How to Clean a Paint Brush Properly

Listen, I've been using my paint brush to paint rooms, furniture, fences—you name it—for years, and the one thing that always bites me when I slack off is not cleaning the brush right after. Leave it overnight and it's toast. Bristles get stiff as a board, paint gums up the ferrule, and you're out buying another one before you know it. Trust me, I've chucked more brushes than I care to admit because I thought "I'll do it later." Later never comes.

So here's how I do it now, every single time, no shortcuts.

First off, it depends on the paint. Most folks these days use water-based latex or acrylic for walls, and that's the easy one.

Finish your cutting in or whatever, and while the paint's still wet, scrape the brush on the can rim—back and forth a bunch of times to get as much paint off as possible and back into the can. Don't waste it. Then straight under the faucet with lukewarm water. I grab whatever dish soap is under the sink, squirt a bit right on the bristles, and work it in good with my fingers. You gotta really massage it down deep, especially right up where the bristles meet the metal band—that spot traps paint like crazy and it'll harden if you skip it. Rinse, add more soap if it's still cloudy, keep going till the water's running totally clear. Then I flick it hard a few times in the sink to throw off the water, run my fingers through to straighten the bristles out nice and neat, and lay it flat on a rag or old towel. Sometimes I hang it from a hook with the bristles down if I've got one handy. Main thing is no water sitting in that ferrule eating away at the glue.

Oil-based stuff—alkyd enamel, varnish, polyurethane, deck stain—that's the pain in the neck. Water won't do squat. I start the same, wiping off all the wet paint I can on rags or newspaper till the bristles aren't dripping anymore. Then I keep an old coffee can with a lid for mineral spirits or paint thinner. Pour in enough to cover the bristles, dunk the brush, and stir it around slow. Push it gently against the bottom and sides to loosen the gunk, but easy does it—mash too hard and the bristles fan out and never go back. Let it sit a minute if it's loaded with paint. Pull it out, wipe on the rag, and usually go again with clean thinner. Might take two or three dips before it's decent. Once the bristles aren't gooey anymore, I wash it in warm water with dish soap to kill the oily feel and smell. Rinse like crazy till it's not slippery. Shake, straighten, dry flat or hanging, same as always.

Stains and varnishes follow the oil routine—just check the can for what solvent they want, usually mineral spirits works.

Dry it all the way before you stash it. Wet ferrule means loose bristles down the road. I slide the cardboard guard back on if it's still around, or wrap it in brown paper so it doesn't get bent.

Natural bristle brushes I hit with a drop of linseed oil every few cleanings—keeps 'em supple. The plastic ones don't care.

That's it. Five, ten minutes tops, and your brush stays soft, straight, and ready for the next wall or trim job. Beats shelling out cash for a new paint brush every month, and you don't end up with a pile of crusty brushes in the trash. Paint comes out smoother too when the bristles aren't fighting you.