Cleaning a Paint Brush

One of the jobs I hate the most is cleaning a paintbrush. That is why I make it as easy as possible. So one of the first things I do is assess how big the job is and what quality of brush I need.

If the job is small then clean up is relatively easy because the paint is not yet dried and caked on to the brush. Spray a little citrus orange on the brush, let it soak in your sink. Then wash it out.

Other times, depending on the type of job and the quality of brush required, I just throw the brush away. Hey, it's only a $5 brush.

To wash out my high quality brushes that are caked on, I soak them in citrus orange, then use the sprayer in the kitchen sink to rinse them out with tepid water, and use a stiff brush to scrape the paint out. It takes only a few minutes to do this and is worth it if you've spent $20 or more on your brush. But, man, do I ever hate doing it.

Well, after doing all that painting and brush cleaning, you deserve a Starbucks. So go get one. And invite me along.

What's that? How do you clean roller covers? Well, you scrape the excess paint out of them, slip a cheap plastic bag over them, pull them off your roller and throw them in the garbage. There! I just saved you a lot of frustration. That should be worth another Starbucks.