[Feetsdr]

I'm a very intermittent painter around the house. So I forget things from the last time.

I just cut in a closet. took about 1 hour.,the full length of the bristles (along with some of the handle / my hand : ) get paint on them - painting overhead, the paint in the front of the brush flows down towards the handle?, etc.

1) Would you say that's to be expected?

And that paint all around the brush starts drying out. Overall, the brush gets stiffer, I might get a dried / gooey piece of paint at the tip of the brush and I have to pick it off the brush or wall.

2) All that sound unavoidable / expected?

3) Do you get another brush after x minutes typically? I cleaned up this brush and will reuse it once it dries - I'm not tossing them after 1 use.

some of the brushes say polyester. several I just got tell me they type of wood of the handle (birch).... but don't tell me the bristle material! But it says it's for oil and latex. And the tips are thinner than farther back

4) It's an operator issue, not wrong bristle material, right?

And I think this is the same case with rollers - paint gets on the frame, starts to dry then gets back on the rolller as a gooey piece : )

Do you change rollers after x minutes?

 

[SW Dweller]

Rollers and brushes get full of paint the longer you use them. They are designed to hold paint. So as long as your using them and keeping them wet deal with paint dripping on you as you do the ceilings. Need to take a break put them in water. You will need to remove the water before you return to painting.

I am terrible about brushes so I buy mine from the 99 cent store. Toss them when I am done. Roller clean for overnight and then when done pitch.

 

[Biscuits]

Yes, have a small can of water on hand and rinse the brush out periodically. Paint is known to gum up on the brush and end up in your work.

 

[lenaitch]

Just an occasional painter myself but I will usually cut-in a wall then go back and do the roller work. I have a plastic paint pail that has a small magnet that will hold the brush with the bristles in the paint. It has removable liners as well which makes clean-up easier. If the roller is going to sit on the tray for a while I will work it through the paint every now and again.

If you are loading the brush or roller to the point that it is running down the walls or your hand, you're loading it too much.

I can never keep track of which bristle types for which paint. If you buy quality brushes, they typically will say what type of paint they are for. They may be more expensive but if you take care of them and clean them properly after use, they will be cheaper in the long run.

 

[mathmonger]

Start with a slightly damp brush. Instead of paint getting sucked up and drying out, there is water there already, so it protects you. Put paint only on the last inch or so of bristles. If paint gets near the metal ferrule, wash it out completely. A brush is 17 times harder to clean if there is paint up inside there.

 

[Half-fast eddie]

Don’t put so much paint on the brush that it sags down to the ferrule. Or onto the wall.

 

[RanK2]

I will usually only cut 45 to 60 minutes ahead of rolling for two reasons: 1. So that I am rolling into cuts that are still damp. 2. That is as long a period as I want to go before putting my brush in water. At that point 'that' brush is done on that job. ...... If it is ceiling, even less time, as paint is getting into the ferrule even faster.

Allowing paint to set up in the ferrule means a short life for your brush. (I milk as much life out of my brushes as possible ...... I'm just cheap)

 

[RanK2]

I can never keep track of which bristle types for which paint. If you buy quality brushes, they typically will say what type of paint they are for. They may be more expensive but if you take care of them and clean them properly after use, they will be cheaper in the long run.

For a long time I have just used top end nylon for everything except coatings with strong solvents like Xylene. ...... Top line nylon bristle flares now equal boars bristle, and polyester (if they still sell them) were always too flimsy for me.

 

[Jeekinz]

I would never was my brushes out at a customers house. To keep them from drying out Id wrap them tight in plastic.
Brushes I clean and save, rollers get tossed.

 

[Feetsdr]

THANKS! How long do you spend cleaning brushes & rollers? I guess 'cause I am getting paint into the ferrule, that's why it takes a lot of rinsing / water?

And rollers? if you reuse them, do you just resign yourself that there'll be dry paint in there? I was rinsing, massaging, soaking in bucket of hot water for 10+ minutes. And a soak in a bucket still has the water turning cloudy (yes, it's much less than at the start. Oh, and I am using the multi tool for painters to scrape paint out of it. Do you put it back in the can? It doesn't seem to, but I would think you can get roller fibers in the can that way?.

Not really worth the effort I guess?

 

[Jeekinz]

Rollers are not worth my time to clean. When you clean brushes, use alot of warm water. An old hair comb helps too. They sell a tool specifically for that but a comb works.

 

[Marq1]

Rollers are not worth my time to clean.

Well when you buy top quality rollers, and brushes, you want to keep them around so a good cleaning with soap and water only takes a few minutes.

My paint pan is over 30 years old, my Purdy brushes are probably the same. Rollers last several years or many rooms. Quality products area actually the cheapest to own over time!

 

[mark sr]

I almost always wash my rollers but I prefer the lambswool covers which cost significantly more. Using a wire brush to 'comb' the bristles when you clean the brush will both straighten any errant bristles and remove any dried paint.

I am terrible about brushes so I buy mine from the 99 cent store. Toss them when I am done.

