Old paint and paint brushes don't do well together. Follow these secrets from the pros to make painting easier and mess-free.
8 Tips for Making Your Paint Brushes and Rollers Last Longer
Because I’m not a professional painter, I inevitably loose track of my paintbrushes and I especially neglect to clean them properly. This means that I end up buying them more often than I need, which is bad for both my bank account and the environment. But, it’s actually pretty simple to fix these problems and prolong their lifespan.
“Of course the secret to getting the most out of paint brushes doesn’t end with how you use them but rather how you clean and maintain them,” says George Crew, a painting contractor with Chicago Paint Crew. “If you take proper care of your brushes and rollers, they will be okay for years, and you will always have a pair of brushes and rollers ready to do your creative visions to life.”
Here are some tips for how to prolong the lifespan of your paint brushes and rollers.
How Much Do Paint Brushes and Rollers Cost?
Prices vary, depending on what size brushes you’re looking for and how many you need. But you can often find a variety pack for $10 to $25. Be sure to clean your brushes after you’re finished for the day so you can extend their life. Even $10 at a time will add up quickly if you have to keep replacing them.
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Edge-Trim Your Paint Roller
Those ragged edges and tiny beads of dried paint on your paint roller may seem harmless, but they’ll leave ugly tracks in your paint job. Trim them off, leaving a slightly tapered edge, and your roller will be as good as new.
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Brush for Cleaning Brushes
Dried paint and paint brushes don’t do well together. An old golf club brush is perfect for scrubbing off that crusty build-up. The plastic bristles scour away most of the crust without harming the brush. The brass bristles will take care of the stubborn spots.
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Double the Life of Your Paint Brushes
To ensure a lifetime of use out of your synthetic paint brushes, clean each one immediately after using it, before the paint has a chance to dry. Wipe the brush on newspaper to remove excess paint. Then stick the brush into a bucket of warm water and move it around to remove as much paint as possible.
Next, hold the brush under running water. Run a wire brush or a kitchen fork down the bristles to remove dried paint. When the water running off the bristles turns clear, the brush is clean.
Let each paint brush air dry, then wrap it with the cardboard cover it came in or heavy paper, like a grocery bag. To keep the bristles straight, hang the brushes from a nail or hook, or store them flat.
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Lint-Free Paint Roller
Cheap paint rollers shed all over the paint as you roll it on, but they’re good because they’re disposable — no cleanup! Before using one, wipe it with a self-adhesive lint roller to remove all the loose fuzz. No more picking it off wet walls.
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Best Way to Clean Roller Covers
If you do a lot of roll-on painting and use premium roller covers you don’t want to throw away, get a Roller Washer ($15). You’ll be glad you did. It’s easy to use and gets the rollers incredibly clean — a task that takes a long time by hand, and even then you rarely get a truly clean nap.
Just hook up the hose to a faucet, slide the roller cover into the tube and watch the water flush out the paint in minutes.
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Brush Ceiling Edges
Cut in the perimeters of ceilings with ceiling white and a 3-in. brush. Don’t worry if you overlap onto the wall. Roll on a second coat of ceiling paint in the opposite direction of the first coat.
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Paint Brush Holder
Soak oil brushes in cleaning solvent without bending the bristles and ruining the brush! Affix a medium or large binder clip around the handle of a brush and spread the arms to span a cleaning container so the bristles don’t touch the bottom.
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Out-Of-The-Way Paint Brush Storage
Hang your paint brushes out of harm’s way by installing screw eyes or cup hooks on the bottom of a couple of rafters or floor joists. Then, thread the brush handles through a stiff wire or welding rod and hang it all up.
FAQ
How long can I reuse paintbrushes and rollers?
It depends on how well you clean and maintain them, but rollers typically last five to ten projects, while brushes can last indefinitely.
“High-quality paint brushes can last years,” says Docia Boylen, owner of Handyman Connection of Golden. “Treat them like any of your tools and they will follow you from job to job.”
What can I do if my paint roller leaves streaks or marks on the surface?
Streaks from paint rollers can be due to a number of factors, but commonly they’re caused by too much paint on the roller, not cleaning a roller well between projects or pressing too hard. They can also be caused by failing to condition a new roller or using the wrong length of nap.
“You want short nap for smooth surfaces and longer nap for walls with texture,” says Boylen. “And the quality of the roller you purchase matters, too, as cheap rollers can either shed or not spread the paint properly.”
About the Experts
- George Crew is a principal at Chicago Construction Crew and Chicago Paint Crew and has more than 30 years of experiences as a painting contractor and general contractor.
www.chicagoconstructioncrew.com www.chicagopaintcrew.com - Docia Boylen is owner of Handyman Connection of Golden, Colorado, and was honored with several awards at the 2024 Handyman Connection Annual Conference.
