I saw a brush cleaner advertised somewhere on the 'net for about £40 and thought it was a tad pricey for what it is, but I liked the idea. Mine cost me less than £5 and took about 20 minutes to make.
You need:
A small container with an airtight lid (you don't want your cleaning fluid evaporating away)
A piece of stiff wire to make a frame
A piece of mesh big enough to cover the area of your container
A bit of wire to tie the mesh to the frame.
Method:
Make a frame to support your mesh. When you add your cleaning fluid, you will need to fill your container to just above the level of the mesh. You will also need to allow sufficient depth for the fluid to create a reservoir to hold the paint residue which comes off the brush. My container is about 100mm diameter and I made the frame about 50mm high. You can see my frame has three supports. Yours will depend on the stiffness of the wire and mesh that you use, and the shape of your container. A good stiff mesh may not need a frame at all.
Cut your mesh to fit across the top of your container. I couldn't be bothered to cut a circle, so I just cut mine square and bent it to fit. You're not trying to make a bit of precision equipment here. The whole thing just needs to sit securely in your container so that it doesn't move about and stir up the fluid while you're using it.
Drop the mesh over the frame and secure it with a couple of short pieces of wire.
Add the cleaning fluid of your choice until it just covers the surface of the mesh.
To clean your brush, you just need to stroke it over the mesh - as if you were trying to paint it. The edges of the mesh will 'scrape' the paint residue from the bristles and it will float away in your fluid and sink under the mesh. You can use a piece of tissue to check your brush is clean and dry the bristles.
DO NOT SHAKE YOUR CONTAINER OR YOU WILL CAUSE THE PAINT SEDIMENT TO RISE ABOVE THE SURFACE OF THE MESH.
Top up your fluid as necessary and if it does become too dirty, simply wash out your container and refill.
Job done.
Just one question. I've filled mine with white spirit for cleaning enamels. Could I use that for acrylics as well? I usually run my brushes under the tap to clean acrylics but that's a trip to the bathroom so it would save my poor tired old legs if I could use the same cleaner.
Gern
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You need:
A small container with an airtight lid (you don't want your cleaning fluid evaporating away)
A piece of stiff wire to make a frame
A piece of mesh big enough to cover the area of your container
A bit of wire to tie the mesh to the frame.
Method:
Make a frame to support your mesh. When you add your cleaning fluid, you will need to fill your container to just above the level of the mesh. You will also need to allow sufficient depth for the fluid to create a reservoir to hold the paint residue which comes off the brush. My container is about 100mm diameter and I made the frame about 50mm high. You can see my frame has three supports. Yours will depend on the stiffness of the wire and mesh that you use, and the shape of your container. A good stiff mesh may not need a frame at all.
Cut your mesh to fit across the top of your container. I couldn't be bothered to cut a circle, so I just cut mine square and bent it to fit. You're not trying to make a bit of precision equipment here. The whole thing just needs to sit securely in your container so that it doesn't move about and stir up the fluid while you're using it.
Drop the mesh over the frame and secure it with a couple of short pieces of wire.
Add the cleaning fluid of your choice until it just covers the surface of the mesh.
To clean your brush, you just need to stroke it over the mesh - as if you were trying to paint it. The edges of the mesh will 'scrape' the paint residue from the bristles and it will float away in your fluid and sink under the mesh. You can use a piece of tissue to check your brush is clean and dry the bristles.
DO NOT SHAKE YOUR CONTAINER OR YOU WILL CAUSE THE PAINT SEDIMENT TO RISE ABOVE THE SURFACE OF THE MESH.
Top up your fluid as necessary and if it does become too dirty, simply wash out your container and refill.
Job done.
Just one question. I've filled mine with white spirit for cleaning enamels. Could I use that for acrylics as well? I usually run my brushes under the tap to clean acrylics but that's a trip to the bathroom so it would save my poor tired old legs if I could use the same cleaner.
Gern
View attachment 56234
View attachment 56235
View attachment 56236
View attachment 56237
