How many toss a brush after the job is done ?

[Clarence Martin]

With all the cheap , disposable brushes available on the market today, how many toss the brush after the finishing job is done ? I find it really difficult to get some paints, stains and finishes off of some brushes. easier to just toss and buy a new one. Even a Badger hair brush .

[Bruce Page]

I'm the same. I keep a selection of good quality foam brushes and toss them in the trash after use.

[Andrew Fleck]

I only toss foam and glue brushes. I just can't bring myself to throw away a nice Purdy brush no matter how hard it is to clean. It's been my experience that if you use a cheap brush you get cheap brush results. I would rather pay more for a nice one and clean it up when I'm done.

[Jim Rimmer]

I only toss foam and glue brushes. I just can't bring myself to throw away a nice Purdy brush no matter how hard it is to clean. It's been my experience that if you use a cheap brush you get cheap brush results. I would rather pay more for a nice one and clean it up when I'm done.

+1 - I toss the rollers after painting a wall but not the brushes. I agree that it takes a quality brush to get a quality finish and in turn it takes some quality care to clean it up.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

I use oil paint and primer for interior. I can keep an oil brush stored in a baggie in the freezer for weeks.

[Charles Wiggins]

I only toss foam and glue brushes. I just can't bring myself to throw away a nice Purdy brush no matter how hard it is to clean. It's been my experience that if you use a cheap brush you get cheap brush results. I would rather pay more for a nice one and clean it up when I'm done.

+2 - I try to buy quality and take care of them for most purposes. I have a brush for water-based finishes that is over twenty years old.

I also do a lot of one-off, disposable kind of projects for charity, like sets for VBS at church and such. I usually use disposables for those because quality of materials and craftsmanship is low anyway and the finished product is just going to end up in the dumpster. Plus, you never know what kinds of surface you're going to end up painting over.

[Stew Hagerty]

I have some cheap brushes, some middle of the road brushes, and some really nice (and expensive) brushes. My top-of-the-line brushes are made by Gramercy Tools (T4WW) in Brooklyn. I have the both shellac brush and watebourne brush varieties. They are AMAZING! and I take very good care of them. The middle of the road brushes are mostly from Wooster Brush. They're American made and decent quality (Fantastic for Milk Paint!). I always clean, dry, and put them back in their protective sleeves. Then I have the cheapo brushes. Be they foam or bristle I toss 'em. Of course, I only use them for dyes, glue, to slap something on a shop project, or something else where I'm not that concerned about the way it looks.

[Phil Thien]

I'm the same. I keep a selection of good quality foam brushes and toss them in the trash after use.

I think it is funny that we have to differentiate good quality foam brushes from the crap ones. But the ones made in China are terrible, and the ones made in the U.S. (Jen) are actually pretty darn good.

I will save foam brushes in a plastic bag for the duration of a job (between coats). Sometimes they wear out after the 2nd coat and before the third.

When I'm using a bristle brush, I clean it in a suitable solvent. Same goes for roller covers.

Eventually the bristle brushes and roller covers wear out, but I try to keep them as long as possible.

I've been trying to use zero oil-based products just because I hate the clean-up. I do still use some oil-based wipe-on finishes, though.