There's nothing more frustrating than grabbing one of your favorite paint brushes, only to find it encrusted with dry paint. I've been guilty of getting side tracked myself and leaving a paint brush out to dry. No worries though. I'm going to walk you through the process of properly cleaning your brushes without damaging them.
Step 1: You will want to grab a bottle of Winsor & Newton Brush Cleaner & Restorer. This is a cleaner specifically created to removed dried acrylic paint from your brushes. I suppose there may be more comparable cleaners on the market, but this is what I use. I know this product works, I can't vouche for another. You can get it on Amazon Here:
Step 2: The first thing you'll want to do is run your brush under some warm tap water, use dish soap to clean them. This will remove any paint residue that may come off easily.
Step 3: Safty first! Make sure you wear gloves!! Take an empty glass jar or cup, and fill it up with enough cleaner to completely cover the tips of your brushes. If your brush handles are submerged, the cleaner may remove some of the original paint and varnish from the handle.
Step 4: Allow your brushes to soak. Soaking time will vary depending on how much paint residue is clogging your bristles. Some heavily saturated brushes can take up to two days to completely remove the dried paint. I usually just keep checking on it throughout the day. You'll start to see the paint residue floating in the cleaner once it starts working. I also occasionally swirl the brush around the fluid as I check on it. It helps.
Step 5: Once the Acrylic paint remover has taken care of all the hard work. Remove your brushes and blot them on a towel to be sure the paint is gone. It may take a few more swirls around in the cleaner, but once your blots are clean you can move onto the next step.
Step 6: Thoroughly wash your brushes again with warm water and dish soap. There may be a few stained and wonky bristles, but your brushes should be flexible and usable again!
Now keep in mind, this process is not 100% effective. Some brushes may be beyond repair. However this is worth trying. You may save yourself from having to throw brushes away, which will in turn save you some mulah!
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