Brush soap. It's not the most scintillating topic is it? Hardly as exciting as the latest new and shiny must-have toys.
Then again, good brushes aren't cheap, so why wouldn't I want to keep them in good shape? Money saved on buying brushes means more for figures or rules. Actually, I've always thought that I do take pretty good care of my brushes. I try to keep paint away from the ferrule (well, mostly), don't leave them standing in the water pot, only use worn old brushes for mixing paint and dry brushing, clean them well after use... all good habits.
Then again, there's clean and there's clean.
On a whim, I ordered a pot of Original B&J "The Masters" Brush Cleaner and Preserver. Lots of folks seem to swear by it. I was curious.
The blurb on the pot claims that it cleans "Oil Paint, Watercolor, Acrylic and Stains" and that it will shape and condition brush bristles. Sounds handy, methinks.
First off, it smells quite pleasant. Mmm...a slightly citrus fragrance I think. This is hardly of any great importance (I'm not going to be taking this into the shower), but at least it doesn't give off a repellently pungent chemical odour.
More importantly, is it any good?
Here's the subject of my test. An old brush that has been relegated to paint mixing duties. It's looking a bit tatty now, but I think I've kept the bristles pretty clean.
...and gave it a wipe to remove the soap.
I repeated this several times and the dirt kept coming off. This brush was dirtier than I thought!
Better still, after this treatment the bristles regained some shape. It is an old brush, so no amount of cleaning is ever going to restore full 'body', but now it does hold a point.
I've only tried cleaning brushes that have been used with acrylic paint so it remains to be seen how "The Masters" handles other media, but first impressions are good. Value-wise I have no complaints either. For the price of a decent sable brush I've just extended the life and usefulness of my existing brushes. Original B&J "The Masters" Brush Cleaner and Preserver now has a permanent home on my painting desk. Recommended.
After a rinse in warm water, I worked the soap into the bristles to get a good lather...
I repeated this several times and the dirt kept coming off. This brush was dirtier than I thought!
Better still, after this treatment the bristles regained some shape. It is an old brush, so no amount of cleaning is ever going to restore full 'body', but now it does hold a point.
I've only tried cleaning brushes that have been used with acrylic paint so it remains to be seen how "The Masters" handles other media, but first impressions are good. Value-wise I have no complaints either. For the price of a decent sable brush I've just extended the life and usefulness of my existing brushes. Original B&J "The Masters" Brush Cleaner and Preserver now has a permanent home on my painting desk. Recommended.
