How to Clean Brushes Used for Water-Based Paints

This photo is in the public domain. 

By Jim Hingst

Good quality paint brushes are expensive. If you care for them properly, you will protect your investment and extend their useful life. Here are a few tips on how to care for and  clean paint brushes for acrylic paint and other water-based paints. 

• Immediately after using a brush clean it.  Once acrylic paint or a water-based enamel hardens in the bristles, the brush is usually ruined.

• Never soak a brush vertically in water for a long period of time. The wooden handle will swell. Then after the wood dries, it can crack. Eventually, your brush will be damaged to the point that you can no longer use it.

• Using a rag or paper toweling, gently squeeze the bristles of the brush to remove the excess water-based paint.  Be extremely careful not to pull on the hairs of the brush or you could pull out some of the hair.

• Rinse the brush in warm water. With a rag, squeeze the hair again to make sure that the majority of the paint has been eliminated.

• Next wash the brush with a dishwashing liquid soap or shampoo. Rinse with warm water. Check to see that all of the paint is removed.  If paint still remains, wash the brush again until the paint is gone. Make sure that all of the paint near the ferrule is removed. Residual paint left to harden can build up over time, spreading the hairs apart and causing the brush to lose its desired shape.

• Finish by palleting the hair of the brush against a bar of soap. Shape the soapy bristles and let the brush dry. When it comes time to use the paint brushes again, wash the soap out before using it again.

• You should segregate your brushes used for water-based paints from those used for oil-based paint. I have dipped the ends of the brush handles in aqua colored paint so that I can easily identify those brushes used for water-based paints. (See the photo below.) I have a separate brush box just for the water-based paint brushes.  Never mix the two. Once a brush is used in oil-based paint, you should never use it again for a water-based paint.

Segregate the brushes used for water-based paints from those used for oils by keeping them in a separate brush box. For lettering with Ronan water-based lettering enamels, many sign writers recommend Langnickel Nocturna brushes. 

• Ideally, you should store your brushes in a brush box, in a cool place away from sunlight.  If you keep your brushes in a jar, place the handles downward toward the bottom of the container. 

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About Jim Hingst: After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.

Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer.  Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.

Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 150 articles for  publications, such as  Signs Canada, SignCraft,  Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and  Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 325 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published.

© 2015 Jim Hingst