how do you clean oil painting brushes ?

Question

its my first time painting with oil painting ...dame... it takes to long to dry and esp.the paint just sticks on the brushes, and never comes off..at first i was trying to use water to clean them (lol) but it did not work out..so is there any thing that i clean oil brushes with?'
thanks

Answer 1

turpentine or paint thinner..also dip them into linseed oil to keep the harsh cleaner from destroying the brushes...you should try acrylics if you don't have patience for long drying times.. oil's are a hard paint to master if you don't know how to take advantage of the long drying time....that's there for a very good reason...to achieve effects during the slow process of drying that you can't do with other mediums...

Answer 2

Oil paint will not come off with just water. You need to soak your brushes in paint remover or turpentine made special for removing oil based paints. When the paint is all removed then roll up into an old rag and wring the brushes almost dry. Now put into another container like a plastic throw away cup with a little turpentine again and do the same thing to make sure the brushes are totally cleaned from any remaining paint. Wrap again into an old rag or paper towels and wring the bristles out again. This will make and keep the paint brushes ready to use again for oil painting. I always take a nice piece of white paper and wrap it around the brush and put a piece of scotch tape around to hold the paper in place. I do this to store the brushes when not in use and it keeps them clean and perfect condition free from dust.

Answer 3

House painters use mineral spirits to clean oil paint from brushes. With a 3" wide brush, put a cup or two of mineral spirits in a can, then chug the brush up and down in it, sling out the spirits from the brush, replace the spirits, and repeat. Three or four times is usually enough. It's much easier if you're using small brushes with picture painting and will take a lot less spirits. Then wipe with paper towel or rag.

Latex paint can be removed with water or soapy water, although you'll use much more water and have to change it many more times to get all that paint out of the brush.

LATEX vs. OIL PAINT:
Latex paint beats oil in every respect but one: with house painting, a stain blocking coat of primer works best if it is oil based. (You can then paint latex over it, but you can't paint latex over oil based paint).

Latex paint, being plastic, is flexible and doesn't dry out and crack like oil paint. It holds its color and finish (gloss or semi-gloss) better over time, and is less susceptible to mildew and other fungal growth. Oil paint, which is made with pressed seed oils, not petroleum ones, is actually food for mildew!

I've painted houses for eight years and researched oil vs. latex on the web.

Answer 4

what i do to clean the brushes is to first swirl them around in some oil paint thinner and then use soap on them. you can buy special oil paint brush soap or i just use regular bar soap. it is easiest if you lather the soap on your hand and use your fingers and your palm to remove the paint from the brush. it usually takes a few times to remove it all but it works.

Answer 5

either turpintine, or if you are dirt poor gasoline works. Both are highly flamable so be cautious.