So I bought some art brushes to use for finishing...they work well but I'm trying to figure out how to clean them...I used alcohol but it's still sticky.
Any ideas?

Jon

Good and bad news. First the good news, such as it is.

What alcohol did you use? DNA works better. And acetone (bad stuff to inhale or get on your skin) worked as well as some of the epoxy brush cleaners I tried. Regardless of the solvent used, finish cleaning with a product available at art stores called Pink Soap.

The bad news is nothing works really well for an extended period. If you've just got to use an art brush, go inexpensive with the cheapest available labeled for all paints.

I preferred (past tense) to use art brushes for both epoxy and spar but abandoned them in favor of disposable brushes for epoxy due to cost.

I clean my brushes in denatured alcohol, which I assume is what you are using. I clean them, dry them with a paper towel and then clean them again. Even doing the best job I can, I can only get about 3 to 4 uses out of them. That is why I use cheap brushes.

Do yourself a favor. Buy a bottle or two of TRONDAK U40-6-BRUSH CLEANER 4 oz..

1. After using the brush, wipe it clean with a paper towel. I like the (mostly) lint free blue shop towels (cut them into easy to use squares before hand).
2. Put your brush in the brush cleaner bottle.
3. Wrap a piece of foil around the mouth of the bottle and brush, and form it closed.
4. Pull the brush up off the bottom of bottle. If you have a loose foil wrap you can use masking tape to hold brush off bottom.
5. Leave it alone until you need a brush.

When you need to finish a rod, pull the brush out of the U40 and do a quick wipe with a lint free paper towel. I do this while my epoxy is in the mixer.

I started doing this 10 years ago and I am using the same 3 or 4 brushes.

You're welcome.

This works best with brushes that have bare wood handles.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/04/2017 09:39AM by Chuck Mills.

Same here. I quit cleaning brushes once I began using the U-40 Brush Cleaner. Just wipe excess epoxy off with a paper towel and dunk the brush into a small cup of the cleaner. Just leave it alone there until the next time you need it. Then withdraw, swipe with a paper towel, and use. The cleaner isn't prone to evaporate quickly so even in an open cup it lasts a long time.

..................

I put some brush cleaner, enough to cover the brush bristles, in an empty 12 oz plastic water bottle. I wipe the excess finish off the brush and put it in the bottle and cap it. You can let it set for as long as you like and you do not have to worry about spills. If the brush handle is to long just trim it back till it fits the bottle. Been using the same brushes for years.
Norm

Flex-Coat is the best I've used. But I don't soak my brushes in an open container. I keep a capped jar of Flex-Coat Brush Cleaner on my bench which I dip my brush into after wiping out the bulk of the epoxy. I then swirl my brush in the cleaner and wipe with a rag or paper towel . I then go to the laundry sink put a dab of liquid dish detergent on the bristles add a little water and comb thru the bristles with a hand cleaning brush which removes the cleaner. I then rinse with water, wipe dry and store the brush until next use. The whole process takes less than two minutes I never had a problem with fish eyes due to a contaminated brush.
I wash new brushes like this to be sure they are ready for finishing. The only reason I replace a brush is if and when it starts loosing bristles.

Dennis J. Danku
(Sayreville,NJ)

Jon,
Save yourself a lot of head aches and trouble. Buy inexpensive brushes and throw them away after one rod.

I have gone the entire route of various cleaners and have used some excellent cleaners that work all right. But, at the end of the day, it is a hassle and trouble and the finish is no better nor worse with a $10 brush or a 5 cent brush.

When doing finish work the brush does one thing - it carries the finish from the finish container to the rod, but the only thing that actually touches the rod is the finish and not the brush.

So, I go to walmart or to the craft center and buy brushes in the children section.

[www.walmart.com]

This link is for 144 brushes for $8.54 or 6 cents each. So, rather than deal with cleaners, fumes and mess, I just add 6 cents to the price of each rod for each coat of finish that gets applies to the rod and all is square.

Be safe

I clean my disposable brushes, no hassle at all.
Norm

I bought a 6 pack of random brushes at craft store and have been using 91% isopropyl alcohol to clean them. I just put the brush in the alc and swirl it around a bit and leave it there. A bit before I get ready to use it I pull it out and dry it on a towel and let it sit for a bit for it to evaporate and it's ready to go. They were like $3 for the pack, and so far I have cleaned them 8 times and still good.

I use U-40 also. It does not seem to evaporate. It will take paint off brush handles if left to sit. Take paint off brushes before using if you want to avoid a messy surprise next time you go for a brush.

I use lacquer thinner from Home Depot Put it in a small mayonnaise jar Not the best thing to sniff Roger has a good idea But i have been using several brushes for many years ???
Not sure about the brain cells LOL

Bill - willierods.com

I use U-40 Brush Cleaner with the exact same procees as Dennis Danku.
Work well :-)

________________________________________
@+
Eric
[www.emfishing.fr]

FWIW, I prefer the moderately priced ($3 to $4) 'art brushes' found at places like A. C. Moore and Michaels, and I clean them with the Flex Coat Brush Cleaner. First, I like a stiff, flat 1/4" brush for applying finish. There was a time when I even used a metal palette knife for a first coat on threads, but they are getting harder to find where I live. I don't 'soak' the brushes, either. I put a little cleaner in a 'dose' cup, swirl the brush in it, and then dry it by brushing out the excess cleaner on old newsprint. I have found the cheaper brushes available at places like Wal Mart to be unsatisfactory. Sometimes, the hair will begin coming loose from the brush before I finish one coat, and I don't like ones with nylon bristles. But that's just me, I suppose.

From ghoulies and ghosties,
and long leggedy beasties,
and things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord deliver us!

Hunter,
The Walmart brushes that I pointed out earlier, are very very similar to the brushes sold by flex coat for finish application. Roughly the same construction with similar materials.
Seldom loses any bristles when finishing the rod that will be done by that one brush.

You might give them a try - at 6 cents per brush, not much to lose if you don't like it.

Good luck

Yes, the Walmart/Flexcoat brushes work very well. Hard to beat for the price, and they hold up very well even after dozens of clean and reuse.cycles. A gross of these brushes will last you a lifetime.
Norm

For the budget builder which i am. +1 for Roger.

Maybe I'm the exception, but I would need 4 to 6 brushes per build. What a waste. Two coats on the guide wraps, two or three coats on decal areas or large thread wraps. I don't try to do it all in one shot.

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane

Chuck,
So what if it takes 6 brushes to finish a build. 6x6 =36 cents. You likely have more than that in paper towels on a build.

You will spend more for one guide than the cost of the brushes. Also, you save on having any brush cleaner, or brush cleaner container.

Good luck

Roger - I have purchased the disposables from Mud Hole in the past in packs of 100 in two sizes. I mostly used them for repairs and various shop tasks. I just didn't like using them on customer rods, and they are pretty useless for 3 and 4mm guides. I ended up buying some really nice small art brushes for small guides.

A nice 1/4" ox hair finishing brush is $2.25 retail from Mud Hole. I bought a few for my business over 10 years ago and I am still using them. I'm not that good at math but that's a pretty good value, don't you think?

The original poster asked about cleaning brushes so I tried to answer that question. If you want to go another direction you can use a finish spatula. I tried that and didn't care for it.

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane