As you prepare for your painting project, gather all cleanup supplies and plan to clean your brushes in a well-ventilated area. If using oil-based paints, use stronger cleaning agents and soak the bristles in warm soapy water for 20-30 minutes to soften dried paint. Follow the cleaning instructions to remove excess paint and rinse the brush or pad.
Mauro suggests being as gentle as possible when cleaning a paintbrush, using warm water, a little bit of soap, and fingers to try to clean the brush. Water-based paint, such as acrylic or latex, is a great option for most interior (and even some exterior) walls, producing fewer odors and being easier to clean. To extend the life of your brushes and rollers, follow the simple cleaning and storage steps from the experts at Sherwin-Williams.
After painting a wall, ceiling, or woodwork, follow the lead of the pros and care for the brushes immediately. Work the paint out of the brush with your hand or use a brush comb, available at your local Benjamin Moore retailer, or a scrub pad to remove stubborn paint spots. Rinse the brush with warm water or mild dish soap, and clean the brush with the appropriate solvent for the type of paint you’ve been using.
After every session, wash your synthetic brush with soap or mild detergent and warm water. Soften dried-on paint with hot soapy water, gently massaging to remove any remaining paint. Wear gloves if necessary. Soak your paintbrush in vinegar for about 30 minutes, then pull out and rinse as normal. Fill a small cup or jar with chemical cleaner, submerge the bristles for 30 seconds, remove the brush, and wipe the bristles.
📹 HOW TO CLEAN A PAINT BRUSH
STOP RUINING YOUR BRUSHES!!!! Good brushes need good care! Here is some PRO TIPS on how to keep your brushes in …
📹 How to Clean Paint Rollers and other Painting Gear
CLEAN HABITS lead to CLEAN WORK!!! Do you have GOOD PAINT HYGIENE? Tools used: DISCLAIMER: As an Amazon …
Years ago, a man told me a secret about how to minimize the paint that gets trapped around the perimeter of the paint can. He suggested to use a nail and pound holes around the top of the can so that any paint that gets trapped in the groove, the paint will simply drain back into the can. Another excellent article, Ben!
I’m a professional painter for almost 20 years now, (not in North America) and I have never seen those kind of roller washer-cleaner-things. I just squeeze the paint out as long it’s not giving too much color when washing it, then put the handle back on and go somewhere to “roll” the wet roller dry, like against trees or some boards in yard, etc. where it’s possible to do. Btw, I like your articles, it’s always great to see how things are done in another continent. 😉
This is an old article, you may not see this, but on a 1 gallon paint pail, when I clean the lip up with a brush, I’ll find a grocery bag, put it over the can, put the lid on, and cut the bag to where you only see like an inch sticking out. It makes it 10 times easier to open back up later, and it helps keep a better seal. Hope this helps man!
In addition to cleaning out the rim of the pail, if you take a Sharpie and put a small chevron “>” on the lid of the pail and on the label before you open it the first time, the lid can go back in the same spot it was when it was removed. This helps with sealing, as any residue or gaps or irregularities will line up.
Get two large buckets, one empty and one for “paintey water”. The empty bucket is for spinning. Use fresh water as your rinse above the empty bucket. When it get an accumulation of waste water dump it in the slop bucket. No need to dump the “paintey water” down the drain, just leave it in the bucket and let nature do its thing. The water will evaporate and leave a sludge. Scoop the sludge out and bag it later. Since it is latex paint it really won’t hurt the environment in solid form. Just don’t kick the bucket…of slop.
id like to add to this. Its a good idea to use your brush to clean out the paint can lid, the second you open a gallon or a 5. Just like your liner. This way if you step on the lid you wont track paint everywhere and make a mess. More importantly if the paint dries half way on the lid and gets used to close a gallon, it will do so by leaving a skin (like boiled milk) or chunks that will end up in the paint. That really sucks. Especially when using paint sprayers. Straining paint can be messy. A thin layer of paint dies pretty fast on a lid and so therefore if the lid gets knocked down its not sending paint splatter in random directions. -note on the liner if you let semi gloss dry in a tray after using the tray, the semi will eventually peel. usually after about 20 min of painting you will get goobers on the walls. I find that you can re use trays that have been coated with primer or flat paints for much longer without the chances of paint chunks in your tray reservoir.
Paint tray: Put a thin plastic bag over the paint tray and pour paint in the bag, instead of directly in the paint tray. This way you can leave the tray overnight by closing the bag with a small kitchen zipper, and paint again tomorrow. And it’s easier to clean it, by just throwing the bag away when done painting.
not properly cleaning sill of paint can often leads to rusty and crusty bits of paint falling into paint can, next time you open it. using any pointed objects to close lid leads to worse and worse sealing. i use a wood mallet and a rag or a metal hammer over a scrap 2×4 piece of wood. open lid with the cheap can opening tools. they look deceptively like a flat screwdriver but, they dont wreck the lid like a screwdriver does. i use something pointy with a rag or form tissue to wipe can sill, instead of putting thick and crusting paint into can.
I throw away my roller as soon as I’m done. I charge $40 an hour, and a roller costs $1.50. Just doesn’t work for me. I do use rubber lined gloves to strip off the lint before use though. Cool tip though: take a pointed tool, like a phillips, or a punch, and punch some holes in the bottom of the groove on the paint can, and the paint will simply drip right back into the can. I don’t actually do it, because I’m fastidious, and don’t get paint in the groove to start with, or I clean it out immediately.
If you don’t mind getting paint all over yourself, you can go into the middle of your yard with a hose and direct a strong stream of water on a tangent to the paint roller. It will spin crazy fast and sling water and paint everywhere. On a hot summer day, I don’t mind the paint/water bath. Your way is more efficient though.Mine is more fun to the 12 year-old boy living in the back of my mind.
A few paint additional tips: 1. I take my roller outside and hit with a jet nozzle on the hose. You can hang the roller over the edge of the bucket and position the spray nozzle so it just clears the edge of the bucket and is shooting down, slightly, into the bucket. You can spin the roller 1000 mph while injecting water. The roller is clean in 5 seconds. 2. I put my paint lids on with zero paint in the rim, but my paint cans usually end up rusting from the inside. I’ve taken to transferring the paint to various plastic containers I’ve collected. I choose the smallest one that will hold all the paint. 3. I hang my paint cans from my basement ceiling between the floor joists. Happy to make a article on #1 if anybody would like to see it.
When I worked for a regular painting company they were very wasteful. They would throw away a nice $7 Wooster roller head after only one use. Well my buddy and I started cleaning them out and keeping them..it’s surprising how much money you can save on your side jobs never having to buy roller heads..
I’ve commented before telling you that I use your articles to train my maintenance team. That was as a supervisor who doesn’t do much painting since it’s the new guys who get stuck with it. Well, I’ve moved on to a new company and will now be starting out as “the new guy” who gets stuck with the painting 😂 and being as I sold myself as a super hero of a maintenance guy, I’m binging on all the articles about painting cause I really haven’t done it in a long time. You are going to help me show them all up. I love your articles not only for the education, but I am seriously entertained by you. I appreciate the hell out of you and what you do for all of us fans who benefit in many ways of the time you put in for us. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are one of my favorite YouTube creators and many of your viewers will agree.
Excellent, saving paint and cleaning those rollers to paint another day. I’ve been doing this for decades. The only thing I do differently is fill the bucket with water, spin with the roller submerged many times, then change the water in the bucket. I change the water twice, so after the third time spinning, the rollers are always clean. A little less hand work? Another tip: after the first spin, take the cover off the spinner and stick the other end on the spinner. This gets both ends clean really well. Thanks for all the first class articles, @VancouverCarpenter
Like your style. Pretty close to mine. Add in keeping the brushes in their sleeves. Purdy all the way. I just went back to cleaning rollers, kinda depends on things. Rehabbing properties I can have alot of colors going. Some things I do, I use a tray alot and I will put some cleats on a moving dolly and roll it around. I use the handy small pail with liners. I also like the Wooster, it’s a bit wider and a 4″ Weenie fits. If small stuff is going on I’ll use 6″ weenies, 4″ s on hand. I also use those pour spouts that clip onto the can, peeve of mine is paint on the can. Keep a bunch of those onhand. I keep extra roller handles in different sizes. The weenies are getting sensitive with the makers. They sometimes don’t cross over to sleeves. A box of brushes. Some days one brush just doesnt want to work so I just grab another. Ill pick it up later and it works good. Go figure. Brush combs, spinner, but spinner as of late gets a jig so it goes on the Makita. One HUGE thing I started a long time ago is 13 gallon trash bags are always on hand and boxes of ziplocks. Rollers, brushes all sizes fit in them. They stay good for a real long time. Sometimes a couple of days. Different colors, primers, I’ve had over 6 colors going. Trays fit in the 13 gal trash bags but the middle gets paint, been meaning to make some plywood covers with lips. That seal works good enough. Again, things happen and you stop for some reason, bags, bags, bags. Great on hot days. Don’t forget to label the bags as well if lots of colors are happening.
LOL I had no idea that one of the things that tool did was clean paint rollers. I am learning so much from your articles. I soooo very much appreciate that you are clear, concise and fun as well to watch. No long blathering detailed crap that no one has time to listen to. Appreciate you and your willingness to share your knowledge with dummies like me.
I leave the roller on the handle thingy and take it into the back garden, hit it with the hose. That causes the roller to spin and the centrifugal force flings the paint water onto the lawn. The paint breaks down there within days, and doesn’t get into the sewer/sea. And my lawn gets a watering. Win/win.
Also a tip for all those “professional” painters out there who think it’s a good idea to leave their roller skins in the remains of a 5 gal bucket of paint: Stop it! I am the one who comes along 5 years later and finds the bucket infested with mold from the foreign objects left in the paint. It destroys the paint.
Broken in sleeves (used and washed a few times) are worth gold. The ONLY way to get a lint free and even finish. Save them and use them for your final finish coat. Use your new sleeves for prime and 1st coat to build a stockpile of them, they are no good for finish coats new. As a painter I would pay double for broken in sleeves. Unfortunately after a few thousand sq feet the broken in sleeve will become too matted and leave edges and must be discarded. You better hope you broke in a few priming and 1st coating when that happens. On job sites, broken in sleeves were the #1 pirated tool from other painters, guard them with your life.
I like to spray my rollers out with a hose jet spray nozzle. Angle the water right and the roller spins at high speed and is clean quickly. After that i have nylon bristle cone brush for my impact that i use to spin the roller and fluff out the nap. Now the cover is clean and dry ready to store or use for the next color
Don’t want to spoil your fun, but… I just have a dozen or two of roller sleeves. I do not clean them on the job site. When everything is painted and I’m not going to use the rollers any more, I wrap them in plastic sheet. This way they may be stored a couple of days. After that I take them home and wash them in the washing machine on some soft fabrics programme. Works perfect, doesn’t damage the sleeve and makes them perfectly clean with zero effort and no time wasted.
Hey ie Der Ben, another Top is to take a NaiL and puncture around the Can on the inside of the groove where the lid seats in, with like six weep holes, that way paint that gets in there can seep back into the can. I also use a wet rage to wipe around once I’m done. Good As New! Just DonT Store iT In The HoT Attic.
As I have a septic system, paint water can destroy a septic system and clog the plastic filter between the solid and liquid waste tanks. Rather buy new rollers at a few dollars each than to spend thousands of dollars repairing or replacing the septic system. Just let the rollers dry out and toss them with the regular trash!
