Well after many failed attempts on some pretty good brushes and can't get this right. I finish with my wraps and and have tried soaking in soap and water, rinsing in soap and water, soaking in flex coat brushcleaner, soaking in alcohol, soap then alcohol, alcohol then soap, soap and water then brush cleaner and what ever else I have forgotten. I really need some help here. Now I want to hear from pros on this one. I want some downright good info from the horse. The buck stops here. Why is this so hard to me? Help! Thanks for any input you guy's might have. Tom

Tom,

tried a few of the solvents and others you mentioned but rarely have a problem with cellulose thinners, (car paint thinners) then soap and water. Keep a small jar close to where you are working and make sure the brush goes in straight after use, i.e. not after you admire the finish or check for bubbles etc. Have another brush handy for any minor adjustments to the finish. If its not in thinners after say 10 - 15 mins use or so it is liable to be a waste of time.

Dont just soak it, press it in to the thinners, swirl and move it around for a minute or two and then leave to soak for say 15 mins, after that a good wash in soap and water. Just be carefull on the depth of thinners in the jar, make sure it just covers the bristles. If its deep enough to cover the bristle holder / lower handle then cellulose is liable to separate the bristle holder from the handle.

Stan.

Are you finishing with epoxy? Okay, after you apply finish clean the brush with denatured alcohol. Then, give it a warm water and soap wash followed by a cold water rinse. That should do it.

One thing that bears mentioning - if you take an extremely long time to finish a rod, to the point where the epoxy is starting to really set up in the brush, you may have a hard time salvaging the brush. I would think you'd want to get that brush into the cleaning process within 30 minutes of the epoxy being mixed. The set up time on any epoxy will vary and the temperature also affects it, but generally you need to undertake your cleaning chores before the epoxy has gotten extremely thick.

.............

I just soak my brushes into a vial of acetone, then try to remember to take them out and clean them with warm soap and water. Most of the time I forget the last step, the acetone evaporates, and I end up with a trashed brush. When I do remember the last step, the brush ends up good as new.

If I could find the pile of "cheapos" that I use to apply finish in the garbage pile at the dump on the far end of town it would be a waste of good solvent to try to clean them up. I just use the brush as a scoop to transfer the finish from the pan to the rod level it out by and throw the thing in the trash. I use a pack of 10 brushes that costs $ 0.99 cents. I guess I could start using acetone for a few minutes on each brush and give my nervous system a boost to the pills that I take for the rodbuilding dissorder.

Gon Fishn

As an artists I have a secret weapon!
Try rinsing your brush out in denatured alcohol then (here's the secret weapon)
Get a bar of that old fashion "Octagon soap" its made from lye and will really clean those brushes.
I have even gotton red oil paint out of a light coloured wool carpet with this stuff!
The best part is it's soooo cheap and can be found in most super markets and drug stores.
I can use , clean and reuse, even the cheap 'o brushes from flexcoat -more than 20 times with this method!

I seem to be missing a lot of fun (pun intended). For nearly twenty years I've been using nothing but Flexcoat Epoxy brush cleaner and I don't think I've ever ruined a brush. I pour around an eighth of an inch of brush cleaner into a clear film canister, tilt the canister and swirl the brush bristles in the cleaner for around a minute, followed by a good rinse in hot water. I have used a variety of epoxies and Crystal coat over the years, and never had a problem, even with a brush I left laying on the foil for way too long.

Jeff Shafer

Home Depot also sells lacquer thinner

Brushes, especially those of quality hair or bristles, are damaged by hot water. The shape of pointed brushes in particular will fail to return to their intended form. The president of the Simmons Brush company once visited the art supply store in which I worked and gave me a brief and compelling explanation oof why hot water is to be avoided. It deteriorates the naural oils in bristle brushes as well as weakening the glue that hold them in place. It also swells the wood handle which will lead to loose fittings. This is far more important when you are using expensive water color brushes which can cost a small fortune, but the facts remain true for all brushes. Warm soapy water is the limit for preserving the integrity of a fine brush. A good brush cleaning agent is the best way to dissolve all material from the brush. The wash up afterward is to restore the brush to its proper shape and condition.

I have found Trondak U-40 Brush Cleaner to be an improvement to either Isopropyl or Denatured Alchohol. The U-40 dissolves epoxy and even Rod Bond faster and more effectively than any other agents I have used. I have never used Flex Coat Brush Cleaner so I cannot compare the two.

Even though I know the proper routine I must admit I am loathe to use it on a consistent basis. I have lost count of the number of brushes I have had to throw away for failing to clean them in time. The method is just too cumbersome and time consuming for my level of (non) patience at that part of the process.

Enter the spatula!!! Spatulas not only give me perfect (or darn close) wrap finishes but also free me from the time and mess of cleaning brushes of sticky epoxy. I will never go back to using a brush for applying epoxy. The net benefit of a using a spatula is hard to overstate. Spatulas rule!

Dave

I haven't tried this with an epoxy brush, but I've recovered several quality paint brushes I thought were shot by cleaning them well in warm (not hot) water and then using conditioner (like you use on your hair after shampooing) on the bristles. Softened them up and they seemed good as new afterwards.

I go with Stan. I use Cellulose thinners to clean off epoxy finishes. It is very aggressive but I find it the only solvent that will properly clean good quality brushes. To clean properly I use an old brush and use it to scrub the finish off the working brush. I will leave in soak for ten minutes and do the scrubbing again. Do it with care so you don't loose the shape of the working brush. I then swill in cool clean water. I don't use soap in case it has any additives like moisterisers which could cause havoc with rod finishes. Cellulos thinners is nasty stuff and contains Xylene quite commonly so take proper are with it. I find de- natured alchol and acetone totally hopeless at doing a good job.

Mike