Even with all my yrs of experience I'd struggle to do a decent job with a dime store brush. A quality brush does a better job with less effort. While a natural bristle brush will wear down with use the synthetic bristles will last a long time as long as the brush is cleaned properly and stored in the shuck [helps it retain it's shape]

 

[Colbyt]

If you follow the advice above and wet the brush with the solvent the paint uses (water in most cases), and shake it out there will be minimal travel to the ferrule. There is no time to rinse. You rinse when the paint starts to travel, a lot more often when working overhead. You can reduce this by pulling your brush to the side, and not reaching up.

Sometimes in large or multiple rooms rollers do need changing. I never clean them.

 

[Jeekinz]

Well when you buy top quality rollers, and brushes, you want to keep them around so a good cleaning with soap and water only takes a few minutes.

My paint pan is over 30 years old, my Purdy brushes are probably the same. Rollers last several years or many rooms. Quality products area actually the cheapest to own over time!

I highly doubt a 30 year old roller (used often) produces the same quality as a $2-3 new disposable.

I have my fair share of old tools. 80% of my hand tools are pre 1980. As a solo GC/trim carpenter I take care of my stuff. Constantly cleaning brushes, buckets, putty knives, paint trays, drywall tools....but I draw the line at rollers.

 

[jeffnc]

I expect my brushes to last a long time.

For easier cleaning, I would get a nylon or nylon/polyester blend.

Before you start painting, the first thing you should do is get your brush wet with solvent. For water based paint, the solvent is water, for oil based paint, the solvent is mineral spirits. So if you're painting with acrylic paint, fully soak the brush in water, then shake it out to get as much of the water out as possible. That makes sure the entire brush is damp all the way to the core, but without dripping any water that will make a mess and goof your finish while painting. This will help keep paint from drying on or in it as you work.

If you're painting for a long time or taking a break, either wrap your brush in plastic wrap, or a wet cloth, or just clean it. If I'm using a brush for a long time during the day, I might clean it once or twice before the day is over.

Clean the brush very thoroughly with water and maybe soap. By thoroughly I mean no matter how hard you try, you can't squeeze the slightly bit of color out of it. Then shape it nicely and let it dry. You can't clean a brush in a bucket. You need running water constantly moving through it. You can do it with a hose outside, but I just do it in my washroom sink.

I've had brushes last for years. Brushes are expensive (or at least you should be buying an expensive brush, not a cheap one).

Roller covers are a waste of time to clean IMO, and not expensive enough to spend my time on. I throw them out after each use. Of course the same thing applies - if I'm taking a break or stopping for the day but will still be painting tomorrow, I wrap the cover in plastic wrap. If it's going to be more than a day, I'll wrap the roller and the entire pan in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator.

 

[jeffnc]

I will usually only cut 45 to 60 minutes ahead of rolling for two reasons: 1. So that I am rolling into cuts that are still damp

With today's fast drying paints, this really isn't feasible. In the "old days" they recommended cutting in and rolling while there is still a wet edge. Realistically this is only possible today with 2 painters, one cutting and the other rolling immediately over it. 45-60 minutes is way too long for this strategy to do any good. 3 minutes might be too long. When you cut in, you have to destroy any edge you made by feathering it.

When working alone, even if you were too cut in a little and then roll a column or two immediately, and go back and forth, that might not even work because now you're risking leaving the rolled paint on there too long for the next roll to flow together with that last edge.

 

[RanK2]

With today's fast drying paints, this really isn't feasible. In the "old days" they recommended cutting in and rolling while there is still a wet edge. Realistically this is only possible today with 2 painters, one cutting and the other rolling immediately over it. 45-60 minutes is way too long for this strategy to do any good. 3 minutes might be too long. When you cut in, you have to destroy any edge you made by feathering it.

When working alone, even if you were too cut in a little and then roll a column or two immediately, and go back and forth, that might not even work because now you're risking leaving the rolled paint on there too long for the next roll to flow together with that last edge.

Interesting. I never realized that it doesn't work for me. Go figure.

 

[jeffnc]

Interesting. I never realized that it doesn't work for me. Go figure.

If you think you're rolling into a wet edge after an hour, then you're correct - it doesn't work for you. If you're getting good results, it's not for that reason. You either have ridges you don't see, or you never formed ridges to begin with. If you cut in well, then it doesn't matter if you roll 60 seconds after, 60 minutes after, or 60 days after. If you don't cut in well, then you better roll within 60 seconds and not 60 minutes or else your mistakes are permanent.

 

[RanK2]

Well when you buy top quality rollers, and brushes, you want to keep them around so a good cleaning with soap and water only takes a few minutes.

My paint pan is over 30 years old, my Purdy brushes are probably the same. Rollers last several years or many rooms. Quality products area actually the cheapest to own over time!

Yup, I comb and wire brush my brushes, and use my 5 way to scrape the roller covers, soak in a bucket, then spin em clean with the hose. ...... I usually don't appreciate the time until the next time I don't have to buy a brush or roller cover. ....... I have old Purdy and top line Wooster brushes. Still have some new ones 10 years old that cleaning has saved me from using. (Some times I just can't pass up a 'closeout' on tools)