I swear by Cellulose Thinners. Then a wash in warm, soapy water.....

I use Vallejo brush cleaner & brush restorer Steve. The brush cleaner smells very similar to isopropanol (not that I make a habit of sniffing it), so I suspect regular isopropanol would do the same job.

One thing I have found is that if I give my brushes a good swirl in brush cleaner after a Vallejo painting session, it does tend to shift those deep paint deposits which no amount of cleaning in water will move, so that’s a definite point in its favour.

As for the brush restorer, I give my regularly used brushes a good dunking in this about once a month & find it’s good for restoring the softness of the hairs & points. It also helps get rid of those pesky single hairs which you sometimes find sticking out from the head of the brush when you’ve put it back into its plastic tube to protect the shape, & one has snuck out the side.

One thing I always do is to wash the brushes out in soapy water to keep the shape (I once heard someone suggest Swarfega, the non-gritty variety, was good for doing this & he painted regularly with great results, so I’ve no reason to doubt him) but sometimes if there’s not going to be a long gap between painting sessions then I’ll just give them a dip in the brush restorer because it’s quicker.

I’d say give it a go if bench time is at a premium, & I’ve found Vallejo is the one that works for me. I don’t know of any other brands BTW, because I haven’t visited an art shop for a long time.

HTH,
Chris.

W&N brush restorer is amazing. It is so powerful that it will remove any labels, any ink from any surface, etc.
Overnignt soak will remove any dry acrylic paint (and oil paint as well).
It is not alcool based

W &N restorer works for me too but I find once the point has gone from a brush it is lost forever. ( Unless someone knows different).

Bill

Greenstuff World sell this: http://www.greenstuffworld.com/en/brush-repair/627-brush-repair-gel.html

I'll have to pick some up next time I make an order and give it a whirl.


Kimmo

Just the other day an amateur artist friend, whose been painting for years, told me about Murphy's Oil Soap as her go to for her oil painting. Here is a link I found from searching.
https://keetonsonline.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/your-guide-to-brushes-paintbrush-care/

and

Once the point is gone , you have lost the point you might get better results resurrecting the dead , once its fooked that's the end , relegate it to a blending brush position.
position . there is no magical formula which will restore it to brand new

might be cheaper just to buy a new brush

I use the Masters as well. It works well for brushes and it also works well to remove paint from clothing or the rug but don't over do it at it can bleach out the color to a degree.

I use Vallejo's restorer and it is an absolute value for money product.It can restore even heavily worn brushes.Worth a try.

Oda.

I got some paint & varnish remover from Wilco. It was a fiver for what seems to be a lifetime supply. I think screwfix sell the same stuff as well.
And yes, it is really good. It breathes life into dead brushes and the stuff it can take out of apparently clean brushes is good.

I use Masters Steve,bought it from Jacksons and it is first class. I use it for oils and have a separate cleaner for Acrylics.

See you on Saturday?......Keith

Murphy's Oil Soap? That's interesting, Doc! I use it for cleaning woodwork around the house, but now I'll have to try it as a preservative on my brushes. Makes sense-it contains oils similar to lanolin and other oils that are used to preserve natural bristles.

Prost!
Brad

Same as Felix, I use Masters and have done so for years. Working principle.........if it ain't broke then don't mend it - right ?

Mike

Hey Brad, I checked with my friend and she got this tip from one of her painting instructors. I have used Master's and Chelsea's Lavender & Olive Oil Soap. Always heard of W & N Brush cleaner, Walnut Oil, Safflower Oil, and using regular hair conditioner to help return natural oils to natural hair brushes. Murphy's certainly will give you more than just for brushes, as you have found, and at a price you cannot beat. Prost back at you.

This post just saved me some $$ on brushes, cant wait to try using some of these techniques