm at a very shallow angle while spinning the brush, as one would over paper towel to dry it, after I've scrubbed it a bit. This usually helps pull some of those loosened chunks out. The key here is friction - the soap doesn't totally dissolve the paint, it mostly just softens it. The reason a palm is more effective than scrubbing on the soap itself is the drag your hand generates.

As a tip shaper, again, one can't expect miracles. Soap needs to be washed out before resuming painting, so of course the bristles will return, more or less, to their previous position. Tip shapers are more a preventative measure than a restorative one. Master's is more likely to reduce brush splay by removing encrusted paint than by unbending already damaged bristles.

I honestly doubt that you received a bad batch of soap. By all means, go ahead and try other products, but I imagine you'll have similar results, if you keep the same method and expectations.

I just use 70% isopropyl Pre-injection swabs. Works a treat.

Kordox wrote:I bought a small container of "The Master's" Brush Cleaner & Preserver because of what people have written about this product on DakkaDakka. I've tried using it for a while now and it just doesn't work... at all. It neither cleans nor seem to preserve or restore any of my brushes. I've read the instructions and watched several videos of people using the brush cleaner, so I know how it's supposed to work. I'm both disappointed and puzzled, because everyone else seem to have great success with it.

Have other peoples claims about this product been wildly exaggerated, or could there be something wrong with the particular container I bought? Has anyone else had the same issue?

There IS actually a better way of cleaning the brushes using this cleaner. FIrstly, use your finger and dip it in warm water, gather some of the brush soap, and wipe it on your brush. You then start rubbing the brush back and forward between your fingers. I clean each brush for about 2 minutes, time is also another factor.

I have had brushes that had paint dired up in the bristles from when i began the hobby. Now they are good as new. I don't think its the brush cleaner i think it is the way you use it.

Remember, this is my technique of using brushes, and is also what the manager of the shop told me to do...

Hope this helped!

Scipio Africanus wrote:I just use 70% isopropyl Pre-injection swabs. Works a treat.

Will dry the bristles out a treat too unless you also use conditioner