Your brushes are the unsung heroes of your studio, always dipping, scrubbing, pushing, and swirling pigment around. They put up with a lot. Which is why, as an artist, taking care of your brushes means they’ll take care of you. A little maintenance now = brushes that last longer, perform better, and make painting less of a battle with frayed bristles.
At Art Supply Center, we stock a ton of brushes, everything from everyday workhorses to imported treasures, and we love nerding out about how to clean and care for them. So let’s talk brush TLC.
Everyday Brush Cleaning Basics
- Rinse often while painting. Don’t let paint dry in your bristles, it’s the number one brush killer.
- Use cool to lukewarm water, not hot. Hot water can loosen glue in the ferrule (the metal bit that holds the bristles).
- Work gently. Don’t mash your brush against the bottom of the jar, swirl and swoosh instead.
- Shape after cleaning. Once clean, reshape the bristles with your fingers and let brushes dry flat or bristles-down (never standing on their heads).
Brush-Specific Resources We Love
We carry brushes from a bunch of fantastic brands, many of which also provide free guides, tips, and videos:
- Rosemary & Co – We import these beauties, and they have some great videos on caring for natural and synthetic brushes.
- Princeton Brushes – Their website is full of brush care demos and techniques.
- Royal Brush – They offer classroom guides with cleaning tips, perfect for teachers or anyone supplying group studios.
Cleaner & Conditioner Heroes
The MVP of brush cleaning? The Masters Brush Cleaner by General Pencil. It’s basically soap and conditioner for your brushes in one.
For oil painters, both Gamblin and M. Graham (two of our favorite local, globally loved paint companies) offer detailed brush cleaning advice to keep your tools safe while also using solvent alternatives that are easier on your studio (and your lungs).
Extra Nerdy Tips
- Studio Cleaning: Keep two jars of water for acrylics (one for the first rinse, one for a cleaner final dip). It keeps your colors brighter and saves you from that mysterious brown sludge water.
- Brush Reshaping: If bristles splay, reshape them while damp and wrap in paper to dry. They’ll often snap back to a tidy point.
- Deep Cleaning: Give your brushes a “spa day” once in a while with Masters Cleaner or another brush conditioner to coax out hidden pigment. They’ll thank you with smoother strokes.
- Separate Roles: Don’t cross the streams. Keep brushes dedicated to their medium: watercolor brushes don’t want to live in oil paint, and oil brushes don’t belong in gouache.
- Tools of the Trade: Cleaning isn’t just about soap and water, it’s also about what you clean in. We carry Silicoil jars, which are basically brush spas in a glass. They have a coiled metal insert that lets you gently scrub pigment out of bristles without damaging them, and they keep sediment at the bottom so your rinse water stays cleaner longer. (Translation: less mess, more painting.)
Why Brush Care Matters
Brushes are tools, yes, but they’re also investments in your practice. Taking ten minutes to clean and shape them after a session can mean years of use instead of weeks. And honestly? There’s something kind of zen about washing paint out of bristles and reshaping them—it’s a ritual that helps you wrap up studio time with care.
Come see us at Art Supply Center and let us help you build the perfect brush care routine. Whether you’re brand new to painting or you’ve got a studio full of seasoned tools, we’ll walk you through what to use, how to clean, and which tools will make your life easier. Bring your brush questions, your horror stories, and your favorite wins — we’re here to nerd out with you and make sure your brushes live their best lives.
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