How to clean brushes

It’s very important to maintain your brushes well. The better you clean them, the longer they will serve you.

Water colour brushes
Water colour brushes are fairly easy to clean. You run them under the cold tap, making sure that all the paint comes out of the brush. Shape the brush with your fingers to make sure that it holds it’s form. Leave them upright to dry in a pot. Don’t dry with cloth or tissue because you will loosen the hairs.

Acrylic paint brushes
When you finish painting with acrylic paint brushes, make sure to first wipe the excess paint off with tissue paper. This saves a lot of paint going down your drain and clogging it up. Fill a pot of warm (but not hot) soapy water. We use green house hold soap. Very gently starting at the ferrule, squeeze out the paint. Check if there is any residue by wiping it on a tissue. Carry on until it is clean. Rinse in cold water and shape your brush. Leave it to dry up right in a pot. 

Oil paint brushes
We never use turpentine because it is bad for your skin, drains, lungs and also not good for the brushes. So stay clear of those chemicals. We only use our tried and trusted over many years, green household soap. Clean the brushes in the same way as you would clean the acrylic paint brushes.

Let us show you how we clean water colour, acrylic and oil brushes in our video ‘How to clean brushes’. 

A brush mat is extremely useful for carrying your brushes from place to place. It keeps them in form and shape without damaging them.