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Mastered in a Minute

Clean Oil-Based Finish From a Brush

Leaving paint on a brush can ruin it—here’s how to clean brushes the right way.

By Matthew Millham
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      In this Mastered in a Minute video associate editor Matthew Millham demonstrates the proper way to clean oil-based finishes from a paint brush.

      Cleaning oil-based finishes from a brush requires solvents and a little more time than water-based finishes.

      Pour about a quarter-inch of mineral spirits into a glass or plastic container. Then push the bristles into the liquid–fully wetting them up to the ferrule–and work the brush around to remove as much paint as you can.

      Then move the brush to a shallow container and use a wire brush to comb through the bristles–loosening the paint deep in the brush from both sides. Wring the brush out with a paper towel, bending the bristles back and forth to remove as much of the finish and solvent as you can.

      Finally, dump the sullied spirits into a waste container and wipe out the jar and the shallow container.

      Start the process over, repeating all the steps until the brush leaves almost no trace of paint when dipped in a fresh batch of mineral spirits. In this video, ours took three cycles.

      To finish, give the brush a final wring with a paper towel, shape the bristles back to their original form, and store the brush in its original sleeve.

      Previous: What’s the Difference: Painting Drop Cloths Next: Paint a Room Series: Cleaning Brushes and Rollers

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      View Comments

      1. user-7190666 | Feb 04, 2019 01:15pm | #1

        If you keep the can/jar of used mineral spirits around for a week or so, the paint solids will fall out and the clear mineral spirits rise to the top. This way, you can use the mineral spirits again as long as you don't stir it back up.

      2. Puppet2 | Feb 04, 2019 03:38pm | #2

        Excellent video

      3. johnnypineseed | Feb 04, 2019 04:41pm | #3

        Another way is to pour some solvent into a gallon container, wash the brush, spin it out into another container, and transfer back the solvent to the original, and the brush is clean and dry. The solvent can be saved for cleaning may times, then finally taken to an enviro recycling depot for proper disposal, This way any chance of the solvent making its way into the environment is eliminated.

      4. user-3976312 | Feb 04, 2019 09:44pm | #4

        So why do you transfer the first batch of solvent into a clean jar and then clean out the first jar for the next round? I just put the clean solvent in the clean jar and move on. As the comment above says, the paint settles out of the solvent in a short time,and then you can transfer that to the second jar ready for the next use, and wipe out the dirty jar .

        1. N8ofMaine | Nov 21, 2021 08:23am | #6

          i agree.

      5. kmpres | Feb 04, 2019 10:21pm | #5

        As a former cancer patient, this process has too many chemicals and jars for me to clean up afterwards. Since I'm trying to avoid as much chemical exposure as I can I tend to use only water based paints and urethanes and simply throw the brushes away in a plastic bag after each use. Yes it's a waste, but it's a lot cheaper than chemotherapy.

      6. N8ofMaine | Nov 21, 2021 08:25am | #7

        I recommend a nylon bristle brush. Metal bristled brushes get bent ends and will end up fraying your bristles; ruining the brush.

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      Painting

      Painting

      Everything you need to know to get the perfect finish, from choosing the right paint to applying the final coat

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      Intro to Painting
      • Painting Basics
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