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Is it a good idea to wash my (natural) brushes in shampoo. It seems like it should prevent split ends.

Saddle soap.

Not sure if being funny or not...

But I'd use a brush conditioner, not shampoo.

Worst case, use conditioner instead of the shampoo, the shampoo will do nothing, and your brushes don't have split ends, they have paint built up in the ferrule causing the bristles to splay out.

I recommend 'The Master's' Brush Cleaner and Preserver

I used to wash it in shampoo (Head & Shoulders Anti-dandruff), followed up conditioning in Pantene.

Then I switched over to masters brush soap for both. Much better results.

It is recommended to wash household paint brushes used for acrylic emulsion in soap water.

Modelling acrylic paints are just a superfine version of household emulsion.

I just use whatever soap is lying around -- liquid soap, washing up detergent or whatever.

Any soap/shampoo will help in removing fresh acrylic paint from a brush - certainly far better than water alone. A conditioner may help with then preserving the brush shape? Have to admit that for a small brush I just use saliva, using my lips to shape the brush. Unsanitary perhaps...

I wonder what the chemical composition of special 'brush soap' is - cynical me thinks that most soaps are pretty much the same thing.

Thanks for the advice! I wasn't trolling, just painting and watching TV . . . and then a shampoo/hair care commercial came on.

This is the stuff you want right here. Master's Brush soap and conditioner. One of these will last you years and keep your brushes in fantastic shape.



http://www.amazon.com/General-Pencil-Company-Masters-Preserver/dp/B0009RRT9Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408528469&sr=8-1&keywords=the+master+brush+cleaner

 darefsky wrote:
This is the stuff you want right here. Master's Brush soap and conditioner. One of these will last you years and keep your brushes in fantastic shape.

I’ll second that. A puck of that stuff does not cost much, and will keep your brushes healthy and happy.

I've had great luck with simple mild soaps without extra oil. My hand-soap is usually a 50% dilution of Dr. Bronner's liquid soap (https://www.drbronner.com/ yes, it is covered in insane semi-religious rambling, but it's darn good soap, probably has the blessings of chaos or something). I make a small pool in my hand and then gently brush my brushes back and forth. Because the soap is thin and liquid, I can easily see the excess paint come off in the liquid and the soap washes cleanly out of the brushes.