Hi I have been perusal your articles I like it. It improved my cutting the right way. Can you make a article on how to stop dropping paint when taking from the tray I keep on dropping paint from the roller when I take paint from the tray. It will be great help not only for me but also other people like me. Thanks
I have a cheap roller holder screwed to a fence post at home. I bring the rollers home sealed in glad wrap or plastic bag, slide it over the roller holder on the fence & blast it with a water jet sprayer. It washes & spins the paint off in no time leaving it clean & almost completely dry in one action. I have also started using double ended roller holders & found them much nicer to paint with because they don’t bend with roller pressure. The only downside is they don’t get quite as close into corners.
If using the same paint the next day, place roller and frame in a plastic bag in refrigerator. For cleaning I took the roller off of a frame and put threaded rod though both ends with nuts and washers. Chuck up in a cordless drill and spin in a bucket of soapy water. For best results let the paint soaked roller pre-soak in the water.
Ben, I’d like to give you a tip that works well for me. After washing the roller leave it wet. Then take a folded sheet of newspaper and roll up the roller in it then tuck the newspaper ends into the sides of the roller. You then can store the roller for a long time. When you go to use the roller it will be like new. I also do this with my paint brushes just folding it in newspaper, I tape it with masking tape to hold the newspaper on. Try it once you will like the results, especially if you store the roller or brush for a while.
This is all fine and dandy if you are using water based paint or stain. What about oil based paint? Cleanup is considerably different isn’t it? If I was a total novice and I watched this I just might end up with oil based paint and no thinner or maybe have thinner and dump it down the sink. If you are going to do the job and offer information at least be explicit or cover the whole topic. I have paint brushes, rollers, and trays that I have had for 30 years or more. The secret to keeping your tools in good shape is take care of them and DON’T EVER LEND THEM TO ANYONE. Another thing, if you buy a new tool or two everytime you paint, you will eventually end up with enough tools to do a professional job everytime out.
Keeping that rim clean is so critical… I keep my open gallon of primer for small jobs ready to go using one of those paint n’ pour plastic lids with a flip open brush hole, and a pour spout with a cap on it, which keeps things ready to go, but has kept partial can of primer good for over a year in my truck. Appreciate ALL your work with this website to help others learn the basics of one person’s way to do the trade. I have worked with masters of trades like you, and every one had different ways they liked to work to achieve great results efficiently, but the best ALL had your gift and desire to teach, share with, and learn from others. Thank you for a most excellent website from an Oregon coast carpenter.
I’ve realized that I would spend 15 minutes on cleaning a nap or throw it away saving the time. Time is money. For me to spend 2- 3 dollars is worth spending rather than spend that much on cleaning a nap, or cleaning a bucket. It’s no brainer= just throw it away it get on something else quicker. That’s just me but I know I might some comments from tree huggers. Oh bless their hearts. Save the planet, don’t use straws or eat meat meat as they drive to work in a SUV, or fly to the gig. Lol I apologize in advance for offending some, that’s just how I see it.
Not going to lie, most of the time for the cost of a roller sleeve and what my time is worth, I toss them. Bucket hygiene, OMG what a pet peeve. I’m so anal about buckets being clean. Not only is it wasteful but it makes it nearly impossible to open the bucket later without destroying the lid. Great tips for cleanliness.
In five years that paint can will be all rusted and the paint inside chances are will be no good anymore. It’s best to remember write it down or have a dried paint sample so when you do need it you can always get it matched or go back to the paint store and get the same color you got before. When I clean rollers I use the same tool to scrape most of the paint off the roller then in a five gallon paint bucket I’ll have enough water to let my rollers soak, I’ll let them soak in there for a hour or so then I’ll go back sling them around, pour the water out the bucket get some fresh water and repeat the process. Let the rollers sit then sling them. Two times doing that will clean your rollers without wasting so much water or worse pouring in into the drain like old boy did in the vid. I don’t recommend cleaning your tools in a sink or bathtub cause you can stain the stinks with the paint. Whatever you do don’t clean your tools the way he did on the article.