What's a good product to use to clean hardened paint brushes that were used with Latex paints?
+7
10 answers
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There used to be a hardened brush cleaner but I can't find it anywhere...I'll try Dawn.
HandyANDY - Handyman & All Repairs, LLC
on May 29, 2012
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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!
Kelly F
on May 29, 2012
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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!
Kelly F
on May 29, 2012
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or Resourceful. We do get as much use out of our 'Ol Soldier' brushes as the new ones. CP
Peace Painting Co., Inc.
on May 29, 2012
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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.
HandyANDY - Handyman & All Repairs, LLC
on May 29, 2012
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Have you tried soaking in fabric softener?
Kelly F
on May 30, 2012
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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!
HandyANDY - Handyman & All Repairs, LLC
on May 30, 2012
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Great! Don't forget the fabric softener. LOL
Kelly F
on May 30, 2012
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Okay- here's some formulae/information from early 1900's. 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.
Kelly F
on May 30, 2012
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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.
Therese C
on Jun 03, 2012
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