How to take off oil paint?

Question

from a paint brush?????

(fyi: water doesn't work for me)

Answer 1

well plain water would not work because of course water and oil don't mix...

You can remove the paint (much easier if its wet) with turpentine, mineral spirits, another type of oil such as olive oil or walnut oil most of the way. After you've gotten most of the pigments out of the brush you want to wash the rest of the oil residue away with soap and water. You can either use specific brush cleaners, shampoo, plain old hand soap (I like using dial soap) or whatever else you have on hand just as long as its soapy.

The trick is that the soap breaks up the oil residue on the brush enough that the water can rinse it away. If the oil has dried you will have a very hard time breaking up that residue so that it can be cleaned. If the brush is that dry I would say just throw it out and don't let it dry out like that again with the next one.  

Answer 2

Use the specific products, then soap and water. All my brushes when clean have the specific colour of the first time I used them.

Answer 3

Soak it for a day or so in paint remover, then clean it with soap and water. Repeat if necessary. If it was completely dry it will never be like new, but hopefully it will be usable.

Answer 4

Is the paint dry or wet?  Well if the paint is wet, you can first use a paint thinner, like odorless mineral spirits, and then use soap and water.

If it is dried, just throw the brush away.

There is also a brush cleaner I use, Master's Brush Cleaner and Preserver.  That works good too.

http://www.dickblick.com/zz057/02/

Answer 5

When my cloth gets dirty when I am painting (and I also use oil) I through it in the washer and that along does the trick.

However if it is dry that is another story.  But I would not soak it in paint thinner.  Sort of sounds dangerous to me.  However,  I have heard that oven cleaner would do the trick without hurting the fabric, but I have not tested it myself.