about the size of a bucket, it is plumbed in to the home water supply and electrically powered. possibly sited under the kitchen sink for ease of access.
front-loading, just throw your brushes into the drum (and any other small dirty tools come to that). the drum will wash and spin on a vertical plane rather than tumbling like a laundry machine as this should be kinder on your brushes. the drum is very sturdy to withstand all the bumping and grinding etc of the brushes as they go through their various cycles.
add white spirit to the drawer for the gloss paint cycle.
brushes loaded with water-based paint will start a cycle later and go straight into the hot soapy wash.
a cold rinse and optional conditioner for the final stage before spin-drying your fresh spanking clean brushes. between DIY sessions, you could use the machine to store your brushes.-- po, Apr 21 2005 This might do the trick... http://www.opameric...php/products_id/451For small brushes, that is. [RayfordSteele, Apr 21 2005] Decorating the house po?-- skinflaps, Apr 21 2005 I like it + but think it's possibly hard to engineer to the level where a pro painter can entrust the machine with their prized, and pricey, brushes. This machine needs to treat the brushes with a great degree of care.
Not so sure about the solvents in the household, though. How do the solvents get disposed? A solvent recovery system likely makes this device too expensive for the typical do-it-yourself handyperson. Maybe they could be rented for the duration of a project, though.
On a multi-day project, with latex, don't even bother to clean them between days of painting, just wrap the loaded brushes tightly with plastic wrap and pop them in the freezer. Do let them warm up a bit before using them the next morning, though.-- bristolz, Apr 21 2005 o.k. so there needs a separate drainage system for the solvent cycle. I usually tip the white spirit or meth down the loo or the drain - is that very naughty?
...and I think there needs to be some kind of rubber flippers like bris's orcas to mash up the water (thats if you adopt my vertical style although I'm coming around to thinking that the laundry type tumble action is probably o.k.)
I don't have a freezer, briz. just a tiny compartment in the fridge just big enough for a tub of ice-cream and a bag of oven chips and the obligatory 2 year old peas in case of accidents.-- po, Apr 21 2005 Dump the ice-cream and add the brushes. Ice-cream is nasty anyway.-- bristolz, Apr 21 2005 the ice-cream is probably a year old too - I am a dreadful housekeeper. does the smell of the brushes taint the chips? one would imagine that freezing makes the brushes even harder.
actually british ice-cream is lovely but its like chocolate, once you start its difficult to stop.-- po, Apr 21 2005 Freezing keeps the brushes from getting hard as it keeps the paint from hardening. Don't do it without wrapping the brushes first, though.
I can't recall if I have ever had British ice cream or not. I'm just not very fond of ice cream in general. Never have been.-- bristolz, Apr 21 2005 For ordinary emulsion, you don't need to freeze the brushes - just wrap them in cling film overnight. Can't recommend the same treatment for ice cream, though.-- moomintroll, Apr 21 2005 bris, must send you some ice-cream...
I remember my no 1 son's face when I first let him taste some vanilla...
how do I get a sample to you...-- po, Apr 21 2005 I remember seeing a "device" that a professional decorator used called a "Brush Saver" that was basically just a sealable box with racks to put brushes in. At the bottom was an absorbant pad soaked in solvent.
With the lid closed, the solvent vapour prevented the paint on the brushes from ever hardning so they never needed cleaning.-- gravelpit, Apr 21 2005 yeah, gravelpit, quite rubbish compared to this!
loved your non-boiling kettle by the way...
I should have been a politician, would anyone vote for me?-- po, Apr 21 2005 Po, are you painting some radical multicoloured muriel or something with many brishes? Just wrap the brushes with clingfilm (as per moomin - but it works for solvent-based paints too if you wrap tightly enough and use several layers) and they'll be fine for 24 hours or more. To wash solvent-paint- brushes, put 2tbsp of white spirit and 2tbsp of washing-up liquid in an old mug and mash the brush around until you get what looks like irremediable mayonnaise. Then rinse in hot water and voila. Clean brushes and minimal solvent wastage. Wrap wet brushes in newspaper to keep the bristles in shape. The mayonnaisy gunk is also good for washing the paint off your hands. Doesn't work for Hammerite (different solvent system).Christ. I seem to have become middle aged.-- Basepair, Apr 21 2005 This would've been useful when I was about 7 or 8. Might still be useful for me today.-- froglet, Apr 21 2005 base/froggie - I am sick to death of cleaning fecking cheap brushes - I wanna machine that does it for me - hey, is that too much to ask?
froggie, 7 inches?
base, bloody hell man - are you obsessed or what?-- po, Apr 21 2005 Buy the really cheap ones and bin 'em.sp. 'fucking'. :-)-- Basepair, Apr 21 2005 I have been!-- Basepair, Apr 21 2005 today? thats good... regular is good...-- po, Apr 21 2005 <holding-place for pending witty riposte> <\holding-place for pending witty riposte>-- Basepair, Apr 21 2005 Witty ripostes spoil if held too long.-- bristolz, Apr 21 2005 In school we always used this sonic brush cleaner doohickie that would be about the size of an oil can, and filled with thinner or somesuch.-- RayfordSteele, Apr 21 2005 sounds good, RS-- po, Apr 22 2005 [po] Drill a hole though the brush handle, and when you need to clean the brush, push a wire coat hanger through the hole and dangle the brush over a coffee jar full of solvent, so the brush is clear of the bottom of the jar. Keeps brushes in near-perfect condtion. A second, empty jar is used to allow the brush to drip-dry, then a quick rinse. No "mashing" required. [gravelpit]'s solution is good too, though the solvent vapours go for the paint/varnish on the handle too! <smug owner of Magimix ice-cream maker> Surbiton ice-cream is lovely </soomicm>-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Apr 22 2005 [po] Never discard white spirit that has been used for washing brushes. If you store it for long enough, all the paint solids settle to the bottom of the container and you're left with lovely clear white spirit again.-- hippo, Apr 22 2005 I might just have to post "Riposte Fridge - For when your witty retort isn't quite ready and you have work to do."-- wagster, Apr 22 2005 awol, you can buy something called a smartbrush mate or something that works on that very principle.
hippo, thats smart thinking, probably in an empty paint can would do it!-- po, Apr 22 2005 I wrap brushes in cling-film, per [moomin]. When they eventually become unuseable, I just bin them. I buy really cheap brushes; the result is no worse because my lack of skill / knack is more of a limiting factor than the quality of the brush.-- angel, Apr 22 2005 random, halfbakery