Painting with oils is one of my loves, but cleaning up after isn’t! I was checking out this new site where you can post questions on how to recycle unique items, and I came across one on paintbrushes :

Anyway, in a very unlike us moment, we decided to paint the kitchen last weekend. When we’re done, we washed the emulsion brushes out with water but hit a dilemma with the gloss brushes: is it better to wash them out turps (or some turps substitute as was the actual case) and then pour the resulting painty-turps down the drain or, since they were cheap brushes to start with, just throw them away? …
I’m always inclined towards the throwaway option because even after endless time with a tub of turps, I find it so hard to get the brushes re-usable clean again that I end up throwing them away in the end anyway - but THROWAWAY CULTURE, BAAAAAAD! So you see my dilemma. Since both of those seem pretty bad options, are there any alternatives that we should be considering instead? – Louisa, How Can I Recycle This?

Here’s how you can deal with oily brushes in an environmentally responsible way:

• Buy : only good quality brushes, as they are easier to clean & last longer

• Clean : oily brushes immediately (rather than letting them harden) by squeezing the excess paint from the bristles with a rag. Then when the big globs are squeezed out, dip the bristles in mineral turpentine, then squeeze the bristles to get rid of the paint. Repeat until it seems 99% clean, then wash the bristles with dish soap & water.

• Re-use : old ratty brushes can be reused for messy projects (like applying paint stripper, glue, glazes, etc…)

Then, once the brushes are clean, you can take care of the used turpentine :

• Conserve : When using mineral turpentine, pour only enough into a jar to cover the bristles of the brush (so you don’t have so much turps to filter & clean, and so that your brush bristles don’t get loosened from the ferrule of the brush)

• Clean & Reuse Turpentine : Pour used mineral turps into a glass jar with lid and leave in a cool dark place until the paint has settled to the bottom. Drain the clean (clear looking) turps into a new jar & seal (avoid pouring back into the main bottle if you want to keep it cleaner). Wipe out the paint sludge with a rag and let dry before throwing away.

• Dispose of used turpentine by contacting your  local toxic waste department…DUMPING CHEMICALS DOWN THE TOILET / SINK IS NOT AN OPTION. (yes, that is in bold and in caps, it’s important!) If you are strapped for time, keep chemicals you wish to throw away aside until you have enough to make the trip to your local waste centre.

If you liked these tips, check out :

• • How to Recycle Diluents Safely for Oil Painting
• • E-Cycling At Your Fingertips