Regardless of your level of skill, your tools (or brushes) will ultimately determine how your painting turns out. A good set of brushes, if properly taken care of and prepped correctly before use, will last for ages and help you to create the most beautiful art.
Here’s how you can prepare your brushes for use with acrylic paint:
- Remove starch or gum arabic solution from new brushes.
- Remove loose bristles from the paint brushes.
- Wet paint brushes before use.
- Restore the bristles to the original shape.
- Clean the brushes as soon as you’re done.
Keep reading to learn how to prepare your paint brushes for use with acrylic paint, whether they’re brand new or you’ve had them for a while.
How To Prepare Brushes for Use With Acrylic Paint
Remove Starch or Gum Arabic Solution From New Brushes
When you buy a new set of paintbrushes, you need to spend some time preparing them before you can paint with them. You’ll notice that the bristles on new paintbrushes are quite stiff regardless of whether they’re made of natural or synthetic bristles.
The reason for this is the manufacturers add starch or gum arabic solution to the hairs to keep them stiff. and prevent them from getting damaged during transit. However, you can’t paint with stiff bristles.
Removing the starch is relatively easy — all you need to do is fill a jar with fresh, cool water and swirl the paintbrushes in the water. Never use hot water
as it can damage the bristles.
Once free of starch, take the paint brushes out of the water and bend the bristles back and forth to loosen any remaining starch, then wipe them with a cloth or paper towel. Repeat this step several times to ensure all the starch gets removed.
Remove Loose Bristles From the Paintbrushes
There is little more frustrating or annoying than painting on a canvas or paper and having stray bristles from your paintbrush stick to your painting. These can be difficult to remove. You can either try removing them with your finger — which can smudge the paint — or a tweezer, which could damage the canvas or tear the paper.
To avoid either possibility, it is best to remove any loose bristles before you even begin painting. Keep in mind that loose bristles are a normal part of manufacturing paintbrushes and not a defect.
To remove the loose bristles, you should do the following:
- Wet the paintbrush.
- Hold the bristles at the base between your thumb and index finger.
- Gently squeeze along the length from the base to the tip.
Like removing the scratch, it’s a good idea to repeat this step a few times to get rid of all the stray hairs. Still, you need to do it gently so that you don’t accidentally pull out or loosen all the bristles.
Wet Paint Brushes Before Use
Whether you’re using a new paintbrush for the first time or one you’ve had for years, you need to wet it before using it to get smooth, even brush strokes.
A damp paintbrush is much easier to control, especially when using acrylic paint. The paint glides on smoothly, and you get a thinner paint application. A wet brush also allows you to blend colors easily.
If you’re a novice painter, it is advisable to always wet your paintbrush before painting. As you become more comfortable painting with acrylic paint and would like to experiment with different techniques, you can skip this step and paint using a dry brush.
When using a dry brush, start with only a tiny amount of paint on the tip of the brush. This is because paint tends to clump together on a dry brush and then this blob of paint gets transferred onto your canvas.
Restore the Bristles to the Original Shape
Once you’ve wet the brushes, you want to restore the bristles to their original shape before you begin painting. Sometimes, especially if you’ve used warm water, the bristles become limp and spread away from each.
To get the original shape, gather the bristles together between your forefinger and thumb and gently press them together, running your thumb and forefinger from the base of the hairs to the tip. It is easier to paint when all the bristles are together and pointing in the same direction.
Clean the Brushes As Soon as You’re Done
Acrylic paint dries very quickly, so you need to clean your brushes as soon as you’ve finished painting. If you leave them with paint still on the bristles in the hopes of coming back later to clean them, it will take much longer and they will be difficult to clean. As such, you’d rather not delay.
To clean your paint brushes after painting with acrylic paint, do the following:
- Mix equal parts of either coconut oil or olive oil with dish soap. Then, coat the bristles with this mixture.
- You can rub the bristles together between your fingers or rub the bristles into the palm of your hand to remove the paint. The paint should easily come off. Then rinse the brushes in cool or lukewarm water.
- When the brushes are clean, wipe off excess water with a cloth or paper towel. Either hang them with the bristles facing down or lay them flat to store.
Never stand paintbrushes upright with the bristles pointing up if they’re wet because water can seep down into the base of the hairs, which can damage them.
Final Words
Before you begin painting, you must take some time to prepare your brushes. If your brushes are brand new, you will need to remove the starch and any stray hairs from the brushes. For older brushes, dampen the bristles and restore them to their original shape before you use them.
When you’re done, clean the brushes immediately and store them correctly. Spending a bit of time preparing your paint brushes before using them and then cleaning and storing them correctly will keep your brushes in good working condition for years to come.
Sources
- Art Is Fun: Paintbrushes for Acrylics
- Grumbacher: General Tips: Breaking in a New Brush
- The Spruce Crafts: Acrylic Painting Tips for Beginners
- Craft Bliss: Should You Wet the Brush Before Using Acrylic Paint?
- Brush Artistry: Brush Care
- Etchr Lab:The Do’s and Don’ts of caring for Your Paint Brushes