When painting with acrylics, one of the most tedious tasks is cleaning your brushes between colors. If left unattended, dried paint can easily re-seep into your next brush or surface you use it on.
It is very easy to get stuck in a circle when washing your brushes as many artists do not know how to properly clean their tools. Luckily, we are giving you all the tips here!
We will go over different ways to wash your brushes and what type of brush is best for which method. But first, let’s review some basic information about acrylic paints.
Acrylic Painting Tips – Conclusion
To give yourself more time to create beautifully painted pictures, be sure to organize and store all of your supplies well. Also, remember that if you put away your tools correctly, you will have enough time to start another picture later!
Hopefully you have learned lots of helpful information about acrylic paintings today! Best of luck creating art and wishing you beautiful creations, now.
Use the correct mixture of cleaning solution and water
When painting with acrylic paints, one must be careful not to scratch or drag your brush across the surface of the paint when changing colors.
This can result in some pretty hard work! One way to avoid this is by using the right amount of cleaner depending on the size of the brush you are using.
As always, make sure to clean all of the liquid off of your brush before washing it so that you do not have any residue left over.
Wipe dry with a soft cloth
When painting is done, it is very important to clean your brushes!
Most artists agree that using a wooden handle brush is the best way to start because you can wash them out-to-loss in alcohol or water.
After this, use a soft, lint free towel to wipe off any dried paint that has stuck to the brush. Make sure to scrape all of the bristles away to ensure they are cleaned properly.
Once you have wiped off as much excess paint as possible, rinse your brush under fresh running water until the liquid runs clear. Repeat this process for every color layer.
Acrylic paints will thin down when exposed to air so make sure to let each brush dry completely before moving onto the next one.
Use the correct mixture of cleaning solution and water
When painting with acrylic paints, one can run into a problem when you go to use your brush as a tool.
Acrylic paint will sometimes stick to your brushes due to exposure to moisture or other liquids. This is called wet-picking and it’s totally normal!
But unfortunately, wet picking can be a tricky thing to remove unless you know how! So, in this article we are going to talk about some easy ways to clean out your brushes while showing you an easy way to take care of all of your natural supply hair brushes.
We also have a special tip for you if you are trying to figure out how to get rid of liquid acrylic paint that has seeped into the inner parts of your brush.
Let dry completely
When painting with acrylics, one must be careful not to scrub your brush too hard as this can ruin the paint layer or even break it down completely!
Instead of cleaning out the glue that holds the powder in place, you could scrape off some of the old paint by dragging the brush across the surface.
Once the top coat is gone, you can start over or simply re-coat the area.
Use the proper storage container
The size of your brush depends on what style painting you want to do! For example, if you wanted to create large landscapes or still life pictures, then larger brushes are needed.
If you want to paint more detailed scenes with small details, then smaller brushes are better.
There is no wrong size brush when it comes to educating yourself about acrylic paints, but there is one bad choice.
That choice is not using the right sized container to mix your colors. Because of this, some of your color layers may have run out before they were fully mixed together. This can cause very thin, muddy painted lines that will take longer to completely dry than normal.
We recommend using either an empty glass bottle with a plastic lid as your mixing container, or use a palette knife to mix your colors in a separate plate or area.
Keep containers tightly closed
When you are completing your painting, make sure to clean your brushes as soon as they are empty!
Once all of the liquid has been squeezed out, wash each brush thoroughly with water or dip in some diluted alcohol (try using rubbing alcohol). This will take away any residue that may have dried onto the brush.
Never use soap to wash your brushes because it could damage the glue which holds the paint on the handle.
Store in a cool, dark place
When paint is dry, you can begin painting again with your new brush.
As we have discussed before, acrylic paints will gel or set up when they are exposed to air. This means that if you put your brush down and it has dried some onto the handle, you cannot use that brush until it is re-melted.
If this happens, throw the brush away! You may be able to get half of a good stroke out of it, but not all of it, so do not waste expensive brushes just because you could not use them.
Never burn off any hardened paint either, as this can result in chemical reactions which can damage the paint layer underneath.
So how does one clean an acrylics brush? There are two basic ways: using alcohol or soap. Both work well, though there are slight differences between each type.
Use the correct mixture of cleaning solution and water
The first step in removing dried acrylic paint is to use the right mix of cleaners with water. You do not need too much cleaner, as this could create a dry patchy area that would be hard to cover up.
Too much liquid will also wet down the brush more than needed, which could result in flooding or dripping of the next color layer.
You can always add additional water if necessary to make the solution run better. Just remember to test it on an inconspicuous part of your canvas first!
The best type of cleansers for painting are alcohol-based. These include regular ethanol (alcohol) drinks like rubbing alcohol, denatured alcohol, or Isopropyl Alcohol. Never use acetone because it will remove the glue that holds some types of acrylic paints together.