Care of Brushes

[JeanM]

I finally broke down and purchased some kolinsky sable brushes. Wish I had done sooner for they are a joy to use. What soap is recommended to clean them with? I am now using a liquid dish soap, but wonder if Ivory would be gentler.
Thanks for any input.
Jean

[Alessandra Kelley]

Ohhhh yikes! Dish soap?

Right, okay, sable brushes are made from hair, which is not all that different from human hair. Don't wash your brushes with aything you would find too harsh to use as shampoo. (Kids in my art school used to wash their brushes with the pumice-laced soap that was supposed to scrub paint off their skin. Not a good idea.)

A gentle bar soap like Ivory works just fine. Don't use detergents (like dish soap or liquid hand soap), use soaps -- there is some legal, chemical distinction between the two. A moisturizing, hypoallergenic, or otherwise very mild soap would probably be fine. I've seen people who claim to have used hair conditioner on their brushes after washing, but I wonder if that would not combine oddly with later paint.

When my tub of Master's Brush Soap ran out, I started using Murphy's oil soap. Sometimes I use a bar of olive oil soap.

[JeanM]

Okay! No more dish detergent. Thanks for the help, Alessandra.
Jean

[dbclemons]

... I've seen people who claim to have used hair conditioner on their brushes after washing, but I wonder if that would not combine oddly with later paint...

The proper way to follow that advice, in my opinion, would be to wash the brush out BEFORE using it again. I've used a mineral oil or 'baby' oil in the past, sometimes vegetable oil, or just used a shampoo/conditioner for cleaning. The oil seems to collect more of the paint off the brush than soap foam, but I still use both. I prefer to store my brushes clean, dry, and with all cleaning oil/conditioner washed out of them.

-DBC

[RobM]

Check out from the pros.....
http://www.rosemaryandco.com/tips%20advice.htm

And if per chance you want to buy brushes from Rosemary by all means mention my name.

Rob Milliken

[Bert Congdon]

I can't imagine why anyone would use soap on a fine natural brush.

[Alessandra Kelley]

Oh, now ypu've piqued my curiosity, Mr. Congdon. How do you clean your brushes, if not with soap?

[David McKay]

For what it is worth, I never or very rarely wash my brushes with anything but warm water. I also never let paint dry in them for very long either as I rinse them frequently as I am painting. The various treatments that I have tried over the years simply does not seem to make the brush last for more than about a month in its original new condition. David

[Bert Congdon]

OK, here goes, and I am talking about natural hair or bristle brushes. They come new with their hair all glued together, so I wash them in warm water to get the glue or starch out, I then rinse them thoroughly in vinegar, and let them dry completely without rinsing out the vinegar... maybe a week. I now have a useful brush that will never again touch soap or water if I am painting with oil. I will continue with oil. When I am through painting for the day, I rinse in turps or mineral spirits, squeeze outhe excess, then rinse well in non-drying oil. Baby oil is my favorite, but it must be COMPLETELY washed out to resume painting. Since straight baby oil is difficult to wash out ( in mineral spirits), I mix baby oil with diesel fuel (one part baby oil to three parts diesel). This makes it easier to rinse out when I use them again. Got that? I can dirty ten brushes and hve them put away in less than a minute. I don't want to run out of time, so I will continue below.

[Bert Congdon]

When I am painting with ET, I rinse first in turps, then in plain water, squeeze it out, then a rinse in lacquer thinner, squeeze it out then to the baby oil and deisel. Always remember to rinse the brush in thinner before you start painting again. I have done this for years and never lost a brush until they were all stolen from me. Slowly I am replacing them.

When using ET, we are always in water and we can't avoid it, but we can keep drying oils in ou paint from hardening (thre is always a little left in the brush) by mixing that little left in the brush with a non-drying oil. It's fast and simple once you get used to it. I was appalled to see what artists were doing with their fine brushes when I started taking art courses.

I learned how to take care of brushes when I was a house painter. A sign painter will melt vasoline, work his brushes into it, shape the brush as it cools, and toss it in his kit. He has to clean it out to use it, but no matter how long it lies in the kit, bits of paint left in the brush will never harden.

My name is Bert, Allessandra. Mr. Congdon is my father. He was a nice man, but he is dead. :shock:

[Dennis H]

I use Kolinsky sable brushes. Of course, I try to rinse them well with water, but for stubborn bits of paint left up near the ferrule, I massage the fibers with a little oily soap, like olive-oil soap. Every once in a while I'll lather them up with a Neutragena bar to clean more thoroughly. Then, rinse well, point the tips, and set aside to dry. Usually my brush tips lose their points through abrasion after months of painting, rather that splaying out from bad cleaning habits. I'm not that prolific a painter, so I don't use up brushes very quickly. I do have years-old sables that are still in good working condition, though.
Bert, I might be afraid of soaking my sables in lacquer thinner, diesel fuel, and turpentine. Even with the mineral oil added, doesn't that make the fibers brittle? Lacquer thinner is a pretty strong solvent. It can melt quite a few materials, even harm the paint coating on a brush handle. (Not to mention brain cells..)
Dennis.

[Bert Congdon]

Lacquer thinner is a strong solvent, but I have found it safe for natural brushes when giving it a quick rinse, but I would not put a synthetic brush in it! I want to be clear that I do not soak brushes in lacquer thinner, just a quick rinse. Diesel oil is just no. 1 fuel oil. My preference is no.3 fuel oil, but I can't find it, so I just go to a gas station (petrol I guess for some) and buy small quantities of diesel. Fuel oil can be left in a brush for years with no harm, but must be washed out before use. And, oh yes, lacquer thinner is a cacinogen!! Use outdoors.

[Alessandra Kelley]

I am sorry, Bert. It may be a generational thing; I am uncomfortable calling people by their first name until I am invited to do so (Even then ... Things like my children calling their teachers by their first names feels weird to me).

I am sure your brushes must stay in very good shape (My condolences on the loss of your earlier brushes. That must have been quite a blow.), but I will continue with soap. I got into egg tempera at least in part to get away from the toxic solvents and petroleum products of oil painting.

[Bert Congdon]

Thank you Alessandra. It could in fact be a two or three generation thing since I'm 78. Using first names shows familiarity, and familiarity breeds contempt, but I sort of feel like we are family on the forum. I say use what works... our brushes are already into water when we use ET. What I said really applies to oil paint more than ET, especially the part about the vinegar. That puts the spring back into your brush, but as soon as you touch your brush to egg and water, you've lost it again. I wish I could go to your show, but 1,200 miles is 1,200 miles.

When I painted houses (mansions) in Lake Forest, the little children of the house called me by my first name...in front of the parents. They were never corrected. I thought that to be a way of putting me in my place. All servants are addressed by thair first names. :grin: