Home Forums Explore Media Pen and Ink Inking Brush Cleaning with Soap Debate

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  • #454579
    gino5555
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        What’s the best way to clean a brush used for inking?

        Some say cleaning with soap ruins the snap of the brush because of the loss of its natural oils.

        Other say the ink-encrusted ferrule area will ruin the brush without some kind of soap cleaning.

        What’s the deal?

        #604679
        Anonymous

            I’m a pen man & only very occasionally use brushes with ink but my wife is an experienced painter using acrylics for many years , she uses expensive custom hand made brushes.
            A big YES to using soap to clean a brush , it doesn’t get it clean otherwise.
            Keep cleaning it regularly in water while you are using it do not let the ink dry on/in it it. Clean it thoroughly with soap immediately after you are finished the session.
            It spoils a brush to leave it standing on the bristles in water for too long – a well wetted rag wrapped around it & then placed in a plastic bag will keep a cleaned in water brush going before it is soaped , ie. break for a meal etc.
            She uses the liquid detergent sold to wash dishes, working it in gently & thoroughly & after a really good rinse in cold or luke warm water (never hot !) it is shaped & left to dry naturally in a pot bristles up.
            This is it for her & a good brush will last for years.
            Although it is not her practice some folk do use hair conditioner on their brush occasionally.
            I can remember a famous DC.comics inker saying that his favourite “Windsor & Newton” sable brush was 10 years old & used every day ! & that would have been in using shellac based ink – So it must be realistic to keep a good brush going indefinitely.
            BTW. pure alcohol is a solvent for shellac ink. but it’s best not to have let it have dried on in the first place !
            As a general point (excuse the pun) artificial ‘haired’ brushes I’m reliably informed have come on in quality a lot over the years & although they might not carry the load of a genuine sable a high quality, they can rival the snap in the drawing action & offer differing degrees of action that are even preferable to some experienced inkers or at lest provide options.

            What are you doing with yours anyway , outlining, filling, painting ?
            Mike

            #604680
            Subhro_86
            Default

                I use pen more than I use brush for inking. For washing brushes I prefer body soap or shampoo water over a cloth or dish washing detergent hoping that they would be softer on the bristles.
                It’s not based on any professional knowledge though and purely a choice of softer element and since I have no knowledge of any special solvent to clean the ink.

                Subrata
                Life was beautiful

                #604678

                What’s the best way to clean a brush used for inking?

                Some say cleaning with soap ruins the [I]snap[/I] of the brush because of the loss of its natural oils.

                Other say the ink-encrusted ferrule area will ruin the brush without some kind of soap cleaning.

                What’s the deal?

                Most acrylics and oil users use soaps. You can use a mild soap if the brush is made of natural fibers. If you are paranoid, you can use baby shampoo even :P

                "no no! You are doing it all wrong, in the internet we are supposed to be stubborn, inflexible and arrogant. One cannot simply be suddenly reasonable and reflexive in the internet, that breaks years of internet tradition as a medium of anger, arrogance, bigotry and self entitlement. Damm these internet newcomers being nice to to others!!!"

                "If brute force does not solve your problem, then you are not using enough!"

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