Cleaning your Painting tools

It’s a dirty job but somebody has got to do it, and if you were the one painting, that someone is probably you.

Why is it necessary?

One of the least liked parts of taking on a home painting renovation is the part where you need to clean your tools. There are lots of one time use tools you can just throw away after one use, and maybe that’s the right choice for you.

But, chances are if you are doing a paint renovation it is in your house, and as we all know house renovations don’t ever stop, they just change location.

A quality painting tool will come in handy and save you money, rather than continually running to the store to buy and then throw away single use brushes and rollers.

Ask any professional painter why they use high quality painting tools and you will find out its not just because they will be using it again, but because it provides the highest quality application of paint.

When done correctly, a quality brush like that available from SREAL can last for years.

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Cleaning the brush

Between the main two elements to be cleaned after a paint job, brushes and roller covers, the paint brush is probably viewed as the easier of the two. Here are the steps to cleaning a brush. The better they are carried out the longer the life you can expect from your brush.

Wipe the brush on a rag or paper towel to remove as much paint as possible. Getting rid of the excess paint makes the job of cleaning your brush a lot easier.

Choosing the proper solvent is very helpful to make sure your brush is cleaned thoroughly without damage.

Rinse the brush in the appropriate solvent. It's okay to use the dirty solvent from your painting session. Pour it into a bowl or bucket and gently run your brush back and forth through it. Wipe it along the sides and bottom of the container as well. Here are your solvent choices: Use mineral spirits for most oil-based paints.Use water for water-based paints like acrylic, watercolor, latex, and also most white glues and wood glues.Use denatured alcohol for shellac.Check the product's label if you're not sure what kind of paint you have. It will contain instructions for what solvent to use.

When the brush is clean, shake or blot out the extra water. Reshape the bristles to the correct form, then store the brush upright in a container so that the bristles are not deformed when dry.

Wipe the brush again with a rag to remove any remaining solvent. You may skip this step if the solvent is water.

Rinse the brush under running water. You may want to rub the bristles of the brush between your fingers, rinsing all the way to the base of bristles.

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Never store your brushes 
vertically in water or solvent.

There are a few good reasons not to do this. The pressure on the brush can permanently misshape the bristles, bending them or spreading them out so they no longer come to a point. If they are left too long to rest on the bristles, most brushes will never regain their original shape.

Roller covers can be a bit trickier to clean. Follow the step by step process in the following slides to ensure the longevity of you roller cover.

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Cleaning your roller covers

Rollers are cleaned differently than brushes. Depending on the paint you’ve used, you’ll have to choose an appropriate method to get the paint off.

Cleaning techniques will differ depending on whether you use a latex-based or oil-based paint. As long as you use the proper method, you should be able to completely clean your rollers.

Gather your materials: Latex gloves, a 5-in-1 tool, used roller cover and cage, paint container, paint solvent or mild liquid soap, newspaper, paper towels.

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