Cleaning brushes after using "Weathershield"

[Roy]

Does anyone know how to clean brushes after using Dulux Weathershield?

Not having read the instructions, I first tried using white spirit which had no effect whatsoever.

I threw that brush away and read the instructions before I used the paint again. The instruction on the tin says "Wash the brush in water" so I tried cold water on the next brush but that had no effect either.

Hot water and "Sqeezy" removed some of the paint but not from inside the bristles. Strangely, washing the brush in white spirit then cleaned the brush, but surely there must be an easier way. Does anyone know what it is?

Thanks in advance.

Roy Sharples.

[Andy Hall]

You can use brush cleaner, but it really isn't worth it unless you were using really expensive ones. It's more cost effective to buy moderate quality brushes in bulk and bin them.

.andy

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[stuart noble]

Try hot water and washing up liquid. A lot of modern paints are water dispersible rather than water soluble i.e. they contain varying amounts of solvent to aid film formation.

[John Flax]

The can of Dulux Weathershield Undercoat that I am currently using recommends:

"Remove as much paint as possible from brushes and rollers before washing with water."

This worked for me once I realised that white spirit did not work and I read the instructions on the can. I assume that the U/C is acrylic based so don't wait too long.

The newest can of Weathershield Gloss suggests Brush Cleaner but an older one says White Spirit. I have always though brush cleaner was glorified white spirit.

[Paul Mc Cann]

snip

You can't possibly know what is cost effective for anyone unless you know their cost anaylsis basis.

I'm fed up reading this hoary old chestnut about using brushes once only before throwing them away

IMHO cheap brushes are an abomination and trying to do good work with them is well nigh impossible.

They shed hairs, hold no reasonable amout of paint and generally have characteristics incompatible with applying a good finish.

Personally I have brushes upwards of 15 years old.

I use brush cleaner, the bottle I have is now about 10 years old as it is reusable. Rinse well with water and spin the brush between one's palms to get it dry

It takes less than a few minutes to clean a brush and wrap it in paper before hanging it up for use the next time.

A plus to this procedure is that one is cleaning ones hands at the same time ;-)

The major plus is that I get to use good quality brushes and it is still cheaper than using some throwaway tat.

Disposable brushes are fine in their place but are not a panacea IMHO

Paul Mc Cann

[Andy Hall]

Which was why I related it to cheap brushes.

Not bad. Can you suggest a make/type that produces good results and is worth cleaning?

How is that achievable? By filtering or equivalent method, and which brand do you use?

I wouldn't disagree. My point was that there was no point in using cheap brushes and a fairly expensive chemical which is disposed to clean them.

.andy

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[Paul Mc Cann]

snip

When buying a brush I will pick one with a good ferrule, good length of bristle and plent of it. Grasping the tips of the bristle between the thumb and forefinger will assist with this.

Price is also a guide.

I have some old Harris brushes. Varian is another name that springs to mind. I also have some American artificial bristle ones I use for water based varnishes.

Trouble is, most manufactures also pander to the lower end of the market so names are not always a good guide.

I should also explain that I keep brushes for specific purposes. Ones for use with oil based varnishes, others for water based varnishes, and more for oil base paint finishes

Polyclens. No its not filtered just poured back into the bottle. the sediment drops to the bottom and,like decanting vintage port, it is left understurbed by careful handling .

snip

Point taken.

At one time I used white spirit followed by liberal application of Fairy Liquid to clean brushes, which could be tedious. then one had to dispose of the dirty white spirit. ( Into the bonfire accelerant bottle )

Coming across an old bottle of brush cleaner one day it struck me it would cut out the white spirit step at least and in fact it also cuts out the Fairy Liquid step.

The bulk of the residual paint should be first removed. I do that by laying the brush on a piece of paper and drawing the back of a knife blade from the base of the bristles to the tips. Once or twice on each side will extract what scraping on the edge of the tin, or paint kettle, has left behind.

Paul Mc Cann