Naptime DIY: How to clean an old paint brush

We’ve painted dozens of rooms and at least 2 complete houses, multiple times over the years.  During that time we’ve cleaned some of them not as thoroughly as we should have. That produced paint brushes that can double as a hammer, but cease being able to be used for the purpose that they were purchased. How do you clean an old paint brush that has dried paint on it?

 

A paint brush with dried paint on it is useless.  We kept our brushes around for all these years out of a sense of guilt.  In the back of our mind we knew that if we used paint stripper on it that it would probably work.  However, it was a good thing that we waited because the experience in house DIY let us in on how to do it more efficiently.

Tools needed:

1 painter’s comb

Various paint brushes that are hardened with old paint

Paint thinner

1 can of paint stripper

2 steel cans

Gloves and protective eyewear

Important:  The paint stripper is really abrasive.  If it gets on your skin it’ll burn, if it gets in your eyes it’ll really burn.  If you’re hesitant about this project or working with paint stripper read their directions and judge it for yourself.

Pour enough paint stripper in one can to cover the depth of the paint brush.  Put the paint brush in the can and move it around a bit.  You’ll let the brush soak in the paint stripper for up to a day, less if the brush is skinny and there isn’t much paint and more if it’s a wider brush with really hard bristles.

During the next day go in from time to time just to push the brush down.  This will allow more solvent to get in the deeper areas of the brush and allow the brush to be almost new again.

After a day you’re ready to clean the brush.   First, put on the gloves and goggles.  If you don’t do this and that junk gets on your skin you’ll be yelling and could possibly really hurt yourself.  Now that you’re protected, use the painter’s comb to slowly brush the bristles of the solvent covered paint brush.  Do this slowly because if you do it too quickly then you’ll flick back some of the solvent gunk towards your face.

Do this several times until the bulk of the solvent is out of the brush.  Brush the old solvent back into the steel can.

Have the second steel can filled up and ready with paint thinner.  Put the newly cleaned brush into the paint thinner and continue brushing it.  Jam the brush all the way through and do it over and over.  This will force out bits and pieces of old paint.

Once the brush is as clear as you can make it take a junk rag or paper towel to clean off the paint brush.  This will clean up any residual paint droppings, as well as, dripping of thinner or solvent.

Next up you’ve got a newly salvaged paint brush.  This process is really simple and if you’re comfortable working with paint stripper then it’s a breeze.  I have heard that if you boil white vinegar with the paint brush in there that will clean old paint brushes too.  We’ll be trying that experiment in the future just to see which is easier.