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When I am painting I am often having to change from one brush to the next, which necessitates going and cleaning the brush at a basin. This becomes rather time consuming (in that when I clean them I want to do it rather thoroughly so that there is no paint residue). Have found that this is the biggest problem when doing individual characters rather than regiments (where you can spend a good half hour or so just using the one colour across multiple models).

I was wondering whether there is a more efficient way of doing things (e.g., after using a brush being able to set it aside somewhere but in a way that the paint doesn't dry/ruin the brush and so let me clean brushes in bulk).

Does anyone have any ideas? I was wondering whether washing the brushes in a jar of methylated spirits at my paint stand may be a more efficient way of cleaning them (whereas I have been using detergent and soapy water).

Get a bowl of water, rinse often and use cheap brushes so replacing them isn't costly. I use camel hair brushes for washes, synthetic and others various size ones for painting.

A good light source also helps a lot, 'wet palette' too, which is a topper ware container with wet sponge and parchment paper.

Some acrylic thin medium helps too, several drops and some clean water will keep the pots from drying out.

A jar of water to rinse the brushes while in use is fine, just wash them out properly at the end of the session or when you accidentally get paint in the ferrule of one of your good brushes. If you want to get really efficient, have 2 jars of water and a bar of soap, one jar for an initial rinse, then use the 2nd one and the bar of soap for the final clean.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
A jar of water to rinse the brushes while in use is fine, just wash them out properly at the end of the session or when you accidentally get paint in the ferrule of one of your good brushes. If you want to get really efficient, have 2 jars of water and a bar of soap, one jar for an initial rinse, then use the 2nd one and the bar of soap for the final clean.

That's why I suggest cheap brush sets, 6 for 2.99 or some equivalent, I have like 30 or so brushes, swap them in and out when they are bad. Soft camel hair brushes for washes and brush on gloss, mess up ones but not totally mess up for initial drybrushing, various detail ones and flat ones for general use. I clean them in turpenoid every 5 batches or so to save a little on brushes, but not a big deal when they go bad, its less than a dollar.

You get much better results with good brushes though, so I find it preferable to buy one decent brush and look after it than half a dozen that I can't get the results I want from.

Depends on how far you are willing to go. I have two pots of water, one for regular use, one for proper cleans with brush soap. I'll use soap probably hourly if I'm hammering one brush. Talys is the extreme end of this, having full drying racks with multiples of the same brush so that he can change quickly and maintain his brushes.

How clean should you be getting the brushes before using the next colour? I have been trying to get them so that I can't see any of the preceding colour and find that this is hard to do just by swishing them around with water, but rather that they need to go under a running tap with multiple applications of detergent.

Is soap better to use than detergent? I am using GW paints.

I don't see why you would ever need more than a cup of water. Have an old brush to get the paint out of the pot onto the palette, thin your paint, and at that point only the tip of your nice brush is ever getting paint on it and washing it in a cup of water is fine for cleaning between paints.

At the end of the paint session choose to clean your brush with something better. Or not. I don't bother personally - I just wash my brush in the cup of water throughly.

My XS artificer brush is still like new and I have been using it since March.

 Big Mac wrote:

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
A jar of water to rinse the brushes while in use is fine, just wash them out properly at the end of the session or when you accidentally get paint in the ferrule of one of your good brushes. If you want to get really efficient, have 2 jars of water and a bar of soap, one jar for an initial rinse, then use the 2nd one and the bar of soap for the final clean.

That's why I suggest cheap brush sets, 6 for 2.99 or some equivalent, I have like 30 or so brushes, swap them in and out when they are bad. Soft camel hair brushes for washes and brush on gloss, mess up ones but not totally mess up for initial drybrushing, various detail ones and flat ones for general use. I clean them in turpenoid every 5 batches or so to save a little on brushes, but not a big deal when they go bad, its less than a dollar.

I prefer to have good brushes and clean them properly so they don't die. I've been using the same $12 #1 Kolinsky sable brush for ages, painted, mmmm, maybe 150 models with it, and it's still fine. I have a couple of more even more expensive brushes that I mostly use for fine detailing.

It doesn't really make sense to me to use cheap brushes to save time cleaning them, because for me at least I find I paint slower if I am using a crappy brush. If the paint flows nicely off the brush and it has a good tip, I can actually lay paint down faster while remaining neat.

When I used to use cheaper brushes I went through them so quickly that it didn't save me any money. I do like to keep a couple of cheap brushes for rough tasks, like using enamels, oil washes, removing paint from the pot, stirring paint, transferring paint from the pot to my airbrush and cleaning the airbrush.

From a model count pov, I paint up to 30+ inf at a batch, a brush or 2 goes bad after 3 batches or so. There isn't too much of a difference between GW 10+ dollar brushes and the ones I get at Hobbylobby; I have several 30 dollar natural brushes for oil painting on a regular scale.

The soft camel hair makeup brushes last quite long, the synthetic ones tends to die the fastest as the tip spreads.

Dish soaps and detergents will ruin natural bristle brushes. The most popular cleaner is The Master's Brush Cleaner, but in a pinch you could use a shampoo formulated for pets. You can also add a drop of said shampoo to your rinsing cup. Clean your brushes by using your rinsing cup, and then wiping the brush on a paper towel a few times to wick out the water and any paint. Do this a couple of times, and it should suffice for cleaning your brush until you are ready for the final cleaning at the end of your painting session.

You should not get any paint up into the ferrule of the brush. If you are doing so, you are getting too much paint on the brush.

 Big Mac wrote:
From a model count pov, I paint up to 30+ inf at a batch, a brush or 2 goes bad after 3 batches or so. There isn't too much of a difference between GW 10+ dollar brushes and the ones I get at Hobbylobby; I have several 30 dollar natural brushes for oil painting on a regular scale.

The soft camel hair makeup brushes last quite long, the synthetic ones tends to die the fastest as the tip spreads.

Well it's 150 models and still going fine, which means I would hopefully get 200+ models from a single brush.

Given that 200 infantry models costs $500+ not including the monsters and whatnot I've painted in that time as well, spending $12 on a brush is barely even a blip on the financial radar

My Kolinsky sable brush wasn't a GW one, and it was $12AUD so you can probably get something similar for under $10 in the USA.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Red Harvest wrote:
Dish soaps and detergents will ruin natural bristle brushes.

Hand soaps seem to be fine though.

hasdrubalsbrother wrote:
How clean should you be getting the brushes before using the next colour? I have been trying to get them so that I can't see any of the preceding colour and find that this is hard to do just by swishing them around with water, but rather that they need to go under a running tap with multiple applications of detergent.

Is soap better to use than detergent? I am using GW paints.

How much paint are you getting on your brush? Sounds like far too much. You shouldn't let the paint get up to the top of the bristles and under the ferrule (metal bit). A swish in a jar of water, and a gentle roll of the tip under the water against the side of the jar, should get your brush pretty much clean.

I tend to have a pot of water for my initial rinse and then a little dropper bottle of clean water. Every so often while I'm painting, I'll swirl it in the pot of water to get the majority of the paint off (No matter how careful you are, when you thin your paints, capillary action will suck paint up into the top of the brush, especially with a wet or damp brush) then put a couple of drops of clean water from the dropper into my palm. Roll the brush in your palm side to side and most of the stubborn paint will work itself loose and come out. You can do this multiple times whilst painting and it won't take up too much time and will clean your brushes sufficiently well that you can swap colours very quickly.

After painting, wash with Masters Brush Cleaner and clean water and if you do have stubborn paint up near the ferrule (It does happen anyway, despite everybody telling you it's the greatest painting sin), a short soak in W&N Brush Restorer and gently rubbing with you fingernail should do the trick to remove any dried paint from the very top.

Just get a cup or container full of Isopropyl alcohol and do it that way - all the paint will come off just by simple dragging the brush over or through some tissue. Very simple and easy, and no damage done to your brush since the alcohol will evaporate in seconds.

I'd recommend you'd cover whatever you put the isopropyl in and only open it when you're going to dip the brushes in, since it evaporates very quickly and releases harmful vapours. Other than that, completely safe to use, no gloves needed!

Also the paint will come off no matter how long you've left it to dry for, be it minutes or months

I did a tutorial with it on how to paint strip miniatures, but I'd been using it way before to clean brushes. I'll leave the link here: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/697164.page

G.A

Personally I would argue against the cheap brush method. I've found consistency is best achieved with a decent set of brushes you look after properly. Don't break the bank with them like, cause they will need replacing eventually. I use series 7 brushes and on Amazon they are pretty cheap and readily available. I think it was something like £30 for four and they are miles better than any GW ones I've used.

Cheers.

 General Annoyance wrote:
Just get a cup or container full of Isopropyl alcohol and do it that way - all the paint will come off just by simple dragging the brush over or through some tissue. Very simple and easy, and no damage done to your brush since the alcohol will evaporate in seconds.

I'd recommend you'd cover whatever you put the isopropyl in and only open it when you're going to dip the brushes in, since it evaporates very quickly and releases harmful vapours. Other than that, completely safe to use, no gloves needed!

Also the paint will come off no matter how long you've left it to dry for, be it minutes or months

I did a tutorial with it on how to paint strip miniatures, but I'd been using it way before to clean brushes. I'll leave the link here: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/697164.page

G.A

I personally wouldn't use pure IPA to clean brushes as it is very good at stripping oils. Some cleaners are IPA based but have restorative additives to stop the brush drying out.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

I personally wouldn't use pure IPA to clean brushes as it is very good at stripping oils. Some cleaners are IPA based but have restorative additives to stop the brush drying out.

I haven't had any issues so far with using it with my Citadel brushes, and I've been using it for quite a while; it seems to evaporate quickly enough that any actual damage to the brush can't happen. However, I guess it can be down to the individual brush in question and the composition of the bristles.

Use this stuff to clean your brushes. Wonderful and cheap. No horrid fumes/carcinogens either

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Margateartist-The-Masters-Brush-Cleaner/dp/B005JC8NQC

 General Annoyance wrote:

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

I personally wouldn't use pure IPA to clean brushes as it is very good at stripping oils. Some cleaners are IPA based but have restorative additives to stop the brush drying out.

I haven't had any issues so far with using it with my Citadel brushes, and I've been using it for quite a while; it seems to evaporate quickly enough that any actual damage to the brush can't happen. However, I guess it can be down to the individual brush in question and the composition of the bristles.

Citadel brushes are a semi-synthetic mix. Synthetic fibres are often used on lower end brushes such as Citadel brushes because they are cheaper to produce, but also because they are more durable and forgiving of being pushed around too hard. Hence, when you use Isopropyl alcohol on them, they stand up to it better as they have no natural oils in the fibres. However, if you're using something like Kolinsky Sable, or any natural hair brush for that matter, part of the reason they are prized for painting is that the natural hairs perform better in holding the paint and applying it smoother. Similarly, the hairs have a natural curve to produce a fine point. Some of this is down to the oils contained within the hairs. So, when you put Isopropyl on a natural hair brush, you strip out all the oils, drying the hair out and it begins to lose it's ability to retain that fine point and deposit paint uniformly.

In general, it's best only to use a product on your brushes that you wouldn't mind using on your own hair - and I certainly wouldn't recommend washing your hair in Isopropyl alcohol. Best, IMO, to keep that for paint stripping.

I have two pots of water, one is a wider tub/cup size that I swirl the brush around in for a few seconds when finishing using that colour and the other is a GW brush pot that I can then sit the brush in, bristles down in the water.

Swirl in pot A, stroke brush on dry paper towel to remove any residue then sit it in pot B and grab my next brush. (I have two sets and I alternate as I paint...).

K.

As with everything the answer lies somewhere between all of the above posts.

Don't use cheap brushes, but don't buy obscenely expensive brushes either. Find some quality brushes at a reasonable price (Rosemary & Co. are hugely well thought of and ship cheap to the US from the UK). Do what you can to keep them in decent shape, but don't fret if one gets frayed/ruined. They're expendable items. I think everyone here has accidentally left a brush with some paint on it. It happens.

At the minimum keep a mug of water handy next to your painting surface. Clean the brush frequently as your paint dries etc. You can use the same mug to draw a bit of water and put it on your palette (use a palette, don't paint from the tin). Swish the brush around with some tapping against the mug side - don't dunk the brush or leave it standing on the bristles.

Simple fold and wipe with a towel, and continue.

Don't overthink it. Start simple and see what works for you. Move on from there.

 General Annoyance wrote:
Just get a cup or container full of Isopropyl alcohol and do it that way - all the paint will come off just by simple dragging the brush over or through some tissue. Very simple and easy, and no damage done to your brush since the alcohol will evaporate in seconds.

