I was having a problem with my fine brushes getting out of wack. The bristles would get all loose and couldn’t handle the fine detail work any more. I tried egg whites and soap to keep them stiff, but nothing seemed to work… That is until I picked up a bottle of Gum Arabic at the art store. Now I dip them in it after they’re washed and when they dry they’re as good as new. I know this is probably old hat to some of you guys, but if you haven’t tried it, give it a shot.
~ Garth
I use “The Master’s Brush Cleaner” which is a hard cake soap that you rub the paintbrush on after wetting it. You can leave the dried soap on the bristles to keep their shape and then just clean it off before painting.
This is great stuff!
Mike
Yeah, that stuff is awesome[:)] I use that to clean my brushes when nothing else seems to get the paint out and I don’t want to risk using something that may hurt the bristles. It even seems to be good to recondition old brushes that I thought couldn’t be recovered.
The thing I like about the Gum Arabic is that it makes the brushes hard again like when I bought them in addition to reshaping. I have a hard time doing fine detail with 10/0 - 0 unless they have a bit of stiffness to them.
~ Garth
Head out to Harbor freight and pick up a $29 ultra sonic cleaner works great for acrylics and good for enamels after they have been cleaned in thinner. and to tell the truth when my brushes are cleaned and ready to put away I just stick em in my mouth and just twist and pull! works every time and I have not replaced a fine tip brush in 10 years.
Mike
Grummbacher makes much the same thing, marketing it as Grummbacher’s Brush Soap. Works great and I figure the 1 pint jar I bought several years ago for 5 bucks at an artist’s supply store will last me a good 20 years. I recommend it as a good investment given the price of a good paint brush these days.
i usually dip it in diluted glue and it seems to work for me