I went to ace hardware store today and look around and see something about paint brush cleaner and i wonder if this one will work to clean a expoy ? or i need to be expoy clean ? how about acetone ? and what is ur advice about the chemicals that i has see at ace hardware store..
Josh

I have tried a ridiculous number of things to clean my brushes and there are only two things that I have found that work well. U40 brush cleaner which is fine if you want to buy it a couple ounces at a time and have to wait for shipping, or epoxy thinner. Keep in mind epoxy thinner is ridiculously harsh. So if money and or time are of no concern U40 brush cleaner is awesome. Xylene, Acetone and several others were less than acceptable by my standards. There are several other rod building specific cleaner brands that I have not tried so I am not putting any of them down. In fact I just recently got some experimental cleaner from Silvia at Bullard International, the same company responsible for the Diamond II finish. I have not fully evaluated it yet so I will not say one way or the other at this time. Please feel free to e-mail me personally to get my report on the Bullard International experimental cleaner.
James

+1 for u-40

Mid temp lacquer thinner

Bill - willierods.com

U40 Brush Cleaner also has a fairly low odor. It's hard to believe that something with such a low odor has so much strength in removing partially set up epoxy. I've tried quite a few products as well and this U40 gets my endorsement. Great investment as it keeps my brushes going much longer than anything else I've used.

U-40 here too!
It is a good solvent for a lot more things than just epoxy too.

Walt Natzke
Ripon, CA

I don't know about the harsh chemicals, but maybe it is the finish I use, but I use first IA, then DA, then good old Joy soap and water and my expensive brushes are lasting years, But that is just me.
Kerry

Kerry,

Soak bristles in the U40 Cap, then rinse with water...................I can't see myself investing in the effort you put forth. More power to ya' brother.

Walt,

You're right. This stuff is better on my truck than Bug and Tar Remover, when needed.

If I have to clean a brush - which I seldom do - the only thing I use is Xylene.
Xylene is the chemical of choice - although quite toxic when breathed - to thin and otherwise clean up epoxy.

But, the best thing to do with brushes is to throw them away after use and never clean them.

I used to have expensive brushes and spend a lot of time, money and effort to keep them clean. However, I found that the expensive brushes really didn't apply finish any better than the 3 cent brushes that I use now.

I buy brushes, in large quantities, so the price per brush is quite low - less than 5 cents per brush. I use once and then throw it away. I simply make the 5 cents part of the rod cost, so pass it along to the customer.
If I were to use expensive brushes, I would be using 20-50 cents worth of brush cleaner, each time that I cleaned a brush and then would spend 5 to 15 minutes on the brush to get it clean.

Simple, easy, and inexpensive - cheap brush, use once and throw away.

Take care
Roger

Roger, I do about the same as use...I just consider them a supply at tax time...

When I do occasionally use a nice brush I use the U40 cleaner as well with a water rinse at the end.

Scott Sheets
www.smsrods.com

I use the higher quality $5.00 to 6.00 dollar brushes always have and always will. Because I find that I get better results.

And if I’m building on such a tight budget that I have to pass on 5 cents to the customer to recoup my loses of keep my profit margins, then I can pass on the 20 or 30 cents worth of cleaner just as easily.
.

I use throw away brushes everyday when doing repairs. But when I'm epoxying my thread wraps on new builds I use higher quality brushes like Steve. I think they do a much better job at applying a smooth finish on my guide wraps and especially on my decals. A soft brush leaves a much smoother coat and not like a stiffer throw away brush that leaves ridges in my finish. As for cleaning them I've been using the Bullard brush cleaner and can tell you that it doesn't take more than one minute to clean my brush in the solution, wipe it down with a paper towel and set it aside to dry. It also leaves the bristles as soft as when it was new.

[swamplandtackle.com]

Lance

I've personally never seen a good quality thread finish job that was done using cheap throw away brushes.