If so, great! Make sure to rinse off as much soap as possible and get those bristles warmed up again. Once you've had fun with some vigorous swirling, it's time to rinse the bristles off and see how much progress you've made.Īre those bristles starting to move a little again? Read More > How Do You Clean A Paint Brush (In General.Before It's Hardened)? Step 4 - Rinse With Warm Water They're going to slowly shake off some of that excess paint and you'll know it's working when the water starts to change color (this is my favorite part, so satisfying). The edges of the container are helping you out here. Then you want to swirl like there's no tomorrow! You'll want to fill this up just enough to submerge the bristles. Now for the fun part, find a glass jar or some other appropriate container (that you're not worried about staining) and fill that container with a small amount of warm soapy water and some additional dish soap. Step 3 - Place The Brushes In A Glass Jar And Swirl It Into A Lather But if not, don't fret, the next step should help you get some progress going. You really need to do your best to gently work that soap into all of the bristles and hopefully, they'll start to loosen up a little. This isn't your typical dishwashing procedure, you want to make sure the dish soap is getting as deep into the bristles as it can so that we can lather it as much as possible. Once you've gained some pliability on these darn bristles, do your best to lather them up with a TON of dish soap.īecause most of it is going to roll right off. But if you don't have it, don't worry, the other steps will still take care of it!) Step 2 - Apply Dish Soap And Lather It Up Sometimes it takes fat to dissolve the dried paint and that can really help you gain some traction on this step. (Pro Tip: This only works in some instances, but I've had success dousing my paintbrushes in coconut oil before. Our goal is to melt some of that hard paint and penetrate the bristles just a little bit.Įven if you need to soak it in hot water for a little bit, make sure you're able to regain a tiny amount of pliability first. I know that might be tricky if this brush is stiff as a board, in which case I'd recommend using hot water to the point that your hands can tolerate it. Step 1 - Saturate The Brush Bristles With Warm Soapy Waterįirst things first, let's get those brush bristles as saturated as possible with warm soapy water. Place brush in a glass jar with a small amount of paint thinner.Use a brush comb to eliminate excess paint.Apply vinegar or fabric softener and repeat lathering steps.Place the brushes in a glass jar and swirl into a lather.Saturate the brush bristles with warm soapy water.How To Soften A Hard Paint Brush (10-Step Guide) While losing a few bristles during a brush cleaning isn't the end of the world, it can certainly add up over time.Īnd when you're working with quality brushes, you want to maintain their quality - and their bristles - for as long as possible. If you go in and attack those hardened bristles with some vigorous scrubbing, you run the risk of pulling some of those bristles out of place. Those bristles are glued into the part of the paintbrush called the ferrule, which is the metal bracket just below the bristles that holds the bristles in place. And that's not just because you should treat your nice things it's also because being gentle with those bristles will actually contribute to the paintbrushes longevity. Quality paint brushes deserve quality care and attention. There's one important thing to call out here before we jump into the actual steps necessary to soften your brush bristles, and that is how you attack those brush bristles! You can still restore those bristles with good cleaning and a few simple hacks.īut we'll get to that in a minute, first let's talk about brush care! Being Gentle With Brushes However, if you do have a brush with a bunch of hard paint stuck on it, don't worry! This all starts with having a good clean up technique that will help you clean brushes with care and (ideally) immediately so that paint doesn't have a chance to turn into hard paint that will ruin your brush in the long run. So whether they're natural hair bristles or synthetic, they still need to be maintained in order to keep performing year after year, project after project. Why? Because those brush bristles deserve some love! They do a lot of hard work and they interact with all those chemicals in the paint that you're using. What Do You Need To Know About Softening A Hard Paint Brush?īrush cleaning is an essential part of maintaining your paintbrushes long term.
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