Can You Clean Acrylic Paint With Water

Download Article

Acrylic brushes are almost useless if they aren't cleaned properly, which is why it's important to thoroughly wash your brushes after every use. Neglecting to clean your brushes can ruin them because it leaves bristles hard and crusted together, especially when using fast-drying acrylic paints.^[1] Luckily, cleaning acrylic brushes only takes a few minutes of work. Cleaning your brushes allows you to use them over and over and will help lengthen the lifespan of your paintbrushes.

1
Wipe away paint with a paper towel or rag. This step is optional, but may help. Before you clean the paintbrush with water, first wrap a paper towel or rag around the bristles of the brush and gently press to remove excess paint. Wiping away the excess paint will make the washing process easier and faster.^[2]
- Don't wait in between painting and cleaning. It's important to clean your brush directly after you are done using it.^[3]
2

Glide the paintbrush over the paper towel or rag. Brush the bristles of the paintbrush over the paper towel or rag until the brush stops making marks. Doing this helps to remove paint before washing the brushes.
3
Swish the brush in a cup of water. ^[4] Lower your brush into a cup of water and swirl the bristles of the brush around the bottom for a few seconds. Don't submerge the brush for a long period of time; just swish the brush around to dislodge any more excess paint.^[5]
- If you used a cup of water to rinse brushes between colors, you can use this water or clean water. You will wash your brush with soap and water after this initial wash so it's ok if the water is cloudy.
- After you have wiped away the paint and submerged the brush, your brush will be cleaner. However, doing this much isn't enough to completely clean the brush. You need to use soap and water to clean the brush and keep the bristles soft and flexible.^[6]

1
Hold the brush under lukewarm water. Turn on the hot and cold faucets until the water is lukewarm. Then hold your brush under the stream of water for five to ten seconds to rinse it, and scrub gently, rotating it around so that the water hits all sides of the brush.^[7]
- The pressure of the water helps to dislodge paint that you may not have been able to clean just from wiping the brush.
2
Pinch the bristles to dislodge leftover paint. After five to ten seconds of letting the water stream over the brush, use your fingers to gently pinch the bristles of the brush.
- At this point, the brush may appear clean, but it's still necessary to keep cleaning with soap.
- You may want to try using a brush comb at this point to help get all the paint off.^[8]
3
Place gentle soap on the brush and work it into the bristles. Turn off the water, then put about a teaspoon of gentle soap or artist's soap onto the bristles of the brush. Use your fingers to massage the soap into the bristles of the brush.^[9]
- You can also use shampoo in the place of soap.
- If you are washing a big brush, make sure that you are massaging the soap into the inner bristles as well as the outer bristles.
- It's important to work the soap into the place on the brush where the bristles meet the ring around the stem of the brush, which is called the ferrule. Neglecting to clean the area of bristles around the ferrule will eventually spread out the bristles, harden, and alter the shape of the brush.
4

Rinse out the soap. Turn the water back on until it is lukewarm again. Then place the brush under the water. After the bubbly, soapy water stops streaming off the brush, use your fingers to massage the bristles and remove the last of the soap.
5
Swirl the brush in the soap. After rinsing out the soap, squirt a dime-sized amount of soap in the palm of your hand. Hold the brush in your other hand and swirl the bristles of the brush around in the soap.
- Swirling the paint brush in soap helps to target paint in the hard-to-reach area of the brush around the ferrule.
- The swirling motion mimics how you used your brush when painting, with the result that the soap reaches the areas of the brush where there might still be paint.
6

Rinse out the brush. After you swirl the brush around the soap in your palm, the brush should be completely clean. Hold it under lukewarm water, then massage the last of the soap out of the bristles.^[10]
7
Dry the brush. It's not good for brushes to be wet for extended periods of time. After you finish rinsing out the soap, wrap the bristles of the brush in a paper towel or a clean rag, then gently squeeze to release water.^[11]
- Lay your brushes out to dry horizontally. Storing them vertically on their bristles can bend the bristles out of shape.

