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Brush Cleaning Disaster

8/1/2013

9 Comments

 
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.
Picture
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.
9 Comments
Lorraine
8/1/2013 10:23:18 am

Wow, and to think a lot of people recommend using W&N brush cleaner to remove faceups from BJDs. I would definitely think twice about putting a precious doll faceplate into that stuff. Was there an expiration date on the bottle? Maybe the really old stuff is lethal.

Reply
Martha
8/1/2013 10:38:25 am

No expiry date.

I expect it works really well removing paint off dolls, as it sure removed the paint off my brushes. I guess I didn't read the instructions far enough - the text is ever so tiny - it says "not recommended for painted or varnished surfaces" - which would be the brush handles. Duhh!!! But I wouldn't have realized that applied to the brush handles even if I'd read it beforehand. I was totally thinking dried-in paint between the brush hairs.

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Charie Wilson
8/1/2013 05:10:45 pm

Yikes
That would break my heart seeing my brushes like that. Sure glade I was never tempted to try that stuff. I will stick to my old brush cleaner. I am glad you shared this because I probably would have done the same thing thinking if its for brushes it won't hurt them. I feel for you and your poor brushes.
Hugs Charie

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Martha
8/1/2013 10:05:21 pm

It never even occurred to me that it would affect the brush handles. And this is how they looked AFTER I cleaned them up! When I first took them out of the jar, and they were one big sticky mess, I was too upset to even think of taking a photo.

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Laura J. Underwood link
8/3/2013 02:15:10 am

It won't hurt the hairs of the brush, or the metal part. It does eat the paint off art brushes. I have used various products for brush cleaning over the years and discovered they all do the same thing. They eat the shellac that covers the painted surface (which is what leads to the sticky gluey mess) and then the paint. Been there, done that. It is why all my paint brushes are missing about an inch or two of paint and varnish.

Reply
Martha
8/6/2013 09:37:10 am

That certainly explains my mess! So if I try the brush cleaner again I won't run into the same issue again since the bottoms of my brush handles are pretty much bare now.

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Tina link
8/4/2013 09:48:51 am

I just stumbled onto your tutorial section and was relishing in all the beautiful sewing when I figured 'why not read the blog too' and I saw the misery of your brushes. The next time you forget to clean up acrylics, use isopryl alcohol (the kind you can get at Wally-World is just fine). Pour enough into your glass container to cover your brushes halfway, let soak overnight, then wash with soap and water and let dry. If the brushes fray a little from the handling, a drop of regular hair conditioner can help you finger-shape the tips. None of this should hurt your brushes (it's never hurt mine and I've made messes with all kinds of brushes!).

Reply
Martha
8/6/2013 09:39:28 am

I've never let a brush dry with paint still on it, but paint does end up worked into the top of the bristles so I was trying to see if I could remove that and make my brushes "good as new". Maybe what they really needed was hair conditioner. Thanks for the tip.

Reply
Nicole
8/20/2013 03:10:44 am

You can give the handles a good sanding and coat them in polyurethane (or a similar sealant) and while they wont be pretty they also wont feel terribly to use.
It still is a shame since they were all your good brushes!

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    Martha Boers is an award-winning Canadian doll maker and costumer specializing in fantasy and historical-style costumes.
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