How do you get oil paint out of a paint brush?

Question

this is my first time working with oil paint and i just realized it doesn't come out with water... help please.

Answer 1

You can use paint thinner or acetone or lacquer thinner. All are very toxic and flammable. Be certain to follow all safety guidelines and dispose of the waste materials properly.

Keep Arting!

Jeff (weseye) Wesley

Answer 2

gasoline, paint thinner, acetone, or any type of Petroleum based cleaner/paint thinner.

Answer 3

remove excess paint from the brush with an old rag, then rinse in a jar of white spirits, to get the brush really clean, massage washing powder with a little water in the bristles and rinse with hot water. if the brush has gone hard, soak in paint thinner for a few days. leave the brush to dry upside down to keep the bristles in shape.

Answer 4

First wipe excess paint off with paper towel or rag.

Have a screen in bottom of can or jar, corners bent to create a sort of mound, partially fill with turpentine.  Brush the wire screen 'mound' with the brush and wipe again, repeatedly.

Then using a small puddle of "Pink Soap" or Shampoo Conditioner in palm of your hand, brush your palm and rinsing with warm water, both brush and palm, adding clean shampoo until no more color is seen in palm.  Rinse well, then either use a minute amount of the 'soap' to shape and condition the HAIRS of the brush, lay flat to dry.  (No need to rinse before using)

OR use a small amount of baby oil to condition hairs, lay flat or upright on handle end.  "Rinse" baby oil off in turpentine before using.

The baby oil may also loosen some dried paint stuck in the feral of the brush.  So be sure to wipe well after rinsing in turpentine.

Answer 5

Wipe with cloth, agitate brush in turpentine til the brush is clean, (rewipe with cloth). I put a piece of screen in the bottom of the jar of turpentine to help get the paint off. If it's dry use a wire brush to remove access paint! Good Luck!  

Answer 6

If the paint is still wet, first, squeeze the paint out of the bristles using something like newspaper so you don't get it all over your hands.  Then you can use paint thinner or turpentine to get the paint out--pour it into a resealable container, because you can use it a few times.  

This will basically loosen the paint from the brush, and from there, you can wipe the paint off on some more newspaper (and squeeze it out again, if you need to, being careful not to drip onto anything--I would suggest doing this over a sink).  

To get the remaining paint stain out of the bristles, put some liquid soap (hand soap is fine) into one of your hands and rub the bristles of your brush into it, trying to get deep into the bristles to get the paint out.  If the soap gets too much color in it, just repeat until all the color is out.

After that, rinse it under some water, wipe the excess moisture onto some more newspaper, and voila!  Clean brush.

**Note that it is illegal in many places to rinse chemicals down the drain, so if you have to dispose of some paint thinner, try first to recycle it by putting it in a clear jar, letting the sediment (paint) settle to the bottom, and using the remaining liquid on the top.  For the sediment, you need to dry it out, then wrap it in plastic, and you can throw it away.

Turpentine is a bit different, and needs to be disposed of at a household hazardous waste collection site.