Olive oil for cleaning brushes?

[Marvin Mattelson]

I just wanted to clarify that I use the method I do for cleaning synthetic brushes. It's my experience that any type of solvent will prematurely age them. I use the Silver Ruby Satins and the Winsor Newton Galleria rounds. Cleaning them with M Graham walnut oil followed by ivory soap seems to do the trick for me.

[Peter J. Fasi]

Where do you get it? I did a quick search of all the online vendors in my favorites list and came up empty.

[Holly Snyder]

Marvin,

Why did you switch from Murphy's oil soap to Ivory soap?

[Holly Snyder]

Hi Peter,

If you're asking about the walnut oil, check www.mgraham.com . You can also use walnut oil from the grocery store. It's cheaper, however as Marvin said earlier in this thread the M. Graham oil is superior.

Regards,

Holly

[Marvin Mattelson]

Holly, when I started using Murphy's oil soap was using natural bristle brushes and mineral spirits. The oil in the soap helped to replace the natural oils that the thinner removed. Since synthetic brushes contain no oil to begin with, I felt that the extra oil was making the brushes a little too stiff from oil residue build-up. My brushes are much softer with Ivory. And my hands are so lovely too!

[Marcus Lim]

Hi, i'm new to alot of things. So let me get this straight about olive and walnut oils, and hope you'll be patient with me:



1. Olive oils are great for cleaning brushes after painting. But one needs to wash the brushes with soap and water, after cleaning with olive oils? So can olive oils be used to clean brushes for in-between changing colors during the painting sessions?

2. Walnut oils available in supermarkets are pure, and is a good "replacement" medium for the more-expensive artist brands. At the same time, it's a good brush cleaner? So can walnut oils be used to clean brushes for in-between changing colors during the painting sessions?

marcus

[Marvin Mattelson]

You need to wash brushes with soap and water following any cleaning method. Regardless of the solvent. It's like rinsing out your mouth with water after brushing with toothpaste.

I find a big difference between walnut oil that is used for cooking and walnut oil cold pressed for painting use. The cooking oil is thicker and the paint sludge doesn't settle to the bottom of your cleaning bucket. I don't like olive oil as much as the M. Graham and Co. walnut oil.

Using anything to clean brushes during painting will be added to your paint. Linseed oil makes a stronger faster drying paint film than walnut oil. The reason you see many brushes in the artist studio is because a fresh brush should be used for a fresh color mixture.

[Patt Legg]

I just had to get in here on this one even though I have not participated for awhile.

Peter, I agree with you . I have been using Baby Oil for years. The only difference is that also immediately wash out ALL of the oil til squeaky clean with Dawn Dish Liquid. I should do a commercial for all of the times that I have used Dawn and told all of my students to do so. They come back with wonderful comments. Some say that they tried my plan on old brushes and made them usable again.

So, thumbs up on Baby Oil and Dawn. I have saved brushes for years due to that I believe.

Marvin, I do agree too that one needs to clean out the oily content no matter what anyone uses. Also, in my studio, I often use Turpenoid to clean and still finish with Dawn.

[Richard Bingham]

Painters will probably fuss about the "best way" to clean brushes as long as there are painters and brushes. What works "best" for one person might not suit another.

The most important thing about cleaning a brush is to eliminate the build-up of paint residues near the ferrule, at the "heel" of the brush!
The best way to do this is to grasp the tip of the brush hairs in one hand, and flex the hair-shafts by gently rotating the handle, when the brush is well-lathered with soap .

Here are some points you may find useful, or take issue with:

-As J.F. Carlson said, kerosene is the best solvent for washing brushes. Like baby oil (aka mineral oil or petroleum jelly - Vaseline) it has lubricating properties. It is the most penetrating of solvents commonly used for cleaning up because its wicking action is the highest. It readily "cuts" the oils and resins commonly used in oil painting, and it's relatively safer compared to other volatile solvents because of its low vapor pressure.

-Turpentine is NOT a good solvent for washing brushes, and eliminating all volatile solvents (whether you can smell them or not) in group sessions is a good idea. Using oils to clean brushes is a good solution in the classroom, so long as the brushes get a proper thorough cleaning after the session.

-Hog bristles are hollow. Soaking in oils renders them heavy, or "flabby" in action because the hair shafts fill with oil when they're soaked in it. The resulting action may or may not be something individual painters notice, or find offensive.

-Different cleaners for different hairs. "Fatted" soaps are best for hog bristles, (Ivory and a few of the brush soaps marketed for the purpose) but they leave sables matted and heavy. Lighter Castile soaps are better for sables used in oil paint. Detergents are anathema to the care of natural hairs, but work great on synthetics.

- "Hot" solvents such as lacquer thinner, xylene, acetone, citrus extract solvents and all paint removers are very damaging to natural hairs, and will embrittle them if used regularly. The first thing to break off are the "flags".

-Using a good quality pasty hair conditioner, any of the kinds that promise "beautiful, lustrous hair" is a good idea. The consistency of the conditioner enables re-shaping the brush after washing, which can eliminate "wave" and splayed hairs upon drying. I've noted definite improvement in my hog bristles since I began using it.

Lastly, the cleaning and care of brushes used in commercial paints, enamels and lacquers in the sign shop has little to do with caring for brushes used for "fine art" oil painting. The brushes are different, the materials are different, the uses are different, and expectations for longevity of the brushes are different.

[Debra Norton]

I use the Dove shampoo/conditioner combo. It works great.