To ensure the long life of brushes:
• remove excess paint from the bristles with the back of a knife
• wash out solvent-based paint in white spirit followed by soapy, then clean water – the soap restores flexibility and softens the brush
• wash out non-drip paint in a hot water/ washing-up liquid solution then rinse in clean cold water
• hang up brushes, bristles down, to dry (drill a hole in the handle to take a nail)
• at the end of a job a build-up of paint can be difficult to remove; soak the brush in a proprietary brush cleaner
• if leaving brushes overnight before continuing a paint job, suspend them in a jam-jar containing white spirit (drill a hole near the ferrule to take a nail) but remove all traces of spirit next day
TIP: STORING BRUSHES
During a short break wrap brushes in plastic cling-film to keep air off and the paint in the brush wet.