paint brush freshness

hi
i am going painting and varnishing a lot of timber soon using oil based producst. does anyone know any way to keep the brushes fresh to enable them for use every day without washing them?? it will be the same colour every day on them obviously

thanks

I'll share my number one tips with you! At the end any painting session (only works with oil based products of course) I wrap the brush in a plastic bag or cling film and put it in the freezer compartment. This prevents evaporation of the volatile chemicals so effectively the brush can't dry out. When you want to re-use the brush, remove the wrapper and allow the brush to "warm" slightly. This works for an indefinite period and is very useful. When you are finished painting, clean the brushes in the normal way and rub a little hair conditioner (cheapest stuff you can get!) into the bristles to condition the brush. This is very effective and helps to prolong the life of your brushes.

Use a container filled with white spirits and put your brushes in that. Keep all your oil based paintin brushes in one container and varnish brushes in another container.

+1 to Carpenter above.

I used to work for a very high end artist in NY, using the finest squirrel hair brushes, very delicate, and the freezer compartment is what we would do. Leaving brushes in a jar of white spirits will only damage the fibres of the brushes, causing them to lose their compactness and leaving you picking loose brush hairs out of paint.

Also, try and use the best quality brushes you can afford, even for just painting trim, anything else is false economy.

-Delia Quad

so thats the freezer and not the fridge???

If you are using them every day then cling film or tinfoil will be fine.

and do you mean wrap the plastic bag around the brush or put it into the bag

Tightly wrapped clingfilm is the best. I have also seen a professional painter and decorator simply put them in water overnight (water won't mix with the oil paint) and simply shake the water out the next morning. Clingfilm's better though!

oopsbuddy said:

Tightly wrapped clingfilm is the best. I have also seen a professional painter and decorator simply put them in water overnight (water won't mix with the oil paint) and simply shake the water out the next morning. Clingfilm's better though!

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*if* you want to do the water thing, its best to suspend the brush so the bristles don't touch the bottom of the container, or the brush may end up misshapen. Also, there is a danger of some of the oil and water reacting to form a skin of emulsion, which will ruin your oil paint when you go to use it. Wrapping in plastic bag (or cling film) and freezer is best, but try not to wrap so tight you misshape the bristles.

The water option is really only for overnight use, eg, if painting into the evening and starting again in the morning, and even then, really only for rougher painting jobs, eg, outside stuff. Surprisingly effective though! Clingfilm is better!