New to brush care

I had two posts written in draft that have dissapeared over the weekend. I never delete drafts so Im not sure what happened - perhaps I mistakenly clicked on delete when logging out when my FF freezes (Due to that crappy HP software starting up).

I have recently started to try to take more care of my brushes as most are showing wear and tear. I have been really lazy with brushes, I simply use them till they die and then they get moved onto use with PVA for bases and then buy some more. very lazy and a waste. I did think I was cleaning them (clean water etc.) but over time the paint builds in the ferule and they slowly clog up. with child and that cat I have also had some interruptions that have me forgetting brushes loaded with paint. These then dry and lose all use. I'm not expecting the brushes to be back to new but just to look after them better and prolong their life.

So a month or two ago I scoured the interwebz for information and and tips and found two products:

1. Masters Brush Cleaner 

I used this on all brushes one night and wow it did a really good job of getting paint out or brushes I thought were clean. I also left it on some dead brushes for an hour and they came back to life slowly. Afterwards the brushes had more life back on them and regained some shape and I was very happy. I uses this at the end of every session and I'm finding it really helps clean the paint I can see.


2.Winsor and Newton Bruish Cleaner and Restorer. 

Some of the brushes though really need a defibrillator type shock so I used another product.

I have to say this stuff is the kryptonite to dried paint. The old brushes I soaked 9They were 100% dried solid) came back to life and all the dried paint came out of them. I think they have regained almost 70% of their quality and that is the end result I was looking for. It has no odour and is water soluble and it has worked wonders with these old brushes.

A good result from my searching on the internet and other peoples blogs so thanks to all those that posted videos and comments on the webs for others to see. I remember as a kid using turps on those Humbrol enamel paints -I must have been high as a kite for a time. Now I'm older I am more fussy - I found even the smell of Tamiya Acrylic to be bad so can only use it in the garage.

Cheerio.