In your Must Have Materials and Tool List: both disposable and good quality paint brushes. A great money saver is to care for and maintain them to help stretch that budget. Here are some tips on cleaning your paint brushes to keep them looking like new:
1. When painting with water-based (acrylic) paint, clean your brush every 2 hours and after each painting session ends. Never leave a brush sitting in paint.
2. Remove extra paint using a brush cleaning tool with teeth to scrape the paint off.
3. Wash the brush with a solution of one gallon warm water and a 1/2 cup of fabric softener. (The softener is a wetting agent. When it is dissolved in water it reduces the surface tension of the water, thus helping the paint dissolve quickly.) Dip the brush or pad into the solution and move it around while counting to 10. The paint will dislodge form the brush and settle at the bottom of the bucket.
After cleaning the brush in the warm water and fabric softener solution there is no need to rinse it in water. Repeatedly washing the brush in this solution allows the fabric softener to coat the bushing and the bristles, which allows the paint to flow smoothly from the brush.
4. Dry the brush in a paintbrush spinner to remove water form the brush. To make your own spinner, take a a 5-gallon bucket with a lid and make and an 8-inch hole in the middle of the lid. Place a plastic trash bag inside the bucket and replace the lid. Now "spin" the brush through the hole in the lid by rolling the handle between your palms. With the brush inside the bucket, the excess paint splatters inside the bucket on the trash bag. (This is especially helpful in an already decorated environment.) Dispose of the plastic bag.
5. Do not use dish soap to clean brushes. It will cause the bushing and the bristles to stick together.
Now you have some clean quality tools ready for the next project in making your areas WOW.
