LITTLE ROCK — I enjoy painting rooms in my house because it’s a great way to change the look of rooms without costing too much. I’m thinking that buying really good brushes and rollers would be a good idea. But I know they’ll last longer if I clean them properly. Any ideas or instructions will help.
Jim Lacey, a professional painter in Connecticut, wrote an article on paintbrush care in a recent issue of Fine Homebuilding magazine.
“I have one rule for purchasing paintbrushes and roller covers: Buy the best ones available,” Lacey wrote. “These high-quality tools are the first step to ensuring a professional finish.
However, higher-quality tools come with a higher price tag and should be considered an investment.
“To get the best and longest performance from brushes and roller covers, you have to clean them properly after each use. ... With proper and regular cleanings, you can expect to get close to a lifetime of service from a paintbrush, and two or three uses out of each roller cover.”
Cleaning in a sink is easier than cleaning them in a bucket, but both ways work. The process is the same whether you’ve been applying primer, paint or stain, except you must substitute paint thinner for water when cleaning oil-based products. And paint thinner should never be dumped down the drain; store it for reuse or dispose of it at your local hazardous materials recycling center.
Here’s the process:
Wash out the liquid paint.
Half-fill a clean bucket with warm water or paint thinner, or use a sink. Dip the brush into the water and flare its bristles against the bottom of the bucket or sink. Dab the brush several times to allow the water or thinner to penetrate the bristles.
Brush out any dry paint. After a rinse, brush the bristles with a steel brush, moving from the handle toward the tip of the bristles. This helps loosen any dry paint that has hardened in the brush, especially below the ferrule (the part that holds the hairs onto the handle). Rinse the brush again. Repeat this until the water or thinner coming out of the brush runs clear.
Tap and stow. Once clean, extract as much water or thinner as you can from the bristles, either by spinning the brush between your hands or by tapping it on the toe of your shoe. Give the bristles a final brushing with the steel brush or a brush comb to restore their shape, and return the brush to its wrapper or case.
When cleaning roller covers, a 5-in-1 tool speeds the process.
Remove the excess paint from the roller cover, while still on the roller, using the curved part of the 5-in-1 tool to scrape any excess into the paint can.
Take the roller cover off the roller and wash it. Work it under warm water - either in a sink or in a bucket - with the 5-in-1 tool until the water runs clear. If the roller was used on oil-based products, discard it. It’s not cost-effective to clean this tool with paint thinner.
Return the roller to the roller handle and spin it until most of the water has been removed. Place the roller cover in its plastic wrapper and store it flat.
Fine Homebuilding’s associate editor Rob Yagid added information on choosing paintbrushes and roller covers.
“Most painters that I’ve talked to use brushes made by Purdy (purdycorp.com) or Corona (coronabrushes. com),” Yagid wrote. The type of bristle depends on the finish. Universal bristles, such as Chinex, can be used with water- or oil-based finishes. Nylon, polyester or nylonpolyester blends should be used only with water-based products; China-bristle brushes should be reserved for oil-based finishes.
Buy the most expensive roller covers your budgetwill allow because price is often indicative of quality. You’ll still get only two or three uses from each roller, but quality ones are far less likely to shed fibers during painting. The fibers on a good roller cover are usually made of nylon, polyester or a similar synthetic blend. The core should be made of rigid plastic, not soft cardboard. A roller cover with a 3 /8-inch nap is a good option for most painting tasks.
HomeStyle, Pages 35 on 06/26/2010