Wayne De Wet multiple award winning decorator Grand Winner Dulux Select Decorator 2011 tests Home Strip Brush Renew
Call me old fashioned but I work very hard to earn my living so look after my brushes and tools is the number one priority.
I have always said buying quality tools and materials will save you time and money in the long run. Looking after brushes should be something that everyone does, be they trade or people undertaking DIY. If you adopt a routine, cleaning and maintaining brushes is a breeze. This method is very simple.
To start with get everything you need then plan out what needs to be done and how you are going to do it.
You will need:
- Clean & Go x2
- Kurd Kutter brush wash
- Eco Solutions Home Strip Brush Renew
- Purdy stainless steel wire brush
- Purdy brush comb
- Newspaper
- OneTuff cloths
- Suitable protective gloves and goggles
- overalls or old clothes
- Bucket of clean cold water
- Bucket of soapy war water
- 2in x 2in off cut of wood
- Small section of old plywood 2ft x 2ft
- Tramcar OneTuff drop cloth
- Brush vests
Protecting yourself with old clothes or overalls, suitable goggles and gloves is a must. Find a good place to clean your brushes. I use my studio but a grarage or shed is fine. Put something down like a Trimaco OneTuff cloth to protect the area while you clean your brushes. Then plywood say 2ft x 2ft, with old newspaper on top.
If the brush is hard and has synthetic filaments or natural bristle then place it in a Clean and Go cleaning chamber but remove the metal grid with a raised platform and liner. This then becomes the place for all hard brushes and can be used over and over again.
Pour Eco Solutions Home Strip Brush Renew into the chamber until the bristles/filaments are completely covered. Snap on the lid and leave for 24/48 hours. Be sure to keep out of direct sunlight and heat as this could dry out the product.
After this time the brush will become softer and with a gentle downward pushing motion will start the softening process. By keeping the downwards prodding going it will allow the Eco Solutions Home Strip Brush Renew to do its stuff, but this is not instant! Please be patient.
After the filaments/bristles are really soft comb through with a Purdy brush comb, then place the brush back in the Clean & Go and leave again overnight. it will then be ready for a good scrub with the Purdy stainless steel wire brush.
Finally, rinse the paintbrush and the stainless steel wire brush and brush comb in the bucket of cold water and inspect the brush by gently opening up the bristles/filaments to see if all the paint has gone. If the brush is still not clean leave it overnight again. If the brush is clean wash out and rinse it in a bucket of warm mild detergent, along with all the tools mentioned above. Rinse in a bucket of cold clean water, comb through one last time and store on a brush vest.
If you simply want to wash a synthetic paint brush after using oil or water-based paints use a Clean & Go chamber. Put the brush into the unit, pour Krud Kutter Brush Wash in until the filaments are covered then simply snap the lid on and leave it to do its thing.
Again a simple downwards prodding onto the metal elevated grill allows the paint to be released and the sediment to settle in the area below the grill.
ONLY USE KRUD KUTTER BRUSH WAS WITH SYNTHETIC FILAMENT BRUSHES.
The cleaning solution can be used many times. Just remove the raised platform and grill and rinse in a bucket of clean cold water. Remove and dispose of the residue in a sensible manner. Wash as described above and store in a Brush Vest.
For natural bristle brush cleaning use the same system as above but replace the Krud Kutter Brush Wash with either water or white spirit to suit the paint used.
For product information and features and benefits go to the Brush Renew product page