After spending hours painting your walls the last thing you want to do is clean your paintbrushes. Although the task is far from enjoyable, its a must if you want to prolong the life of a paintbrush and ensure its up to the next job you require it for.
The tip will show you how professional decorators thoroughly wash a paint brush after use.
Important;
1. Never use a lot of pressure to force paint out of a brush. Be patient and rinse it several times.
2. Don’t soak your brush in boiling hot water, this can cause the ferrule to expand and bristles to come loose.
3. Dedicate a brush each to water based and solvent based paints. Synthetic bristle brushes can be used for either application, but don’t last or clean-up well if they alternate between applications.
4. If you need to reuse the brush again for the same job then an alternative to washing them is to place them in an airtight plastic bag, applying masking tape around the handle to keep the air out. This will keep the brush supple over-night.
5. Don’t pour paint or white spirit down the drain as the chemicals they contain can disperse and contaminate the water supply.
Remember;
Good quality paint brushed when cleaned properly, can be used time and time again and remain in tiptop condition. Professional decorators are likely to use a good quality synthetic brush for most applications but the quality of brush can vary massively. As with trade quality paint, trade brushes from the likes of Purdy and Hamilton will make a noticeable difference to the quality of your finish as well as making the task easier due to greater paint pick up, reduced splattering and the smoothness of the lay-off. Contractor quality brush sets can be bought from decorating merchants for as little as £15.
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