best way to clean brushes? what's your system?

Oh, shoot.
I hijacked ANOTHER thread and made it about me. Can I hijack the thread and make it about THE TOPIC, or SHANNON FENNELL?
xoxo

Metric... I only use for mileage (kms) and gas (litres)... the rest is still imperial, at least in my mind... pound of butter, cups and tablespoons, square feet, and acres.

I was in my last years of high school when they switched or that general timeframe... our rulers show inches and centimetres.

In Australia we use an accurate measurement called sh*t loads. It is equal to a lot.

OMG...ABD..... HILARIOUS!!!!

Haha! We use that measurement in Texas too!

We use a smidge, tad, titch and bucket-full too.

I use baby soap. it works really well and makes the brushes really soft

Wow, am I impressed with you guys...I put SF brush bath in my rinse water & use a bar of Ivory on my brushes and sponge (Maybe I'll soak them for a while if I am mlti-tasking, then air dry). (Never had any issues, so it seems to work).

do you make sure that the ivory soap is hypoallergenic? I couldnt find any that said it was :/

Don't know...it was always advertised as mild when I was a kid, but that was back when thalidomide was good for morning sickness and we know how that turned out. (Guess maybe that's a good reason to rinse them in water afterwards.)

I use Savon de Marseille, which is a natural soap that's been existing for centuries in Europe.
I use it to wash my sponges as well, even gets the Wolfe dark purple and black out without leaving a stain!
I don't know if it exists in de US or Canada, but you can find an explanation on Wikipedia (I apparantely am not allowed to post external links for a week, since I'm a newbie here)

Thank youu!

I wash my brushes with soap and water . Rinse really well. Then soak for a bit in water with vinegar. Vinegar is a good disinfectant. Then Rinse again and air dry.

A weird question maybe, but can you be too rough with your brushes? I'm alsays afraid that I'll mess them up when I wash them... i use dove to was and dettol to disinfect, by the way.

Dear Shiranshoku:
I have a surgical scrub brush from Lee Valley Tools here in Canada in the bottom of my wash basins. I have been scrubbing my brushes into the scrub brush for over a year, and I feel that the brushes have lasted longer than they would have without the extra scrubbing. It is possible that the residual paint used to splay out the brushes from the ferrule, causing the brush to die an agonizing, slow death. Since I have been scrubbing... no splaying!

Here is my system, courtesy of Rick Wray of Infectious Disease Control at SickKids Hospital:
Wash in water with scrub brush and Pink Hospital soap
Rinse in clear water with scrub brush
Rinse again in clear water with scrub brush.
Swish through 70% Isopropyl Alcohol
Place brush upright to dry.
Ready to use again once they are totally dry.
Dries in 5-15 minutes depending upon the heat/humidity in the air.

Happy Painting!

Thanks! You are so kind

I use the ivory, alcohol, and scrub brush method.

When I was in Texas, learned the lovely unit of measure called "big a$$ed" As it bit A$$ed beer" works for me.

Bar of Ivory Soap for sponges and brushes. I also like liquid Pink Soap for my brushes. I can get it from janitorial supply for about 5.00 per gallon and its the same as the 2 ounce bottle for 4.00.

As no one has mentioned it - sunlight is an effective disinfectant. I dry my brushes (after cleaning them) on a windowsill in direct sunlight and my sponges get put through the washing machine and dried out on the line.

We do not have Ivory soap here I think (Holland), so I was wondering what type of soap it is, so that I can look for something similar here.
It is body soap right?
At the moment I often use hand sanitizing soap. It is soft for the hairs of the brushes, and also kills the bacteria.
It does not take away the staining thought.

I just rince them with handsoap and warm water.

I use Zwitsal Shampoo when I'm cleaning them at home. It takes me a while to clean them properly, but they are clean
I also have a bottle of Kruitvat Penseelreiniger that I take with me to gigs. Then I clean the brush in the waterbasin and when the paint is almost of I sweep it over a tissue with the penseelreiniger.

And once in a while I use alcohol (that's when I've painted a lot different faces in a short time)

EerinArts>Ivory soap is just a basic soap, no deodorant, no perfume, just soap. Cheap & effective. (It's got air stirred in so it floats!)I am thinking it may be close to a laundry bar for baby clothes in Europe.

Does anyone use silly farm's brush bath? I saw on the new faba class they mention it not only helps your water stay clean, it also helps your brush "glide" better on the one strokes...

Dear Erica's Funny Faces:
I used the Brush Bath, and found out I am allergic to it. Soap can cause allergic reactions if it is not completely rinsed off. I believe Psalmbook also had an unpleasant encounter with Brush Bath. I believe that it is probably just fine for most of the population. I use one drop of hospital pink liquid soap in my first bath, clear water rinses in the next two baths, then dip into 70% Isopropyl Alcohol and left to dry completely. Alcohol dissipates completely and there is no residue in the brush once dry.
Happy Painting!