Let's start at the beginning. First of all, grasping a paint brush correctly isn't hard. But there is usually a correct and incorrect way to do it. Many of us never hold it properly just because they donot understand how to do so. But if you learn how to hold a paint brush it can immediately improve your painting skills.
1. The design of the paint brush makes the art of holding one a lttle bit deceptive. Many people believe that grasping a brush the way that they do, is the proper method. It isn't always the proper way.
2. The problem with holding a brush incorrectly is that it makes it very tough to control your brush strokes. Also, your hand will get fatigued pretty quickly.
3. The proper way to hold your brush is to use the pencil grip. Although it isn't truly a pencil grip, think of grasping a paint brush the same as you would a pencil. Grab it toward the base with your index finger on top, middle finger on one side and your thumb on the other side.
4. Keep this method of grasping your brush in mind whenever you paint. You will gain control and just as important, you will gain hand stamina to finish the larger tasks.
Here is the method I prefer to go through when I clean my paint brushes:
Firstly, get some paint thinner, turpentine, or mineral spirits. Ideally you ought to you should have some on hand to mix with linseed stand oil. Pour a little bit of your thinner into a medium sized container which you can seal up afterward, you will be able to use the same thinner for quite a long period.
You're also going to need some liquid soap, I use regular hand soap the majority of the time. Try to use soap that has some bristle conditioner mixed in with it, this will prolong the life of your brushes better than regular hand soap would. Naturally, you won't need the thinner or soap until you have got all the excess paint out of your brushes. Here is where some finger strength comes in useful. Take your brush with one hand and a bit of newspaper with the other hand and wrap the newspaper all around the metal part of your brush.
All you have to do now is to squeeze as tightly as you can, starting at the base of your bristles, at the same time as pulling the brush back through your fingers. Get as much paint as you can out of the brush. You can do this a few times, try to get rid of all the paint that is stuck near the ferrule (the metal part of your brush.) You ought to wind up with splotches of paint all over your newspaper and a great deal less of the paint left within your brush.
Next, take your brush to the small container of paint thinner which you prepared earlier and dip it in, scrubbing across the bottom of the container to loosen a lot more paint. Repeat the squeezing procedure with more newspaper, be warned that it might get a slight messier this time around because your brush may have picked up a whole lot of the liquid thinner. You are likely to see quite a bit more color flowing out of them bristles this time. When you've squeezed out the thinner a number of times, your paintbrush will probably have a little bit more of its initial color back, but there'll still be a paint stain left from the paint oils.
To finish cleaning the brush, place some liquid soap into the palm of one hand and hold the paint brush with your other. Scrub the brush back and forth across your palm, letting the soap penetrate the bristles to draw out more of the oil pigment. When the soap gets too contaminated from the paint, rinse both your hands as well as the brush with warm running water, then get more soap and begin the whole process once more. Repeat this method until the soap does not change colour in your hand any more, this will be your proof that there's no further oil paint caught in your brush.
One very important note here: To avoid possible absorption of Cadmium into your skin during this stage, put on a pair of disposable gloves.
Rinse out all the soap and use your newspaper one last time to get as much of the remaining water from the bristles as you can. It is imperative that you clean your brushes instantly once you have finished painting, even when you're tempted to let them sit for a day or two. Letting them soak in paint thinner is not the best idea either; this will just deteriorate the glue grasping the bristles of your brush in place.
Although it may seem like lots of effort, good care, and cleaning of the brushes can help them last for a longer time and stay functional all through their lifespan and also keeping you from the annoyance of utilizing worn out tools, and in due course saving you cash.
Author Resource:
I understand how hard it can be to carry out these tasks which I have written about in this article. I have used these tips on many painting projects over the years. I frequently go to a company called Painters and Decorators London . They have some great ideas on how to save you money.
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