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Proper maintenance of your paint brushes and rollers will not only make them last longer, it’ll also give you better finish on your paint job. Here’s how you look after yours.
Cleaning your brushes
For acrylic paints, which are water based, wash your paint brushes as soon as you’ve finished for the day. Scrape off as much paint as you can into the paint tin then wash out the brush in a bucket of water. Massage the bristles to remove paint from where they meet the handle. Give it a final rinse over the grass before putting away.
With oil based paints, wash around in a small container of turps. Work the turps into the base of a brush to remove paint up there. Follow with another quick rinse in a separate container of fresh turps before washing in warm soapy water.
Washing out your rollers
For all paint types, a roller ring is the tool to start with. Slide it over the roller and scrape it down the sides while you’re holding the roller over the tray. You’ll be amazed at how much paint comes out!
For acrylic paints, rinse in a bucket of water, squeezing to remove most of the paint. Next up is a roller cleaner. It’s a tube that you slide the roller into and connect the to a garden hose. The concentrated jet of water quickly washes out the roller. Run it over a bucket to collect the waste water. Sit on end to dry.
Rollers with oil-based paints are harder to clean, as you’ll need turps. A good trick is to buy a roller that comes with it’s own plastic storage container. Pop the roller in the container with some turps and give it a shake. Pour out this turps into a container and repeat to fully clean the roller. Finish by washing in warm soapy water. Shake out the excess water and sit on end to dry.
Storage
Store brushes on their side or hanging from a hook (that’s what the hole on the end is for!) Never store brushes sitting on their bristles as this will make them go out of shape and be harder to use next time.
Store rollers sitting on their ends. Storing them horizontally will cause a flat spot to form on the roller, which will show through in the finish when you next use it.
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