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Proper Brush CleanupProper brush cleaning is essential for long life and performanceProper maintenance and good brush cleanup will enable you to use your paint brush for a very long time. A couple of old painters I know say to wash the brush in cold water. Others I've met say to wash the brush in warm water with soap. This is in fact what the brush manufacturers in general say to do. The reason you don't want to use hot, or even warm water, according to the old pros, is because the hot temperature of the water affects the glue holding the brush (fibers) together. The fibers will then begin to disintegrate faster, and more easily. I have personally found this very thing (hot water ruining brushes) to be true. Years ago, I would wash them in hot water, and then watch them disintegrate in short order, thinking the brush was "used up". After spending a lot of money on good brushes, I finally wised up. (now, during brush cleanup, I use warm, to cool water went rinsing, and have had no problems) The main thing is, luke-warm water, mixed with soap, will loosen and dissolve the latex paint out of your brush quickly. Just keep rinsing until the paint is all out. Wring the brush of excess water, and then spin dry. Next, use a "comb", or wire brush to smooth out the bristles in a consistent manner. Lastly, replace the brush back into the brush "keeper", (the cardboard housing it came packaged in) when still a little wet, so it can dry while maintaining it's original shape. Remember - when rinsing the paint out, the wire brush, or paint comb, will help you get rid of the dried paint that can seep to the edges near the top (where the metal part starts) of the brush. It keeps the brush from gumming up.
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