[wdpcpa]

Hello,

I am doing some prep with oil based primer. Cleanup is a pain. Can I just leave the brush soaking in paint thiner and just toss them after the job is over rather than try to clean them up.

I tried using foam brushes but they don't last well at all. And it is hard to get primer into small cracks. I have some chair rail as part of the trim and it has some small crevices.

For painting the exterior we will use water based. I have a compressor. Should I just buy a paint gun or rent one of those airless rigs... or just roll it?

Thoughts?

wdpcpa

 

[Matthewt1970]

When a man tosses out a good brush he murders a small part of the world.

 

[jsheridan]

Wd, If you keep the brush soaking in thinner, grab a brush sleeve, like the protector it came in, to protect the bristles from curling or flattening. Or you can wrap in newspaper. Drop foam brush from your vocabulary.

From a certain point of view, brushes are disposable. My friend Matt1970 would disagree. I am a murderer, of small parts of the world.:laughing: I can't begin to tell you the last time I cleaned an oil brush. When I used a lot of oil I would wrap them in a fancy newspaper sleeve (it's an old school trick, of which I have a photo tutorial to post on my blog someday), and place them in an empty paint can with thinner and sometimes linseed oil. When you needed one, unwrap, spin out, and go. As good as the day it was bought.

Now that I don't use a lot of oil, things have changed. When I need an oil brush today, I take a latex brush that I've made my money on and dip that, or I buy a throwaway brush. I stopped using china bristle a long, long time ago. If I have a real fancy oil job, I might buy a new latex brush. I can buy a pro brush for 10-15 dollars, and off that 10-15 dollars, I can make a thousand. The brush has paid for itself. The amount of solvents requried to properly clean that brush cost almost half of what I paid for it. When you factor in the time involved in the cleaning, and disposing of the used thinner, the total cost of cleaning the brush exceeds what I paid for it. In economic terms, cleaning brushes is a loss.

My father worked for a major electric utility, and he used to bring home equipment that was left on projects. Outside private contractors who did jobs at the plants would leave a lot of equipment on the jobs when done. He bought home a 20 ft aluminum pick one time. The cost to the contractor of the manpower to collect the equipment, ship it to a storage area, store it, and then ship it to the next job was more costly than the pick itself. For each new job they would order new equipment, have the seller ship it to the job, use it to make money, and then leave it for the vultures. You sometimes have to think things through a little deeper, and you can't be sentimental.

 

[Matthewt1970]

Wd, If you keep the brush soaking in thinner, grab a brush sleeve, like the protector it came in, to protect the bristles from curling or flattening. Or you can wrap in newspaper. Drop foam brush from your vocabulary.

From a certain point of view, brushes are disposable. My friend Matt1970 would disagree. I am a murderer, of small parts of the world.:laughing: I can't begin to tell you the last time I cleaned an oil brush. When I used a lot of oil I would wrap them in a fancy newspaper sleeve (it's an old school trick, of which I have a photo tutorial to post on my blog someday), and place them in an empty paint can with thinner and sometimes linseed oil. When you needed one, unwrap, spin out, and go. As good as the day it was bought.

Now that I don't use a lot of oil, things have changed. When I need an oil brush today, I take a latex brush that I've made my money on and dip that, or I buy a throwaway brush. I stopped using china bristle a long, long time ago. If I have a real fancy oil job, I might buy a new latex brush. I can buy a pro brush for 10-15 dollars, and off that 10-15 dollars, I can make a thousand. The brush has paid for itself. The amount of solvents requried to properly clean that brush cost almost half of what I paid for it. When you factor in the time involved in the cleaning, and disposing of the used thinner, the total cost of cleaning the brush exceeds what I paid for it. In economic terms, cleaning brushes is a loss.

My father worked for a major electric utility, and he used to bring home equipment that was left on projects. Outside private contractors who did jobs at the plants would leave a lot of equipment on the jobs when done. He bought home a 20 ft aluminum pick one time. The cost to the contractor of the manpower to collect the equipment, ship it to a storage area, store it, and then ship it to the next job was more costly than the pick itself. For each new job they would order new equipment, have the seller ship it to the job, use it to make money, and then leave it for the vultures. You sometimes have to think things through a little deeper, and you can't be sentimental.

Doesn't sound like you are throwing out "good" brushes.

 

[jsheridan]

What constitutes a "good" brush?

 

[ToolSeeker]

This is hard to say but back when we were doing a lot of oil it was definatly better to clean and keep your brush. But today when it is rare to use oil I guess it's not such a big deal. Because as a home owner you may ( or probably) will never use an oil brush again, it is probably not worth the hassle to clean and keep it. In truth I think I only keep 1 oil brush now. And it is seldom used except for occasional primer.

 

[Matthewt1970]

What constitutes a "good" brush?

Opinions vary. Most brushes cost more than the thinner it will take to clean it so I rarely judge it by that. If you only need it for a small water leak or something, a sray can of Bin is always easier and a lot of times cheaper.

 

[Gymschu]

A few old tricks of the trade........1) if you have a magnetic bucket (the ones with a magnet embedded in the side to hold the metal of a brush) just fill the small bucket with enough thinner to suspend your brush from the magnet until the thinner covers the entire bristle part of the brush. By the next day the paint in the brush has found its way out of the brush and to the bottom of the bucket. Just spin out the excess thinner on the brush and you're good to go.
2) Just dip the brush in a little bit of thinner and wrap the brush (tightly) in plastic. Again, pull it out of the plastic the next day and you're ready to start painting. With this method there is already paint on the brush and you don't have to work the paint into the brush to start the day.

 

[wdpcpa]

Many thanks for all the help. I bought a cheap brush and some cheap rollers. Once I get them primered I will be done with them.

I talked to Sherwin Williams locally. They said there was nothing wrong with just buying a paint gun and using compressed air for spraying lap side with water based paint.

Thanks again.

Best,
wdpcpa