Re: cleaning brushes while painting without solvents
I use Johnson’s Baby Oil to clean the larger deposits of oil paints from my brushes, then switch to Johnson’s Baby Shampoo to give the brushes a thorough cleaning. Since brushes are made from animal hair, the mild shampoo used to clean a baby’s hair is gentle enough and, of course, non-toxic. I use 4 jars, the first 3 lined with green scrub pads cut to size on the bottom. The 1st jar contains the baby oil. The 2nd jar a reasonably strong mixture of baby shampoo & water. The 3rd jar a weaker mixture of baby shampoo & water. The 4th just clean tap water to rinse out all of the shampoo. Walnut oil is also a viable, non-toxic alternative to the baby oil. At the end of the day, I use a dab of the shampoo, followed by a thorough rinse of luke warm water under the tap to make sure the brushes are completely free of all pigments. Gently squeeze the brushes in absorbent paper towels to dry before storing upright in air overnight. Artists’ brush cleaning paste, purchased at Blick or other artist supply stores, can also be used to ensure brushes are properly cleaned & cared for. Since there are no combustible materials used in the above, there is no danger of rags or towels spontaneously catching fire afterwards.

For Water Mixable oils, there is just no need for anything other than water for cleaning brushes while painting. That is, in fact, the main reason that I use them.

Baby oil is often mentioned as a brush cleaner and the usual advise for those that use it is to make sure that you don’t get any baby oil into your paint as baby oil is a non-drying oil, I believe. While it may not cause any harm, there are so many drying oils you can use instead that it is usually not recommended for use for cleaning brushes while painting.

Don

I am new to oil painting and have been using regular oil paints. I just got a set of Cobra WMO’s yesterday and will give them a try. I read a lot before I started painting and watched tons of YouTube videos.

One poster said to try Murphy’s Oil Soap for cleanup. Bought some at the hardware store. Wonderful!!!! I wiped off the brush, dip it in a small amount of Murphy’s and all the oil paint comes out of natural hog bristles and synthetic brushes. I rise with water and set them out to dry. Works fine. No solvent, no other soap, nothing. Just Murphy’s and a rinse. Should work well with WMO too.

Turpenoid Natural does a great job as a brush cleaner, but it’s important to note that like baby oil/mineral oil, it is non-drying. If you clean brushes with Turpenoid Natural, you should blot out all of the TN afterwards, and then swish them out well in regular turpenoid or clean with soap and water, to be sure none of the TN will get into your paint film.

Jamie

I did some research and I cannot find any credible source that supports your comment about Turpenoid Natural. You state that it is non-drying “like baby oil” but what I have found states that it can and is being used as a medium for thinning paint, which is one of the purposes for which is was created. It doesn’t increase drying time and in fact they recommend against mixing with paints beyond 25%, but at 25% Weber states that the paints tested actually dried at a rate similar to the paint alone. I would agree that you would want to blot it out as you would any liquid that you did not intend to paint with, but according to what I have read it is not to be feared as a non-drying agent. If I am wrong, please correct me. I am trying to decide what to use for cleaning brushes during painting sessions in my currently non-ventilated painting space and TN seems like one of the safest choices. Thanks!

As the above video points out, Turpenoid natural should be used in small amounts when it is used while painting. 20% may be stretching it, based on the number of negative comments that this product has received here on WC over the years. Some have used it as a medium, others swear that it should never be used as a medium – so the only way to really find out is to try it out yourself.

I know that i am sounding a bit redundant, but by far the easiest thing to use with WMO paints to rinse brushes while painting is water, in my opinion.

Don