1
Dip brushes in water occasionally when using multiple brushes. There are several habits that you can get into during painting that make cleaning your brush easier and can protect the bristles from hardening or getting damaged. One of the most important things to remember is to not let paint dry on the bristles.
- If you are using multiple brushes when painting and are taking long breaks between each brush, remember to dip the brushes back into the paint occasionally to keep them from drying out.
- Dipping the brushes in water and swirling them around to remove excess paint ensures that the paint won't dry on the bristles.^[12]
2

Don't soak your brushes while you are painting. If you are using multiple brushes, you may be tempted to just leave the brush in water. However, resting your brushes in the water can spread out the bristles and bend them out of shape. The best way to store your brushes while painting is to lay them horizontally on a rag or sheet of paper towel.^[13]
3
Avoid getting paint around the ferrule. When you are painting, you may be tempted to dip the bristles of the brush completely in the paint so that the entire head of the brush is submerged. However, doing this will get paint around the ferrule of the brush, making it extremely difficult to clean and eventually damaging and splaying its bristles.^[14]
- Instead of dipping the brush in the paint up to the ferrule, try to dip only up to ¾ of the brush's bristles in the paint.

Add New Question

Question

Can I use tester's lacquer thinner with a brush cleaner to clean an acrylic brush?

Mark Spelman is a General Contractor based in Austin, Texas. With over 30 years of construction experience, Mark specializes in constructing interiors, project management, and project estimation. He has been a construction professional since 1987.

Construction Professional

Expert Answer
Question

Can you clean brushes that have dried paint on them?

Mark Spelman is a General Contractor based in Austin, Texas. With over 30 years of construction experience, Mark specializes in constructing interiors, project management, and project estimation. He has been a construction professional since 1987.

Construction Professional

Expert Answer
Question

How do I get dry watercolor acrylic paint off paintbrushes?

Soaking them in nail polish remover will soften the bristles and break down the dried up paint.
Question

What do I use to thin acrylic paint?

You can either use a paint medium (Liquitex has many of them) or a small amount of water. Test out the solution first because using too much water can make your paint appear more watercolor-like.
Question

When you want to change colors do you clean the brush by running it under cold water also.

If you want to change colors, you can use a different brush or swirl it around in a cup of water until the paint comes out. You only need to thoroughly clean with soap and water after you are done using the brush for the day.
Question

How do I get dried-on acrylic paint off of brushes?

Rey Starchaser

Top Answerer

Most likely your brushes are garbage-bound. It's important to clean your brushes when you're done using them to prevent paint on them from drying. Putting your brushtips in vinegar may revive them, however.
Question

How do I dilute acrylic paint?

Adding 30% or more water to the paint breaks the bond of the paint at the molecular level. Use Acrylic Medium to thin out the paint. There are some mediums that also act as a sealant to preserve your work as well.
Question

Should I use straight water or water/thinner mixture to rinse brushes between colors?

Braylea England

Community Answer

Use regular water and try not to push the brush down hard when cleaning it. After you dip it in the water, making sure most of the paint is off, wipe the brush off with a paper towel.
Question

Does this also work for brushes that are used for scale modeling?

This method should work for all types of acrylic (water-based) paint and paintbrushes.
Question

Can I use conditioner to preserve my brushes after cleaning them?

Do not use hair conditioner on your paintbrushes; it will react with the paint the next time you use them. Once the brushes are cleaned, rinsed, and patted dry, lay them flat to finish drying completely. No preservative is necessary.

Show more answers

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Video

Soaking a brush in straight Murphy's Oil Soap for 24 hours can remove most dried on paint.
Try soaking in very hot water for 3 minutes, then in acetone for 5 minutes.
Remember that cleaning your brushes should only take a minute or so, which is a small price to pay for keeping your brushes healthy, especially if they are high quality.
Nail polish remover is a harsh substance so your brush will be somewhat damaged, but it will be more usable than before.
If you didn't clean your brush and the bristles are hardened and stuck together with paint, it may be possible to salvage the brush by soaking it in nail polish remover for a day.

Things You'll Need

Gentle soap, artist's soap or shampoo
Clean rags or paper towels

About This Article

Article SummaryX

To clean acrylic paint brushes, hold them under lukewarm water for 5-10 seconds, scrubbing gently with your fingers. For any particularly stubborn pieces of paint, try pinching the bristles of the brush while continuing to run water over the paintbrush. After rinsing the soap off, squirt a dime-size amount of soap in the palm of your hand and swirl the bristles around in it. Rinse the brush again and massage the bristles to get the last of the soap out. For tips on how to maintain your brushes while painting, keep reading our General Contractor's review!

Did this summary help you?

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 392,565 times.

Did this article help you?