Guys I have a question.
What do you keep thinner in for cleaning brushes? When I leave it in a container to long, use it to much it starts to get sediment at the bottom and stays to muddy and doesnt clean, should I just empty it more often?
I keep cleaning thinner in a glass bottle with a fairly wide mouth. When I use it I poor a small amount in a glass cup. When I’m done, I poor the remaining thinner back in the bottle. The sediment settles to the bottom. When the bottle gets so low that I can’t poor out fairly clean thinner, I dump it in a metal bowl. Then I wipe out the bottle and the bowl with a rag and put the rag in the sun to evaporate the thinner. Then I put fresh thinner in the bottle and start all over. I always give my brushes a final wash with dish soap and running water. When cleaning an airbrush, I give it a final spray with some really clean thinner.
Don
Yep, you do have to empty and clean it frequently.
I keep some in a baby food jar. I have a big hole cut in the lid. There is a hinged cover soldered to the top, with a tab on the little cover so I can just flick it with the brush to open it. When I am done painting I close this little cover. Cuts down the evaporation when not painting, yet easy to dip brush in when I AM painting.
I have two Silicoil jars. One for acrylic filled with a windex/simple green mix and one for enamel filled with paint thinner. The sediment sinks to the bottom, and does not get stirred up because you clean the brush by dragging it across the top of the “spring.” http://www.dickblick.com/products/silicoil-brush-cleaning-tank/?wmcp=google&wmcid=products&wmckw=06909-1005
I have a small jar about the size of a baby food jar. It has a lid that seals well so I don’t get the fumes in the room, when not in use. I wipe the brush with a tissue to remove as much paint as possible then I dip the brush into the thinner and wipe it with a tissue. I repeat this until most of the paint has been removed from the brush. Then I put the brush in the thinner and twirl it against the side of the jar. this removes the rest of the paint and the brush is very clean. This keeps the thinner in the jar clean a much longer period of time. You will eventually have to clean the sediment out of the jar but not near as often.
Hey CuriousG, thats the kind of thing I was looking for. I was actually going to try and put mesh into a jar and see if it works.