I enjoy painting but I’m no professional artist. I like to use paint in various arts and crafts projects that I make. It’s just a hobby of mine and not a business. Over the years I’ve learned a few things about how to clean my paint brushes and how to store them properly. I’m going to share a few of those tips with all of you.
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Cleaning Paint Brushes
1. You can purchase paint brush cleansers from various arts & crafts store and from Amazon. You’ll want to follow the instructions that came with it.
2. You can use liquid soap and water. Just make sure you thoroughly get the paint out and rinse it clean.
Personally, I like using Dawn Liquid Dish Soap. Yes, Dawn! I found that for my needs it does a great job at cleaning my brushes!
While I’m painting and working on a specific art project I like to use this Multi-Function Brush Washer and Holder that I picked up from Amazon. You can use it with watercolors, oils and/or acrylics. It’s inexpensive and doesn’t take up a lot of storage space.
Storing Paint Brushes
You should never store the brushes with the bristles facing down. They should always be stored with the brushes facing upwards! I like to store mine in pint-size glass mason jars with the bristles facing up. I use about 20 different brushes and I like to grab the type of brush that I need quickly. I can see what I have by storing them in the clear glass jars. When those jars start getting dusty and dirty…I temporarily empty them out and run them through my dishwasher to get clean.
Extra Tips
I use primarily acrylic craft paint in my projects. I purchased a rack that holds all of my acrylic paint bottles. This rack stores them in the proper position and allows to me quickly see the color that I need. It’s a tower that utilizes vertical storage space. It spins around, so I can get the color that I need. If you’re limited on space and want something that is easy to move from one place to another…I recommend picking up a Spinning Tower for Acrylic Paint Bottle Storage. I got my from Amazon.
This tips should get you started if you’re just dabbling your feet into the world of painting…especially if you’re doing it for your craft projects. I’m sure professional artists go about it a different way. With that said, I’ve been using these methods for the past five years with success.
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