How to Clean Acrylic Paint Brushes?

Those who work with acrylic paint know how important it is to clean your brushes after use. Cleaning lets you bring your brushes back to a pristine state, while also prolonging their lifespans.

Moreover, a thorough cleaning job minimizes the possibility of accidentally mixing colors.

Because cleaning your acrylic paint brushes is clearly very important, you want to make sure that you do it properly and effectively.

If you are using acrylic paints, you might be wondering how you can efficiently clean your stained brushes. This article talks about removing acrylic paint from your brush.

But before we proceed with that, it is important to know what exactly acrylic paint is. Ready to start? Read on…

Characteristics of Acrylic Paint

When talking about the characteristics of acrylic paint, it is best to first find out what it is made of.

This synthetic paint consists of plastic acrylic resin mixed in water.

This is called acrylic polymer emulsion.

The paint gets its color from a concentrated pigment combined into the mixture. After blending, the concoction is left to rest, which allows the water to evaporate and lets the resin particles merge, leaving behind acrylic paint.

Because of its composition, you can expect this material to be hardwearing when dried.

In fact, the pigment can be permanent once it sets in a well-ventilated space. It is a recommended material for porous, non-porous, and even outdoor surfaces.

This is because it has the ability to expand and contract according to temperature. This is what makes it a strong paint.

Best Uses for Acrylic Paint

Being a hardwearing paint even when exposed to the elements, acrylic is best used for outdoor projects such as exterior murals.

It is known for its lightfastness and resistance to changing weather. Because it clings to porous and non-porous materials, you can use it on metal, stone, or cement surfaces.

It may not work as well on plastics, but you can always use a primer before applying acrylic to ensure that the paint will stick to the plastic material.

With the durability exhibited by acrylics, you will realize how important it is to clean your brushes after using them.

To know how to properly clean acrylic brushes, keep reading…

How to Clean Acrylic Paint Brushes

This kind of paint is easy to remove, as long as you do not let it dry on the brush. There are several ways to clean your materials.

The first is with the use of water and a rag.

• What you need to do is to wipe away the remaining paint onto the rag until the color runs out. This lets you minimize excess pigments when washing it with water.
• After this, dip the brush in a cup of water.
• If the water changes color, you should repeat the process. If not, you can now remove excess water and store it.

If wiping and washing with water fail to do the trick, then you can use soap and water.

• Just rinse the brush in warm water.
• Use your fingers to squeeze the brush and remove the paint.
• Once this is done, you can place gentle or painter’s soap onto the bristles.
• Make sure to massage the soap into the inner parts to thoroughly clean the brush.
• Rinse out the soap and place some more into your palm.
• Massage the bristles directly on your palm to help loosen any excess paint.
• After this, you can rinse and dry your brush.

You can also use paint lacquer thinner to loosen partially dried paint. This lets you get out clumps that are half-hardened. Using thinner is a great way to clean hard-to-remove paints.

Taking Care of Your Acrylic Brushes

To further preserve your brushes, take better care of them. Aside from cleaning them after every use, you should also know how to store them properly after washing.

The best way to do this is by wiping the bristles before storing them.

Then, make sure to give the brushes room to dry out completely. You can store them upright in a cup or holder to expose the bristles to the air, allowing them to dry fully before placing them into a brush case.

While painting, you want to make sure that you wet each brush periodically if you are using more than one. This prevents the paint from hardening as you use one brush while the other rests.

Moreover, make sure to dip only the bristles in the paint.

Avoid dipping the metal part or the ferrule because when paint gets into its crevices it is hard to remove. This can also cause other problems, especially when you accidentally mix colors because of improper dipping.

The Bottom Line

Making sure that your brushes are clean after every use is one of the most important steps in taking care of your tools.

With this simple guide, you now know how you can optimally use, and clean your acrylic paint brushes.