How to Care For and Keep Paint Brushes and Rollers

In our last article we talked about choosing the right paint brush for the job, today we’ll talk about keeping and caring for your brushes and rollers…

PaintBrushCleanUp-ClaffeysPaintingIn order to get a quality paint job for your home, you have probably invested in quality paint brushes and roller covers…which can be a costly purchase. And then if you end up throwing them away after they’ve been used one time, it becomes even costlier. But there is no need to keep replacing these tools if you take a little time to clean them up after your paint job is completed.

If you are a veteran painter, you are aware that clean-up is different when you use oil based paint as opposed to water based paint. Although both types begin the same way…

Remove as much of the excess or left over paint out of your brushes and rollers as you can by brushing or rolling on newspaper. For your brushes, you can clean off the excess build up of paint that collects at the top of the brush by using a wire brush to “comb” it out. This is an important step, because any dried paint left in the brush could come out  in the new paint the next time you want to use it.

Oil Based Clean-Up

What you’ll need:

  • Paint thinner or turpentine
  • A bucket or pan or use your roller pan
  • Old rags and newspaper
  • Wire brush or a 5-in-one tool
  • Plastic gloves – to protect your hands from the cleaning solvent

To clean your roller, pour your cleaning solvent into your roller pan (you might as well use that for your clean-up because it needs to be cleaned too). Leaving the roller cover on the handle, let the roller sit in the thinner for a few minutes and then roll it back and forth in the pan.

Some people actually use 3 containers of solvent to stage the clean-up…going from one container to the next: 1- to soak the roller and get most of the paint off  2 – to get more of the paint off  3 – as a final rinse.

When the paint is removed, dry the roller with an old rag or towel.

To clean your brush, soak the brush for a few minutes in the paint thinner and swish around for a few minutes, and using your gloved hand, work the paint out. If there is too much paint on the brush, you may need to use a second container to get it thoroughly cleaned.

Once all the paint is cleaned out of brushes and rollers, clean the solvent out of them using a mild detergent, be sure to rinse well.

Water Based Clean-Up

One reason people like using water based paint (Latex) is because clean-up is so much easier.

CleanPaintRollers-ClaffeysPaintingWhat you’ll need:

  • Warm soapy water
  • Old rags and newspaper
  • Wire brush or a 5-in-one tool

The process for cleaning is the same as for oil-based clean-up, it’s just easier.

In our next article we’ll talk about how to store your unused paint and painting tools, and how to dispose of excess paint, paint cans and solvent used for clean-up.

If you’re like a lot of people, you’d rather leave the painting and the clean-up to someone else. That’s when they call Claffey’s.

Give us a call for a free estimate – (425) 888-3634

Claffey’s Painting is a full service painting contractor serving Western Washington, Chelan, Douglas and Kittitas Counties. We have painted over 7000 homes and would enjoy the opportunity to help paint yours. We can guide you through all the decision making processes so you get the right paint for the right job, and the professional job you’re looking for.