Achieving a professional-quality finish with a do-it-yourself paint job is more difficult than it looks, especially if old, brittle rollers or paintbrushes are being used. The quality of your next project depends in large part on properly cleaning and storing your tools after current use. The following easy steps for preserving paintbrushes and rollers can ensure that you can use them again without impeding the success of your next paint project.
Step One: Remove Paint
There are wrong ways and right ways to remove paint from brushes and rollers. For example, you can harm paintbrush bristles if you soak the brushes in water. The correct approach is to first remove excess paint in either of the following ways:
- Run bristles along the paint can lip, or
- Use old clothes or newspaper to wipe away the excess paint.
Next, follow paint manufacturer’s instructions for removing paint from your rollers and paintbrushes. The following are standard cleaning methods used by pros for removing water-based or oil-based paint.
Oil-Based Paint
A solvent must be used to clean oil-based paint from your paintbrushes and rollers. Examples of appropriate cleaning agents include denatured alcohol and mineral spirits. The best policy, however, is to refer to the paint manufacturer’s instructions to find out which solvent is recommended. Once you have a container of solvent, wear protective rubber gloves and immerse the roller or brush. Use your hands to work in the solvent. It may be necessary to refresh the mixture before all the paint is removed.
Water-Based Paint
A mixture of soap and warm water is most effective for removing water-based paint. To prevent your hands from being stained, wear rubber gloves. Because a sink can possibly become stained, as well, it’s best to do the cleaning in another container, such as a paint tray. Begin the process by working the soapy water into the brush or roller with your hands. Apply a quick rinse occasionally and continue the process until the brush is paint-free.
Step Two: Rinse
After all paint has been removed from rollers and brushes, rinse under a faucet or water hose. Spend several minutes rinsing each because it’s essential to remove all solvent or soapy residue. Once finished, move paintbrush bristles to their original shape to be sure they dry that way.
Step Three: Dry
For the drying process, begin by shaking the rollers and brushes to remove water as much as you can. Next, pat dry using a towel or dry cloth. At this point, you can store cleaned brushes. Rollers should be fully dry before being stored, however. Don’t dry a roller inside of a container because it can alter the shape. Hang rollers on dowels until dry, which may be only a few hours.
Step Four: Trim ragged edges off of your paint roller. This will prevent leaving unsightly tracks next time you paint.
Step Five: Brushes are best stored vertically with bristles upward because it helps to prevent curling. Do not store brushes bristles-down in a container because bending bristles ruins a paintbrush. Rollers tend to attract lint and dust particles, which isn’t an issue with brushes. Store paint rollers inside a plastic bag after being cleaned and fully dried.
Call Paint Pros at Franklin Painting
For any type of professional paint job you may need, large or small, call the experts at Franklin Painting. We never contract out our work. You can depend on a skilled team of paint professionals delivering workmanship of the highest quality when Franklin Painting handles your interior and exterior painting projects. Call us at 877-646-7774 today.
Frank Campanelli, the esteemed founder of Franklin Painting LLC, has been leading the company since 1986. He takes immense pride in the stellar reputation his dedicated team has built by consistently delivering top-notch service to each customer.
