Help with brush cleaning Please

I intend to use Bob Ross brushes with W&N water miscible oils. I have read somewhere NOT to clean them with water. Can i use odourless thinners....Bernie

Hi Bernie,

If you were using the Bob Ross brushes with Bob Ross paint then they definitely would tell you not to use water to clean them, but to use odorless thinner.

If you are using water-soluble oils with the Bob Ross brushes, then I can see no reason that they would be any different then any other brush that would be cleaned with soap and water. If they are a bristle brush, it is recommended that you press the water out as much as possible after cleaning and be sure to re-shape them. Many of us use dish soap for the first cleaning and then follow up with Masters Cleaner and Preservative. It leaves the brushes with a nice protective finish.

I am only guessing at this, but make complete sense to me. Perhaps some others will have some input. I would suggest trying the soap and water on one of the smaller ones and see how it does just in case, but I really don't think there is a problem.

I think the problem with cleaning your brushes with water, would be if you were cleaning them between different colors while painting without letting them dry. The real bristle brushes become soggy and don't work as well if they are wet with water. Many people just wipe their brushes clean with just a paper towel when they change colors. The odorless thinners are not so good for your health. Hope this helps.
Dayle

Thanks for the advise Dayle i will forget the thinners and just use water for the cleaning....Cheers Bernie

judyfilarecki wrote:

Many of us use dish soap for the first cleaning and then follow up with Masters Cleaner and Preservative. It leaves the brushes with a nice protective finish.

What's the reason/advantage of using dish soap for a first cleaning and then using the Masters Cleaner? I have just wiped them with a paper towel and then used the Master Cleaner and water to do all of the cleaning - is this a problem?

I just use the Masters cleaner and it works for me.   If I've overlooked a brush during cleaning and it the paint dries on it, I wet it and leave it with the Masters liberally on it for 5 minutes or so and repeat the process a few times if necessary.

Cindy,

There is no problem. I just had other artists suggest pre-washing them and then using the Master's. It is less expensive and gets rid of most of the paint before going into the Master's.

Judy

OK, thanks Jim and Judy.



I used a coupon (one of the 40% off at Michaels) and bought the really big bowl (24 ounces) of Masters because it was so much cheaper (per ounce) than buying a little 2.5 ounce disc. I mean, it's about 3 times the price as the small one but about 10 times as much cleaner! With a 40% off coupon, it was a no-brainer to buy the big one! It is lasting a long time, so I guess I am not too worried about using it up too fast.



However, if that changes or I run out or for some reason I don't have it with me (in a workshop or something), at least I know I can get most of the paint out wish dish soap! It's always good to have a backup plan!

Great deal. I'm glad someone got a benefit from Michael's. They are always so over priced without the coupon. I was in there yesterday and I still get annoyed that they have Artisan WSO's as student of academic grade or something like. They imply that wso's are the worst choice for oils the way they have them numbered from worst to best.

Forgive me. I guess I'm just grumpy today.

Yeah, Judy, I walked into Michael's a few days ago and did a retake looking at their wmoils. The way they are labelled makes them look poor quality, but upon reading very carefully, I think it stated that they were labeled this way for convenience for cleaning with soap and water. Well, the casual observer won't notice that!

I agree. Why don't they just list them as what the, water-soluble oils, instead of classing them as academic oils. They have pretty much lost me as a customer.

HI!!!
I have actually been recommended BY am Micheal's employee NOT to shop their for any art supplies for painting as: "they don't specialize at that. You'd be better off going to the specialty art shops, like Curry's, they'll have much more selection, what you are looking for, and probably better prices" She said that to me! No joke!

As for cleaning brushes during the session....

Call me crazy but ever since my first painting I didn't do that..... I never even thought to do that. It was just an instinct I guess to grab a different brush for another colour. I only use the same brush if I'm blending similar colours together. Then I put it in a super shallow bowl where it is not resting on its tip (it's a very weird looking dish, it used to be the lid of a fancy jar, but turn t upside down and it's like a shallow bowl that I figured "hey! I can recycle that!")

I keep brushes in that place until I was them at the end of the day. And I use lots of brushes in one session, but that's how I've always liked it..

keeping them in that dish keeps them wet and no water reaches the furrell. I just don't know if this would work now that I want to try oils......

What do you think?

If you will be using bristle brushes with the oils, I wouldn't recommend it. the natural bristles swell up in water and never go back to what they used to be. I have ruined many brushes that way. If you are using synthetic brushes, that method would work.

Thank you! So, how do you keep bristle brushes safe until you clean them at the end of the day? How do you get the paint not to harden a bit?

I don't think you would want to use bristle brushes with WSO's, although you can, as long as you use Walnut oil instead of water. I use synthetic brushes with my WSO's. For regular oils, just clean them as best as you can in thinner, and set them aside. Wash them with Master's Brush cleaner every few days. Unless you are using a fast dry medium, they shouldn't harden up.

Thank you. Though that might take some getting used to for me, as I never clean anything till the en of the day.... So, did you mean I should also put walnut oil in my little bowl, instead of water, and clean with water?

Yes. Bristle brushes should never be left in water for any length of time. Here is a link that tells you everything you ever wanted to know about bristle brushes. Scroll down for cleaning tips:

http://www.silverbrush.com/art/art_pdfs/art_brush_tips.pdf

Thank you! I read the link. So, it's ok, to leave the brushes' bristles in a tiny bowl of walnut oil for around 30 minutes? It wont soften the bristles?

Also, they said in the link you sent me that hog bristles aren't good with water. Though I've heard of this, I've never had any problems with them keeping stiffness and shape, (and I've always used acrylics) I like the texture they leave and I like using them.

So, does anyone know of a good brush cleaner that is non-toxic? I've heard people here using hog bristles, how do you clean yours?

My art teacher has been teaching us to clean our brushes first in baby oil or safflower oil, then swish them in Awesome, rinse, and dry. It seems to be working very well with traditional oils as well as WMOs. I have used diluted Awesome for several years as a stain remover for clothing that has oil or grease stains, and my husband and I love it. We buy a spry bottle of Awesome at our Dollar Tree Store for $1.00. Awesome is supposed to be much safer than Windex as a cleaning agent. This is also very cost effective. Have fun painting.
Dayle

Thanks Dayle! And you are doing this with hogs? And no softening problems?

This is just a final cleaning of the brushes for the day. If hogs sit is water for long, they will swell until they dry again. I am using mostly synthetics, but other people in the class are using hogs occassionally.

Dayle

I use synthetic brushes, rinse, then use Dawn dish soap, which works like a charm, then run them through Masters, shape them, then store them. I'm super picky with my brushes, and like the Dawn to get everything out of them first.

Btw - ACMoore, I find, is better than Michaels, and you can get their weekly coupon online for at least a 40% (sometimes 50%) discount.

I use all kinds of brushes for WSOs, (Artisan so far) and rinse them often, then wash them with liquid dish soap. Sometimes I use hair conditioner on them and let them air dry. So far so good.
Haven't tried Master Cleaner yet.