Storing your brushes
At home, I store my brushes in the many souvenir coffee mugs that I have acquired over the years. I fill the mugs with uncooked pinto beans or black-eyed peas. The brushes can stand straight up without touching another brush. I have a mug for every size brush – #4 flat, #6 flat, #8 flat, and so on. Word of caution: Be sure that your brushes are completely dry before standing them upright.
When traveling, I use our pretty One Stroke Brush Roll-up. The Brush Roll-up is a convenient and protective storage solution. There are 24 pockets to hold a variety of paint brushes. Special waterproof coating on the inside protects fabric and surfaces from damp brushes. To keep the brushes from falling out, I added a velcro strip to the top of the brush roll and then added the corresponding velcro strip to a piece of heavy plastic that I had cut to fit the brush roll.
Using the Brush Basin
When painting, I use our brush basin to clean the brushes between colors. I wipe off the excess paint on a paper towel, and then gently but firmly brush back and forth on the basin grid.
Additional features and tips of the brush basin:
– The brush basin has a brush cradle. I use this area when I know I will be using the brush within a few minutes and just need to ‘rest’ the brush in water so that the paint will not dry into the brush bristles.
– Be sure when you have the brush resting on the cradle inside the tub that the bristles are not touching the bottom, since this will bend the bristles.
– Also, don’t have the water level so high that the wooden brush handle gets wet. This may cause the handle to swell and the ferrule to become loose and result in “wobbling” while you are painting.
– If the brush sits too long in the water, the paint on the handle may peel and flake off.
Cleaning Your Brushes
With One Stroke painting, it is very important to have a crisp chisel edge. In order to keep your brushes looking like new, I recommend cleaning your brushes with the FolkArt Brush Preserver Kit. The kit includes a 2 oz. bottle of brush cleaner to gently remove paints, varnishes and mediums, and a specially designed scrubber that cleans all bristle lengths.
Remember – Paint-clogged ferrules are one of your brushes’ worst enemies!
In three easy steps, your brushes will be clean, shaped and ready to go when you start your next project.
1. Squeeze a small amount of FolkArt Brush Cleaner and Conditioner onto your brush.
2. Place the brush scrubber in the palm of your hand, choose the correct height of scrubber teeth for your brush, then move the brush back and forth under the running water until the water runs clear. Use a scrubber height tall enough to remove paint from the ferrule.
3. After cleaning, apply a small amount of FolkArt Brush Cleaner and Conditioner and reshape the bristles using your thumb and forefinger. Lay your brush flat on the counter or table until completely dry.
Information for this article was taken from Plaid Online, OneStroke.com and In-Home Art Catalog.