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Hi everyone,

As painting novices, we had NOT realized that getting dried up acrylic paint off of brushes could be as straight-forward as rinsing them with hot water (to loosen things up) and then isopropyl alcohol to dissolve the paint (in a metal or glass bowl).

This procedure totally got us out of a bit of a mess after a painting marathon before our 40K battle this Friday.

[Did a quick search - wanted to avoid a redundant posting - and saw lots of posts about how to get more complicated paints off of brushes. Didn't see anything about acrylic - and wanted to quickly post in case there are a few other novices like us out there.]

So excited we also posted on our blog w/ photos of our clean brushes: http://battlegaming1.blogspot.com/2014/09/battle-gaming-how-to-getting-paint-gunk.html

I'm sorry to be a naysayer, but this is a bad idea.

Hot water does loosen up the paint, but it also loosens up the glue in the ferrule (the metal part that holds the bristles together). Any paint in the ferrule then becomes forever stuck there, the bristles end up not forming a nice point anymore.

Instead, you should use an acrylic brush cleaner. My favorite for daily use is Winsor and Newton Brush Cleaner and Restorer. it is quite cheap and is available from a small bottle to in a gigantic one (about 1L) that will last a very long time for miniature painting. Pour a small amount into a small clear glass jar (about the size of a citadel pot), and swish the brush in it for a few seconds. Press it against the glass if you think there's a lot of dried paint stuck on it, and gently twist.

Dried up paint (even very old dried up acrylic paint) will magically flake off. Wipe with a towel to get off any excess, rinse for a second in running COLD water, and flick the brush away from you (to reform a point) and presto, the brush will look like new. Another benefit is that it doesn't have a harsh odor like isopropyl; also it cleans off oil paints.

This is the product:

http://www.amazon.com/Reeves-4-Ounce-Winsor-Cleaner-Restorer/dp/B005M4W1VK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411972724&sr=8-1&keywords=winsor+newton+brush+cleaner

If you have very nice brushes and want to pamper them, once every couple of weeks, use Master's brush soap and conditioner. It comes in a hockey puck format, you literally wash the brush in the soap, and then rinse. The brush will look like it's brand new afterwards.

http://www.amazon.com/General-Company-Masters-Cleaner-Preserver/dp/B001TNR7VM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411972837&sr=8-1&keywords=master%27s+brush+soap

On the other end of the spectrum, if you want to be cheap, use turpentine. It costs almost nothing, works really well, and is reusable pretty much forever (the paint settles at the bottom, so just pour the top part into a clean jar). Oil painters can tell you all about turps The downside of turps is that it stinks to high heaven, the odor lasts for hours, and it's toxic. There are artificial turpenoids that don't smell, but they are equally toxic, and cost more (so they aren't really a savings). Plus, I have used both and can assure you that on sable brushes with acrylic paint, the result is not as good as the W&N brush cleaner.

I am not particularly nice to my brushes, and yet, here is what my workhorse brushes look like after 6-9 months, with more than 3 hours of use every day, cleaned daily using W&N and monthly with Master's (this doesn't include my basecoat brushes, as they are flats and filberts, but I clean them the same way). Another thing that I've found that helps extend my brush life with round brushes is always drying them pointing straight down, in a brush cleaning caddy, rather than pointing up, in a jar, as this seems to helps retain the point, even though everything I've ever read says you can dry brushes pointing either way.

Does all the above work on synthetic brushes too?

 maxxev wrote:
Does all the above work on synthetic brushes too?

Yes. I use W&N Cottman brushes (cheap-to-midgrade synthetics) for fine washes and wash them every day at the same time as my sable brushes. I don't like to be spendy on the wash brushes, because it's impossible to keep washes from getting into the ferrule on detail brushes. The lifespan of them is less than 4 months for me, though, because they end up kinking, and then I toss them into the brush graveyard.

I don't think there is any point in using the Master's soap, unless you have crazy awesome synthetics.

Talys wrote:
I don't think there is any point in using the Master's soap, unless you have crazy awesome synthetics.

I don't think quality is really relevant - across the board, it will still function as a cleaner and tip-shaper (more for safe storage than any real maintenance - they'll hook with use, even if you take great care) on synthetics, it just loses its conditioning qualities (the bristles won't absorb the conditioning agents, like natural bristles would). The solvent resistance of the plastics used in synthetic brushes, though, make a bit of swishing around in something like IPA or turps a quicker, easier method. I occasionally use it on synthetic brushes simply because I already have it for my natural hair brushes. It works just fine, but is slower and more labor-intensive. A small price to pay for occasional upkeep, since it keeps me from having to buy a jug of turps and deal with the stink.

Hi Talys, thanks for the better solution - will take your advice. (Very good to know that the brush drying matters as well. We'll work on that, too.)

 oadie wrote:

Talys wrote:
I don't think there is any point in using the Master's soap, unless you have crazy awesome synthetics.

I don't think quality is really relevant - across the board, it will still function as a cleaner and tip-shaper (more for safe storage than any real maintenance - they'll hook with use, even if you take great care) on synthetics, it just loses its conditioning qualities (the bristles won't absorb the conditioning agents, like natural bristles would). The solvent resistance of the plastics used in synthetic brushes, though, make a bit of swishing around in something like IPA or turps a quicker, easier method. I occasionally use it on synthetic brushes simply because I already have it for my natural hair brushes. It works just fine, but is slower and more labor-intensive. A small price to pay for occasional upkeep, since it keeps me from having to buy a jug of turps and deal with the stink.

Of course, you're right. I just meant, if all my brushes were synthetics (and I don't mean the $20 ones), I wouldn't spend the time doing a "big" cleaning, because I'd replace the kinked brushes before long term benefits of brush pampering could be realized. Out here, synthetics at the hobby shop are $3-$5, but it seemed like I went through so many of them.




Automatically Appended Next Post:

 BattleGamer wrote:
Hi Talys, thanks for the better solution - will take your advice. (Very good to know that the brush drying matters as well. We'll work on that, too.)

I'm glad I could help!

Talys wrote:

 maxxev wrote:
Does all the above work on synthetic brushes too?

I don't like to be spendy on the wash brushes, because it's impossible to keep washes from getting into the ferrule on detail brushes. The lifespan of them is less than 4 months for me, though, because they end up kinking, and then I toss them into the brush graveyard.

I don't think there is any point in using the Master's soap, unless you have crazy awesome synthetics.

If you used brush soap, before the wash dried, it'd come out easily.