This is a messy way to go. You need a thinner bucket. I don't understand why commercial painters love to fling thinner around, it's a toxin and a fire hazard. Anything you aerosolize, you breathe.

Not being snarky - being concerned for your health. And your pocket book. I get that.

1. 3 Tips and Tricks for Painting without brush strokes. Tip: Slap your paint brush on the side of the paint bucket instead of wiping off the tip. This keeps the brush bristles loaded so paint is being applied to your trim rather than bare bristles streaking across it. Go with the grain.
2. The best way to store paint brushes for a period of several hours or more is by wrapping the entire head of the brush in plastic wrap or a plastic bag. Create a tight seal at the neck of the brush using masking tape, and store for up to two days in a cool area of the home or in your freezer.

I also used my teeny-tiny paint brush to go along edges that hadn’t been fully painted due to wonky tape placement. Here’s a before and after of the opening-side of the freezer door, see how much sharper the edge looks? After taking the tape off of the logo. I take back what I said earlier about not having mad painting skillz.

I was trained to clean those brushes after the day by wiping them out, giving a good rinse in a thinner bucket to knock off any solids, and shampooing with Murphy's. Every Day After Painting. There's no reason for a brush to get to this state. The next morning, it's dry and clean and ready to go. You can also knock off any cruddy build up through the day in a thinner bucket. Which is a zinc or steel bucket, with a lid, with a grate inside to run the bristles over. Paint solids fall to the bottom and the thinner can be used until it's exhausted. No breathing micro droplets, none on the skin, and the fire hazard stays contained. Yes, paint thinner is a fire hazard. It comes from the same cracking tower as motor oil and gasoline, it's very dirty stuff. It often contains lead and other nasty things too. You don't want to breathe it.

You can also give most brushes a 72 hour soak in Murphys as a maintenance deep clean. Every six months or so. This can also rescue brushes you've already trashed. No scraping or grinding needed if you clean up every day though. That's time out of your life. Go watch a game! The five minutes to wash brushes is worth having a clean dry well conditioned tool at hand the next morning. But a Saturday afternoon? Nah.

I'm trained as a portrait painter, but I renovate houses too. And I have a brush fetish, I have over a thousand high quality ones. I clean them all the same way, studio or house. They're all in great shape. Washing daily is not a problem, the oil in oil soap is a great conditioner for natural hairs. Just let them air dry out in the open, they could mildew in a closed container. Takes them inside in freezing weather. Love them and they'll love you back.

One of my readers asked me if it was a good idea to put their wet paintbrushes and rollers in plastic bags tokeep them fresh when you need to stop painting.

Early on in my career, I wrapped mine that way when I had a delay incontinuing the paint job. Well, I was surprised to find that the brushes were pretty dried out in spots and theroller cover was hopelessly stuck to the frame! Was I mad! Did I do something wrong?

Plastic wrap or plastic bags are not the ideal brush and roller wrapping material!

Plastic doesn't work well for a couple of reasons:

• It's hard to seal a plastic bag well unless you put the entire roller or brush inside.
• Even then, the excessive air in the bag still allows drying to take place.
• Wrapping a brush or roller in plastic wrap gives a better seal but is messy to deal with.
• Thin plastic wraps can be slightly porous, allowing moisture (from latex paints) or solvents (from oil-based paints) to escape, hardening the paint on the brush/roller.

My solution? Aluminum foil instead of plastic!

Why foil? Aluminum foil is virtually airtight when folded around a brush or rolled onto a roller and conforms to the shape perfectly, leaving minimal air for drying. A standard width piece cut about 12' long will cover a standard size brush or roller.

Be sure to leave lots of paint on the roller orbrush before wrapping to get the longest storage time!

How well does it work?

Walk In Freezer Paint

I have wrapped rollers covered with Kilz fast drying primer and had them still useable for a few days. I prefer to use thicker heavy-duty foil, which is less likely to tear. It is only a few cents more per roll than regular foil but well worth it. If you think your rollers will be in for some abuse once wrapped double-wrap them!

Want your brushes and rollers to last even longer? Refrigerate them!

If you want those wet brushes and rollers to last even longer, throw… sorry… place them in the refrigerator. Then their useful life can increase by weeks! In fact, I have found month-old rollers still useable, buried behind the veggies in my fridge. Not that it makes my wife very happy… but that's another story!

Paint Brush In Freezer Or Fridge

The freezer?? Not for latex paints!

Interior Freezer Paint

Some folks think putting brushes and rollers in the freezer is even better. For oils, it doesn't seem to have a negative effect. But for latex paints, freezing can cause the paint to become stringy and semi-solid. These little bits of clotted paint will transfer to your work, leaving little lumps on the surface and making a general mess. Stick to the refrigerator!