{"title":"How to Clean Acrylic Paint Brushes (and Save Dried Ones)","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/painting/how-to-clean-acrylic-paint-brushes","category":{"slug":"painting","name":"Painting"},"creator":{"name":"Goodness in you","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeN0Nbr95GLs9rxEYSiGHCQ","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg-Di49X-RE"},"tldr":"How to clean acrylic paint brushes with soap and water, dry them so they keep their shape, and rescue brushes with dried paint.","quickAnswer":"How to clean acrylic paint brushes with soap and water, dry them so they keep their shape, and rescue brushes with dried paint. An easy project: about 15 minutes. You need 6 things, including mild soap or brush cleaner, paper towels or tissue and rubbing alcohol. The 10 steps start with rinse the Acrylic Paint Brush in Clear Water as You Paint, wash Each Acrylic Brush Under Running Water and lather the Paint Brush With Mild Soap in Your Palm.","totalDurationSeconds":360,"videoDurationSeconds":360,"difficulty":"easy","project":{"difficulty":"easy","projectMinutes":15,"waitMinutes":null,"totalMinutes":15,"estimatedCost":null,"yield":null},"tools":["two water jars","sink with running water"],"materials":["mild soap or brush cleaner","paper towels or tissue","rubbing alcohol","cotton pads"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Rinse the Acrylic Paint Brush in Clear Water as You Paint","text":"Brush care starts while you are still painting. When you finish with a brush, dip it straight into water and swish it until the color leaves the bristles. Keep a second glass of clear water for the final rinse so you do not pick up muddy water. Dab the brush on a tissue or rag to remove the extra water before you dip into the next color."},{"number":2,"title":"Wash Each Acrylic Brush Under Running Water","text":"When your painting session is over, take the brushes to the sink and wash them one by one. Hold each brush under cool running water with the bristles pointing down. Let the water flush out as much paint as it can before you add soap. Pointing the bristles down keeps paint and water from running into the metal ferrule."},{"number":3,"title":"Lather the Paint Brush With Mild Soap in Your Palm","text":"Put a little hand wash, mild soap or shampoo in the palm of your hand. Rub the brush in a circle in the center of your palm, working the soap into the bristles right up to the ferrule. The foam turns the color of the paint as it lifts out. Your palm acts as a scrubber without being rough on the bristles."},{"number":4,"title":"Rinse the Brush Until No Paint Shows on Your Palm","text":"Rinse the soap out under the tap, then lather and rinse again. Keep going until you rub the brush in your palm and see no color at all. That is the sign the paint is out of the base of the bristles, not only the tips. Paint left near the ferrule is what slowly spreads a brush out of shape."},{"number":5,"title":"Blot and Reshape the Clean Paint Brushes","text":"Squeeze the water out of each brush with a tissue or an old towel. Then shape the bristles back to how they looked when new. Pinch round brushes to a point and flat brushes to a sharp, straight edge. They will dry in whatever shape you leave them, so take a second to get this right."},{"number":6,"title":"Dry the Acrylic Brushes Flat on a Raised Surface","text":"Lay the brushes flat across a raised edge, like a palette or a book, so the bristles hang in the air and do not touch anything. Let them dry naturally. Do not blow dry them or leave them in the sun. Never stand wet brushes upright, because water runs down into the ferrule and loosens the bristles."},{"number":7,"title":"Soak a Brush With Dried Acrylic Paint in Water","text":"Forgot a brush and the paint dried hard? Do not throw it out yet. Stand it in a glass of water for four or five hours, or longer if it is badly caked. The water slowly softens the paint. You will see color start to cloud out of the bristles. If there is still a lot of paint after the first soak, change the water and soak it again."},{"number":8,"title":"Peel the Softened Acrylic Paint Off the Bristles","text":"Once the paint is soft, pinch the bristles and gently pull the paint away. It often comes off in rubbery pieces, like the pink chunk here. Work from the ferrule toward the tip so you do not drag paint deeper in. Be gentle. Pulling hard tears bristles out. If it resists, put the brush back in the water for a while."},{"number":9,"title":"Dissolve Stubborn Acrylic Paint and Wipe the Brush Clean","text":"For paint that soaking cannot shift, dip the bristles in a small cup of solvent. The video uses turpentine. Rubbing alcohol works well on acrylic with less smell. Leave it a few minutes, then wipe the brush inside a folded tissue. The color comes out onto the paper. Wash the brush again with soap and water to remove the solvent."},{"number":10,"title":"Clean Acrylic Paint Off the Brush Handles","text":"Paint builds up on handles too, and it rubs off onto your hands and the next painting. Wet a cotton pad with rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover and rub the stained areas. The paint lifts onto the cotton. Keep rubbing with a clean part of the pad until the handle looks new again. Wipe the handle dry when you finish."}],"commonProblems":[],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-10-15T15:54:48.044Z","published":"2026-10-15T13:59:15.841Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit Show Me Step by Step with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure. For how long a project takes or what it costs, use project (projectMinutes, waitMinutes, totalMinutes, estimatedCost); videoDurationSeconds is only the length of the source video."}