Gramercy brush clean up

[delbs]

Sorry if this has already been asked in this thread ,i searched but couldn't find any relevant posts

I have got some brushes ordered from Henry Eckert fine tools, i purchased 2 of each, a set of water based finishing brush and then 2 of ox hair.

Usually when i am finishing or painting in general i buy new cheap brushes from the big green shed and try to keep them clean with turps, once they get all hard or if they didnt get cleaned properly i usually just throw them out without another thought. As i have paid a fair bit more for these brushes i want to increase the longevity of such a product and keep them in great condition for every future finish job

So just after ideas of how other woodworkers clean then store the brushes so they still have as good a result as the first time of using them? is it just cleaning with turps or some other product?

Thanks in advance for any advice

[DJ’s Timber]

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f9/tip...rushes-111939/

[ubeaut]

Wash the water ones out with copious amounts of water then do the same again in clean fresh soapy water and rinse well.

Remember that once a water based finish dries in the brush, it is no longer water soluble, so make sure you clean the brush promptly after use. If you can't get to the cleaning right away wrap the brush well in cling wrap to exclude any air. This will stop the finish from polymerising in the brush. Wash out as soon as you get a chance or you may have to throw the brush out.

The ox hair brushes are best kept for shellac. These can be washed out in Metho then hung in a jar so the bristles are just in the metho. This will keep the brush conditioned and ready for immediate use at any time.

I keep my camel hair mops in a tall bolognese sauce jar with a hole bored in the lid to take the handle a hole through the handle has a nail or similar passed through it to stop the brush from dropping into the metho and sitting on the bottom of the jar where the bristles would be permanently bent.

My gramercy brushes sit in a plastic top jug with the holes/slits cut into the lid so as to allow the brushes to be held tight.

There is more info about cleaning and care of these brushes on the Gramercy web site.

Cheers - Neil

PS I spoke to the Henry Eckert's bloke at Melb T&WWWShow last year to see if they had enough brushes for me to send people to them during the show and he told me they were out and weren't going to get any more in.

[ubeaut]

Quick pic of camel hair mop in jar.

You will notice the bristles aren't even in the metho but the brush is still ready for use as the fumes are enough to keep it conditioned.

I would normally have about 5-10mm of the bristles sitting in the meths. Don't put the entire head of the bristles in there.

brush.png

Would have shown the Gramercy brushes hanging in Jug but it's burried in amongst all the show stuff in a really big box on top of the pallet racking.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers - Neil

[delbs]

Thanks for both the link and info on how you store them. The pic just ties it all together. I got some air tight jars to keep my shellac etc in and now just looking at using my other jars for the brushes. Will read through that link also.

Thanks for your info. very informative

[Christos]

I once picked up a goat hair brush from China that after the conversion cost me about 50cents Australian. I wanted to see how the method mention above when using Shellac worked so I used this as a test. Works a treat and even thou it was a very cheap brush it was my go to brush for Shellac finish. I think I used it over a dozen of times in various projects. The thing that stuffed it was I allowed a friend(male?) to give a coat of Shellac on a job that I was finishing and some of the finish hit his hand and he dropped the whole brush in the shellac. The brush did not survive after that dunking.

So what is the moral of the story, I agree with what was said on how to look after the brush and do not allow people with dainty hands to apply finish.

[delbs]

I once picked up a goat hair brush from China that after the conversion cost me about 50cents Australian. I wanted to see how the method mention above when using Shellac worked so I used this as a test. Works a treat and even thou it was a very cheap brush it was my go to brush for Shellac finish. I think I used it over a dozen of times in various projects. The thing that stuffed it was I allowed a friend(male?) to give a coat of Shellac on a job that I was finishing and some of the finish hit his hand and he dropped the whole brush in the shellac. The brush did not survive after that dunking.

So what is the moral of the story, I agree with what was said on how to look after the brush and do not allow people with dainty hands to apply finish.

Good to know Christos, These brushes will be marked hands off even for my wife lol Not that she paints at all but there was one time that i had 2 nicer brushes (no way near these brushes quality) and i had them still in the packet on my workbench.

Then when i asked if she went to the big green shed to get some new ones to paint that box she replied "oh no i used those brushes on your bench, they were really nice" and then promptly placed them in the bin thinking they were throw aways

So ill be keeping these ones hidden in my tool chest and when in the jars the jars will have a clear label on them i will do this after i verbally warn her these are special and hand her cheaper ones to use

[_fly_]

I have one of those ultrasonic jewelry cleaners, was cheap enough at Aldi.
If its water based I clean the best I can and then put into sonic for 4 minutes, amazed at how much still comes out of the brush.
If its solvent based I fill sonic with water and then put a glass jar with solvent in the water, put brush in there and off I go again.

wash both in soapy water after the sonic bath.