How do you clean brushes?

[castelnuovo]

I have brush with witch I painted Tamiya's nato brown a while ago. After this I washed the brush in hot water and put it away. The other day I used it again with light grey colour and the brush leaks the brown. So I washed it again and it still leaks brown. I soaked it in Tamiya's thinner for few hours, washed it in water and it still leaks brown.

What's up?? The bristles shouldn't absorb colour forever.

[jeaton01]

I clean brushes after Tamiya acrylics with Windex right after use. I wipe the bristles on a clean paper towel until no more residue appears, adding more Windex as I go. Lacquer thinner also works well but is not necessary. Water will not thin or clean Tamiya lacquers.

[406 Silverado]

I was gonna comment but it looks like John (jeaton01) has got you covered.

[Tobi]

For non water soluble paints I use mainly Revell airbrush cleaner and occasionally afterwards also soap and rinse in clean water if necessary.

[tcoat]

For regular cleaning for all paints I use just normal lacquer thinner. To recover a brush where I may have let the paint dry (it happens) I keep the last quarter inch or so of my Tamiya extra thin cement as a cleaner. Since the cement is acetone and acetates it will dissolve and clean even the worst hardened brush. Haven't had an issue with it dissolving bristles or the glue on any brushes yet. That little bit of cement in the bottom of a jar will do many, many brushes. OK so I let them dry out a lot!

[eaglecash867]

For cleaning Tamiya paints from my brushes, I use the same thing I use to clean my airbrush parts, MEK. Something that powerful isn't necessary though. I just use it because I always have it on hand. If you don't already have it, then anything the other guys have mentioned will work just as well. I use the same method jeaton01 uses with wiping the brush on a paper towel. I just dip the bristles in my cleaner, swish a little bit, then wrap the paper towel around the bristles and gently wipe...and repeat until I no longer see color on the paper towel. If you use laquer thinner or MEK though, just try to keep your brush handle out of it and away from the sides of the container. Most handles are either plastic or have a plastic coating on them, which will start to get damaged over time if they come into contact with either of those two solvents. Heh...ask me how I know. 

[stikpusher]

Very interesting that the paint did not dry on the bristles within a few hours and still continues to be able to transfer into a new color. I have never encountered that before myself. Are the brushes natural or synthetic bristles?

But like John said, with Tamiya acrylics, a good several hour soaking in Windex, and the ammonia within that cleaner should remove any remaining traces of the paint. Then just clean them as recommended above.

[deafpanzer]

Guys have replied with great tips and I'd like to add how I protect my brushes especially the expensive ones that I use for figure and detail painting. I use this brush cleaner and preserver at the end and they really do an amazing jobs to keep the tips solid and pointed after many years.  I bought it maybe ten years ago and it is still 75% full so it goes a long way... 



You can find those at Hobby Lobby or Michaels... good luck!

[chromdome35]

Nov 21, 2023 13:42:13 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Guys have replied with great tips and I'd like to add how I protect my air brushes especially the expensive ones that I use for figure and detail painting. I use this brush cleaner and preserver at the end and they really do an amazing jobs to keep the tips solid and pointed after many years.  I bought it maybe ten years ago and it is still 75% full so it goes a long way... 



You can find those at Hobby Lobby or Michaels... good luck!

I use this as well. After a good cleaning with whatever thinner is appropriate to the paint I'm using, I always finish by following the instructions for this brush soap. It will clean out all kinds of old paint in your brushes and leave them as close to new as they can get.

I store my brushes with this soap in the bristles. When I get ready to paint, i just rinse them with water first.

[kyledehart5]

Nov 21, 2023 15:13:58 GMT -5 chromdome35 said:

Nov 21, 2023 13:42:13 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Guys have replied with great tips and I'd like to add how I protect my air brushes especially the expensive ones that I use for figure and detail painting. I use this brush cleaner and preserver at the end and they really do an amazing jobs to keep the tips solid and pointed after many years.  I bought it maybe ten years ago and it is still 75% full so it goes a long way... 



You can find those at Hobby Lobby or Michaels... good luck!

I use this as well. After a good cleaning with whatever thinner is appropriate to the paint I'm using, I always finish by following the instructions for this brush soap. It will clean out all kinds of old paint in your brushes and leave them as close to new as they can get.

I store my brushes with this soap in the bristles. When I get ready to paint, i just rinse them with water first.

plus one more for the Masters brush preserver. Good stuff that I use often. And it really does last forever.