Paint Brushes

nosmo-king

Should New paint brushes be Soaked before use and if so in what and for how long. I think I read this somewhere but Im not sure.
Any ideas
Tks n adv

Lex Luthor

no need

paulocon

as lex said, there is no need.

just make sure to buy a good quality brush as bristles on inferior brushes may shed and get stuck in the paint...

karltimber

as lex said no need at all.

but when you are finished - ring the brush out with a sheet of newspaper and run it on an old piece of timber to get rid of as much paint as possible.

then soak in some white spirits (oil based paints) for a few hours and take out and dry. This will save you having to buy a new one.

I used to leave brushes in the ws for a week and come back to find it all evapourated and the brush congealed with old paint.

good kuck

k.

nosmo-king

Thanks for the info folks

GreeBo

When using water based paints its handy to dampen the brush first.
This means that when you come to wash it the paint furthest from the tip hasnt all dried up.

mad m

Before use any paint brush should be flirted,by flirting I mean run your hands in and out of brush. This will get rid of bristles/hairs that have become loose or are just sitting in the centre. As suggested wash the brush out with water first if using water based paints, as this will make it easier to wash out later on.

If washing brush out in white spirits the best method I found is place brush in plastic bag while wrapping handle in plastic and twirling brush handle in hands. This will make brush stock twirl inside the plastic bag releasing the white spirits/left over oil based paints into bag and not all over you or surrounding areas.

Ofcourse if using brushes next day,put brushes in plastic bag if water based paints were used and put brushes in a can with water if using oil based paints.

Wertz

Any new oil brushes I have to break in, I'll use them in emulsion for a few days first (gets rid of any bristles), then wash thoroughly, comb and allow to dry.
The only exception to this is brushes for varnishes and stains.

As for storage, I use a brushmate for all oil brushes. It's an airtight box with a pad at the bottom that you pour some special solvent onto....the fumes sit in the box and retard the drying process in the oil. You hang your prushes on hooks. They'll stay soft for months in this, you don't end up with rusted ferrules or water beads in your paint and it pays for itself in terms of wasted white spirits.