I finished painting and varnishing my watermelons last night, so this morning when I was cleaning everything up and putting everything away, I though maybe it was time to finally use that brush cleaner I bought several years ago. I thought I'd start with my best brushes, since they needed the least work, so poured some of the Winsor & Newton Brush Cleaner and Restorer into a glass jar - about an inch - and put in all the brushes. The instructions on the bottle said to remove acrylic paint I'd need to soak the brushes for several hours. So I covered everything with plastic - in case there were any fumes - and went to finish knitting my doll hat.
When I came back a few hours later, the brush cleaner had "wicked" it's way up the brushes and had started dissolving the paint on the handles. It was one giant sticky mess of bubbling paint, with all my nice brushes stuck together into one big mass. My Stevenson brand brushes were the worst affected and the blue handle paint was everywhere. What a giant mess!! I managed to pull all the brushes apart, getting blue paint-covered hands and arms in the process. Then taking the entire roll of paper towels, I took the brushes and cleaner out on the porch and spent the next couple of hours meticulously cleaning up my brush handles. I poured the last dirty liquid into the back of my garden - I wasn't going to put it back in the bottle or pour it down the drain.
Now my "good" brushes look like this.....maybe it's time to buy some new "good" ones.
When I came back a few hours later, the brush cleaner had "wicked" it's way up the brushes and had started dissolving the paint on the handles. It was one giant sticky mess of bubbling paint, with all my nice brushes stuck together into one big mass. My Stevenson brand brushes were the worst affected and the blue handle paint was everywhere. What a giant mess!! I managed to pull all the brushes apart, getting blue paint-covered hands and arms in the process. Then taking the entire roll of paper towels, I took the brushes and cleaner out on the porch and spent the next couple of hours meticulously cleaning up my brush handles. I poured the last dirty liquid into the back of my garden - I wasn't going to put it back in the bottle or pour it down the drain.
Now my "good" brushes look like this.....maybe it's time to buy some new "good" ones.
I don't think the brush cleaner and restorer did much of anything for the actual bristle part of the brushes, but it sure made a mess of all the handles - and I wasted my whole afternoon trying to clean everything up. I sure won't be doing that again! Forget trying to clean and restore brushes - I'll just buy new ones when I need them! With that brand new Michaels store about to open mere minutes from my home, here's another thing those 40% off coupons might be good for.
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