If the paint has been on a super long time throw the brushes away. Otherwise Dawn dish detergent - then hang them suspended by a wire through the handle in a can of liquid fabric softener full strength
Dawn is quite good. Soak in hot water with lots of dawn put the dawn directly on all over the brush work it in. Also do soak it over night in fabric softener. Good luck!
That's true Peace- but I am such a cheapskate. Unless I am painting good trim or something I do still use my old beat up brushes- especially for my shabby chic creations that are distressed paint. Waste not, want not. :) I also recycle paint and do bucket mixes of paint so I don't have to buy any. I am SO CHEAP!
no...there was something...a brush restorer I used previously but I must have bought it 10 years ago and now can't find it. Has to be something that works.
No not yet....have one soaking in Dawn and some other in various concoctions I have created. Somehow we forgot a whole bunch of brushes in one of the trucks....ahh the life of HandyANDY!
I found an old can of Crown brush cleaner.....I soaked a bunch of brushes yesterday that we sitting around for quite a bit. It cleaned all of them except for one...which I will use for oil-based primer and toss. I was able to paint with a couple of them today and they are holding paint just fine. Not sure if I can still buy the crown brush cleaner....will check and let you know!
One way to prevent brushes from hardening up, if you have to abandon the job for a bit with no time to clean them, is to wrap them in Suran Wrap and throw them in the freezer. Thaw them back out and continue painting or clean when you get time. I have also put hardened brushes in a pan of boiling water to clean them back up.
Perhaps using paint stripper will give you back a brush you can use as a primer brush.
CP
Paint Brushes, To Clean- Suspend the brush in
a vessel containing a solution of 1 part washing
soda, dissolved in 3 parts water. Do not immerse
the butt of the brush in the solution. Allow to re- ...»
main in the solution several hours. The paint will
become so soft as to be readily washed out wilh soap
and water, no matter how hard it has become.
Kerosene oil is an excellent medium in which
to clean brushes which have been used in paint, or
varnish. Also to keep brushes soft, immerse the
bristles in this liquid. The bristles will remain
soft and pliable, whereas, benzine used for the
same purpose tends to make them harsh.