Typically you wipe down with an oil based product , paint thinner, so as to not raise the grain and to remove any dust. Paint thinner or better yet mineral spirits will evaporate relatively quickly and then you can use what ever product you want.
Typically you want to clean oil based products out of a brush with paint thinner and or mineral spirits. You can clean out that solvent with water and a cleaner that breaks down oil such as dish soap that cuts the grease on your dishes.
When I work with oil bases stains I clean my hands afterwards with paint thinner and then wash my hands with an automotive type hand cleaner, that removes the paint thinner.
But that is an extremely slow process to start with. Better to use a quick solution, clean the brushes with oil based solvents and once the brushes are clean wash the solvent out with a grease cutting soap like dish soap. Or let the solvent evaporate naturally if you are not going to use the brush for a period of time.
I'd much prefer to paint with oil based as clean up is much faster using oil based solvents than with water based products and cleaning up with soap and water. I have lots and lots and lots of practice. ;~)
This is what I just said, except that you should wipe off the bulk of the paint on newspaper and keep the use of solvents to the minimum. You do not want to be using water last as this will take longer to dry, and speed the rusting of the metal bands and nails of many brushes.
Incidentally, whilst finally drying, roll the brushes up in strips of newspaper, held on with rubber bands. That keeps all the hairs together for next time.
There is always a temptation to do this, but you are damaging the protective surface of your skin and quite likely to become sensitised and be stuck with the dermatitis, discussed here recently.
S
Agreed, except that in *UK* DIY 'mineral spirits' is White Spirit.
S
You might want to hold the use of solvents to a minimum but after painting all day long I don't want to spend 15 more minutes cleaning the brushes.
Additionally, I have never had a brush rust then again I buy the more expensive brushes ..and a few of my brushes are not of this millenium.
No need, at least with a good brush..
Possibly but I suspect that paint or varnish on my hands for a much longer period of time is worse. I normally have thinner on my hands for 10-15 seconds, that is all it takes. After painting 20-25 homes in the last 12 years and using this method of cleaning I have not had any problems. This has been my practice for 30 or so years with stains. I try now to wear synthetic gloves to speed clean up even more but you always get something on you.
Is that the stuff that turns thick and milky? I threw out half a gallon because of that. The first quart I poured out of the gallon was clear as was the rest of the container, a few months later it was useless. I mistakenly got the Environmentally safe crap the last time I bought.
You are one of the lucky ones. I last worked in a lab maybe 30 years ago, and I still can't touch greases or solvents without coming out in a rash. I'm allergic to the gloves too...
We are here to advise others: not to say what we have got away with and invite others to do the same.
S
Perhaps, but I don't know any one that has had a problem doing the same.... I was not the first and I learned it from others.
Advising is what I have done... But if you are prone to be sensitive to the product, common sence would tell you to use another method.
Getting a bit deja vu here as we went into this just a little while ago. 'White Spirit' is just a distillation fraction and can contain a range of different solvents that distil in that range. A lot of it is also concocted out of recycled solvents, and it can end up with quite a bit of water in. I used to have to test drums of the stuff for use in various printing industry solutions. Our stock buyers were always looking for the cheapest sources, and this could mean drums with several inches of rusty water in the bottom, and any amount of other goo, and quite a wide range of acidity. If it is only being bottled up for cleaning paint brushes, it doesn't have to be anything special and may indeed be saturated with water and turn cloudy when you go to use it. Also, if you use it and then pour it back in the bottle, some thixotropic modern paints are very good a gelifying in surprisingly dilute solution.
S
The trouble being you only get one chance to find out and you may regret it for the rest of your life.
S
If you care to mooch round B&Q with a magnifying glass reading the instructions on cans of paint, ..... No, well, can't say I blame you :-)
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