Signmaking 101: Storing brushes between coatings

[joe cieslowski]

I just finished a sign that needed 4 coats of stain on each side. The minimum wait between coats was 4 hrs. Instead of cleaning the brush after each coat I wraped it tightly in plastic and put it in the beer fridge. In this case it was a foam brush but it works with regular brushes too. Make sure the brush is good and wet when you wrap it.

Signolgy 101

Joe

[Dave Draper]

At the "BIG SIGN SHOP" I apprenticed at, we had a can half full of mineral spirits with a hook attached, or clips, so that the brush could hang vertically in the thinner with out touching the bottom of the can to avoid it getting all bent out of shape.

It was my duty to make sure the bottom always got cleaned out. After a few days, the thinner on top would be crystal clear with all the gunk settled in the bottom. I had to pour off the top, very carefully, so as not to disturb the settlings at the bottom of the can. Apprentices get all the "botom of the barrel" work!

[Brian the Brush UK]

Dave,
If you keep water in the can instead of mineral spirit the paint stays on the brush whilst in the can and the water acts like an air barrier and keeps the brush supple. take the brush out and spin it with your hands to remove the excess water and away you go. I have kept brushes for long periods like this......... works a treat and no sediment in the can bottom ! !
Brian.
www.brian-the-brush.com

[Mike Jackson]

I'll throw this out, not necessarily that it is right or wrong, just the way I learned from George Seelander and Glen Newcomer. Both of them had a roller tray on their bench with brush oil in the basin part. After cleaning their brushes, they swirled the ends in the basin and then laid the brushes side by side in the tray. Both guys had a traveling sign kit with additional brushes stored similarly in the old style aluminum ice trays.

Danny Baronian sent me a little "rack" he produced from a template Rick Glawson had at his shop. Maybe he can post a photo, or I can later. I never saw Rick use it, but maybe I didn't pay attention to it. It would have been used for smaller quills and sables.

You can also use two cheap clothespins to hold a brush upright in a can of thinner. Clip one about the middle of the handle, then clip another one over it going the other direction. It makes a "cross' which can support the brush.


Lastly, you can buy an artist's brush holder that has about a 5" diameter pan with a wire coming out of the top holding a spring horizontally over the pan. You can push a brush into the spring, with the brush tips held off the bottom, yet in the thinner. The photo above comes from Dick Blick's site, if interested.