This Old House Magazine: The Right Brush

According to Dee, who has painted a number of This Old House projects, the search for a good brush starts with knowing exactly how it will be used. A thick, four-inch-wide brush with long bristles would be perfect for coating clapboards but useless on narrow window muntins. For windows, Dee chooses a thin, two-inch-wide brush with a long handle and shorter, more easily controlled bristles. "I'm always trying to strike a balance between precision and productivity," Dee says. "The more you have of one, the less you get of the other."

A brush's performance depends on its bristles, which carry the liquid finish to a surface, distribute it evenly, and smooth out the imperfections. The old rule about never using natural-bristle brushes—meant for oil-based paints—with water-based formulas still holds; natural bristles soak up the water and go limp. But the newer blends of synthetic filaments can handle both types of paint with equal finesse. "More than anything," says Dee, "it's essential to use the best brush money can buy." That said, there are still times—small jobs where the cleanup would take longer than the work—when a throwaway foam or cheap bristle brush will do.

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Clean brushes as soon as you're done painting for the day. Use warm, soapy water for water-based finishes; for other coatings, use the solvent specified on the can (see "Cleaning With Solvents," below). A brush is clean when the water or solvent runs clear (above left), usually after four rinses. Do not leave a brush to soak—it may distort the bristles.

Spin out excess cleaner, comb the bristles with a brush comb to straighten them and remove any remaining paint then lay the brush flat on a cloth to dry. Store it in its cardboard keeper or a piece of folded newspaper to preserve its shape.

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• Solvents are toxic—wear rubber gloves.

• For the first rinse of your brush, it's fine to re-use old, dirty solvent. (See below for directions on saving solvents.) Use about a half-cup, working the solvent through all the bristles and up into the ferrule, then drain and spin dry. (Transfer this dirty solvent back to its jar.)

• Next, rinse the brush in a half-cup of clean solvent, drain, and spin dry. Do this at least twice more, reserving the dirty solvent each time in a separate container.

• Water-based exterior paints need a solvent rinse too; the paint leaves a residue on bristles that soap and water won't remove. Before the final rinse, run clean paint thinner through the filaments. Store this solvent separately.

• To save dirty solvent for reuse, let it sit for about a week and the solids will settle out, leaving a decantable liquid that's clean enough for second, third, or fourth rinses (although not for thinning paint). Store the solvent in sealable cans or jars—well labeled—in a cool, safe place.

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  Brush Basics