Clean Oil Paint off a Paint Brush With Dish Soap
The common and effective method to clean paint brushes that has been used for oil painting is to wash them in turpentine. Sometimes, however, you may find yourself Discover What Type of Artist You Are and then find, once you have finished, that you have run out of turps! If you leave your brushes coated in oil paint to dry then they will be ruined. Your brushes need to be cleaned before they become unusable, so here is another effective way.
Contents
Steps
- Prepare your cleaning materials. First, ask yourself this question: Why does the brush need to be cleaned? Here's why: oil brushes are easily stored for indefinite intervals--in a freezer. Therefore, the only reason to ever clean a brush is that the freezer is not large enough to store all the brushes needed; or, the there are so many new colors being added to the palette that storing brushes is not practical. Storing rather than cleaning is the greener solution. Oil paints do not mix well with the environment. If you can store the brush in the freezer; simply wrap it in aluminum foil; then, store. If you have many colors/brushes to store; you may wish to add a label.
- Obtain rags (or paper towels), dishwashing detergent, container or jar.
- Clean as much paint off the brush as possible with a rag.
- Pour dishwashing liquid in container.
- Mix brush in detergent Don’t add water.
- Wipe off the detergent and any paint that comes with it.
- Repeat this process several times until all the paint has been removed from the brush.
- Finished.
Tips
- Some artists always clean their brushes with dishwashing liquid. Although it takes longer than it does with turps, some believe that it is gentler on the brush and therefore it will last longer.
- To Reuse a Paintbrush wipe the brush head after cleaning with a thin layer of quick drying medium such as Liquin, and store out of the sun.
Warnings
- Your brush will not get as clean as it would have if turps had been used. It will however save your brush if turps are not available.
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