Brush Cleaning Tips

• Don't let your brushes soak in solvent, it can seep into the ferrule and weaken the glue holding the bristles in place.



• Don't strike your paint brushes against a surface. Striking the brushes can damage the ferrule and cause bristles to fall out.
  


• For hardened paint on brushes, clean by soaking in a pot of distilled vinegar for an hour, then proceed to bring the pot of vinegar to a simmer until the brushes are clean. Rinse brushes in warm water afterwards.



• Never allow a brush to stand or be stored standing on its tip. The tip will become malformed.
  


• For a malformed brush tip: soak the clean tip in brush conditioner, shape the tip and wrap in butcher paper overnight to hold the shape. The tip should be reformed by morning.
  


• Synthetic bristles can be restored by placing the brish in hot, but not boiling, water. Be aware that nylong bristles can dissolve in such solvents as acetone.



• Watercolor brushes need to be washed in gentle soap and warm (not hot) water. Anything you would feel comfortable washing your own hair with is good enough to use for your watercolor brushes.