Items needed:· Brush Restorer
· Old plastic cards
· Rubber bands
· Dish soap or shampoo
· Odorless mineral spirits
· Jar with a metal coil
The best advice anyone could follow to prolong the life of
their brushes is to IMMEDIATELY clean them after use. For water based mediums this
is generally a no-brainer, because five minutes could mean the beginning of your new
brush’s life in the trash bin. What about oils since they take longer to dry? Oils
still need to be cleaned immediately; just because you cannot see the paint
residue on the bristles does not mean it is not there. If you do not clean them
straightway, residue will build in the ferrule of the brush (where the bristles
connect to the handle) and will eventually stiffen the bristles and reduce
their ability to evenly distribute paint.
To begin the cleaning process, you first must use a diluting
agent to get rid of most of the paint. For acrylics and watercolors, water and
a brush screen is about as efficient as it will get. Oils require a solvent.
The most common solvents are mineral spirits or turpentine, although these pose
certain health risks with inhalation and skin contact such as CPD (chronic
painter’s syndrome). For more information on potential hazards, visit this resource page. There are many healthier alternatives including linseed oil, pure citrus peel
oil, white vinegar, or spike lavender. If you are using spirits or vinegar, you want to
clean your brush in a jar with a metal coil inside of it. The coil is a non
abrasive way to rid your brush of paint. If you are using a higher viscosity oil solvent, you want
to load up your brush and scrape it clean with a palette knife, from the heel to the toe of the brush. You will want to check with your local waste removal service to find out where to dispose of hazardous material.
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| This is the result of storing a brush with the bristles down. This is generally reversible with much reconditioning. |
The brushes need to be washed once again, this time with an
anti-oil agent like dish soap or shampoo. Shampoo tends to leave the bristles softer
than dish-soap, but it just comes down to your preference. Do not store your brushes
vertically with the bristles down, this will cause permanent warping to the
hairs. You want to stress the bristles the least amount possible, for each
stress is one day in the life of a brush. The final step which is they drying phase, which is often not given much consideration. Take your fingers and smooth out the bristles from the ferrule to the tip of the brush. You want to store your brush (bristles
up!) in a warm and dry place like a windowsill. Otherwise your brush could be
growing mold and bacteria inside of its bristles, inhibiting the even flow or the color of your paint.
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| Use your rubber-bands to make sure the bristles are not touching the bottom of the jar when soaking in restorative fluid. |
If your brushes are already glued shut with dried paint, it
may not be too late to play a little Victor Frankenstein and bring them back from the grave. One use for dried
brushes is to just use them. I keep a variety of brushes that I don’t clean on
purpose, because they allow you certain textures and lines with one stroke as
opposed to making a texture with several strokes and layers. Field grass is a prime example of the
benefits of keeping a dried fan brush.
If you want to restore it, it is possible to soak it in brush
restorer, available at any art supply store. Be careful, this stuff is very
strong (in chemical, not in smell). If
you leave your brushes in the restorer overnight, you will find your bristles
dissolving and your brushes sticking together as the paint/plastic on the
handles is melting. If your bristles are frayed, take two plastic cards and sandwich
the brush between them. Secure and apply pressure with rubber bands and let it
stew for a couple of days. You can also close just the bristles of brush into a
book and apply weight on top. I would say that even after these restoration
techniques, 25% of brushes still need to be thrown away.
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| When reshaping a brush, make sure the cards are not only on the bristles. The edge of the cards should be resting on the ferrule. This prevents the toe of the brush from spreading out horizontally. |
I hope you could
benefit from this quick tutorial, and happy painting!
Further
Reading and Sources:
Turner, Jacques. Brushes:
a Handbook for Artists and Artisans.
New York: Design Pr, 1992.
Mayer, Ralph. The
Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques. 5th ed. New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: Viking, 1991.
Mary, Willenbrink, and Willenbrink Mark. Oil Painting for the Absolute Beginner. Cincinnati, Ohio: North Light Books, 2010.
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| Simple ways to achieve stunning and/or lovable pieces of art. |
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