I'd recommend you'd cover whatever you put the isopropyl in and only open it when you're going to dip the brushes in, since it evaporates very quickly and releases harmful vapours. Other than that, completely safe to use, no gloves needed!

Also the paint will come off no matter how long you've left it to dry for, be it minutes or months

I did a tutorial with it on how to paint strip miniatures, but I'd been using it way before to clean brushes. I'll leave the link here: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/697164.page

G.A

I had no idea that you can use this stuff for cleaning brushes...
Do you know that I can thin mister hobby/tamiya paints with ISO as well?

My vote goes to mid-range brushes. They're often on sale at arts and craft stores. They keep their shape pretty well as long as you don't totally abuse them. They won't last forever, but since you paid like 4 bucks for them, who cares. You got a dozen painting sessions out of them. And then you can trim the stray bristles down and turn it into a workhorse brush anyway. I started with a few decent brushes and a pack of economy brushes, and I found myself using the economy for bulk work and the nice brushes for detailing and shading. Find the shapes that work for you. Even a beat up good brush can be great for drybrushing, though.

I second everyone recommending Masters Brush Soap, it's amazing stuff.

I wouldn't recommend cheap brushes at all though. Honestly, if you've got a decent enough brush that comes to a fine point, you shouldn't need to switch brushes much at all. I can paint an entire model with my size 2 Winsor & Newton without ever feeling the need to switch brushes. I have, on occasion, done detailing and edge highlighting with a size 3 just because I forgot which brush I was holding at the time. XD

 Skits wrote:
I second everyone recommending Masters Brush Soap, it's amazing stuff.

I wouldn't recommend cheap brushes at all though. Honestly, if you've got a decent enough brush that comes to a fine point, you shouldn't need to switch brushes much at all. I can paint an entire model with my size 2 Winsor & Newton without ever feeling the need to switch brushes. I have, on occasion, done detailing and edge highlighting with a size 3 just because I forgot which brush I was holding at the time. XD

I just bought via ebay the small package - 30 ML, because tons of people swear by it.
Can't wait to try it on my both synthetic and natural brushes.

One suggestion to get the brushes clean enough while painting and switching through brushes is to use a multi stage water cup system.

I have at times tried using at least two cups one for first rins to get almost all paint out of the brush, the a next cup for a second rinse... this gets you a pretty clean brush pretty fast.

In my experience this is enough until end of session when I do a proper cleaning with a brush soap. Also, I leave a small bit of clean soap in the bristles to form a perfect tip. (This has to be rinsed before painting next time with a quick swirl in water) The soap helps to fix the bristles in the form you wish, or so I have been told

 granander wrote:
One suggestion to get the brushes clean enough while painting and switching through brushes is to use a multi stage water cup system.

I have at times tried using at least two cups one for first rins to get almost all paint out of the brush, the a next cup for a second rinse... this gets you a pretty clean brush pretty fast.

In my experience this is enough until end of session when I do a proper cleaning with a brush soap. Also, I leave a small bit of clean soap in the bristles to form a perfect tip. (This has to be rinsed before painting next time with a quick swirl in water) The soap helps to fix the bristles in the form you wish, or so I have been told

What is a multi stage cup system?

DalinCriid wrote:

 granander wrote:
One suggestion to get the brushes clean enough while painting and switching through brushes is to use a multi stage water cup system.

I have at times tried using at least two cups one for first rins to get almost all paint out of the brush, the a next cup for a second rinse... this gets you a pretty clean brush pretty fast.

In my experience this is enough until end of session when I do a proper cleaning with a brush soap. Also, I leave a small bit of clean soap in the bristles to form a perfect tip. (This has to be rinsed before painting next time with a quick swirl in water) The soap helps to fix the bristles in the form you wish, or so I have been told

What is a multi stage cup system?

A multi-stage cup system is, as granander said, "using at least two cups, one for a first rinse to get almost all paint out of the brush, the a next cup for a second rinse"; so, using multiple cups. I tend to use two cups (jars, rather) at home, though it's more for light colours/dark colours so I don't end up with dark water left in my brush when trying to paint, say, white.

It's also recommended to have another separate rinse cup for when you're using metallic paints, so you don't end up with leftover metallic stuff on your brush from rinsing it in metallic-tainted water.