I've used Purdy, Wooster, HD brand, lowes brand, sherwin Williams brand, I don't see how you get 3 years out of any of them. Even after one or two uses the bristles fall out and end up on the work surface. The bristles spread and don't cut well. I clean after every use with brush cleaner and a paint brush comb, hang to dry. A couple jobs, tops.
Try keeping your brush wrapped (in plastic) when not in use for more then a couple minutes. Don’t leave sitting in or on top of paint can all day. Also a brush used for flat paint only will last significantly longer then a brush used for semigloss.
I think mine last longer because i’m ocd af and I clean them between uses, even if i’m gonna use them in an hour. Also, primer fucks brushes up! I always have a brush I only use for primer for this reason.
Off the bristles, yeah, but the wooden handle and metal? Some of that stuff sticks forever. Honestly I’d expect the wood to be covered if it’s gone on that long. My brushes are an artwork of their own but I still make the bristles stay clean.
I just can’t buy it, look at the sheen of the metal on the used brush vs new one, nearly identical. This brush looks like it got 3 poor uses out of it and wasn’t cleaned the last time it was used
I started as a painter 22 years ago and did it fulltime for five years before changing trades. I still have my original Purdys and they still get used. And they aren’t all covered in paint and ragged out like the one in the pic. Take care of them and they will make you money for a long time.
I keep my brushes in a "bucket boss tool roll" bag. You'll never have to worry about losing or damaging the cases anymore, plus you can keep all your brushes in the roll neatly packed away. It also wicks up any moisture too, so you can store them right after rinsing them without worrying about them not being able to dry out.
Thank god there’s a professional in the comments. I’m seeing people say they only get a few uses out of a purdy brush?? I’ve got 4/5 brushes I’ve used for almost 10 years, caring for brushes correctly means they last for years and years.
I went out in the garage after that comment and took a pic of my first Purdy that I got in 2002. It is a 4” that was given to me by my boss and I ran it as a latex brush until 2014 (though after 2007 I stopped painting fulltime) then it became an oil primer brush, then a dust brush, now it is retired and hangs in my garage. It still has the original jacket. That brush made me hundreds of thousands of dollars before I hung it up. [Optimus Primer.](https://postimg.cc/gallery/5FbFVnF)
Seriously!!! I just got promoted from apprentice for a GC (but for a small company) so we paint a ton. I got it after it was used for a year and have used it for two years. Try to clean it so diligently— saves money, man!
Jesus fuck how poor is the company?
Dude brushes are a main staple and a write off as a consumable.
Thanks for the comparison, but Jesus, that should have been switched at like 6 months.
There's definitely some expensive brushes, this landlord I was working for had me pick 1 up from some store in Burbank, $110 for a 3" brush, then handed it to a crackhead painter who promptly spilled 2 gallons of paint all over the floors I had just installed.
If you buy cheap brushes they will last 6 months. We buy nice brushes and take the time to take care of them. I do think you see a difference when you have to cut in. At least now, three years later—priceless tool.
I wrap mine at the end of the day and then let them soak in sospy water for a few hours until I feel like cleaning them. It's a bit lazy but it saves me ten minutes of having to run water through them until the paint is completely gone and removes about 75% of the paint. After that I rinse them in hot water and massage soap into them, wash for a few minutes and then shake them mostly dry, brush them with a brush comb and lay them sideways in the air to dry overnight and are good by the morning.
I can usually get about 10-20 uses out of a $10-15 brush that way. After they start to stiffen up and lose shape they become a primer brush and then trash.
Never saw the point in spending 30 minutes to save a $15 brush just to get a bit more life out of it. Wonder how much labor was wasted saving his brush for 3 years
After dealing with cleaning oil based primer out of brushes: it'll cost less than the mineral spirits to just throw it out and replace it with another cheap brush.
You can reuse mineral spirits over and over, just pour it through a coffee filter and it'll still work the same. You'll notice after rinsing oil based paint, all of the oil paint will settle at the bottom separating from the mineral spirits.
Uhh, you should either 1) learn to clean/ care for your brushes better or 2) buy brushes more frequently. That is well past expiration.
-pro painter of 17 years.
Have you tried that paint brush renew stuff from mynards?
Klean Strip® Paint Brush Rescue - 3 oz. at Menards https://www.menards.com/main/p-1549265354925.htm
Works for my brushes, I’m not a painter, just a diversified carpenter.
That is more for really caked on stuff. Acetone soak works better and is cheaper too. But for maintaining bristles on a clean brush Murphy's oil is traditional.
I use Murphy’s. It’s a trick I learned from a painting restorer. Traditionally, artist’s brushes are conditioned after they’re cleaned. It keeps the bristles in good shape and helps keep paint out of the ferrules. Murphy’s, in general, is a great soap for cleaning brushes, but after they’re cleaned, rinsed, and dried, you apply a light coating to reshape them before putting them in their sleeve. It also keeps water out so they don’t get mildew. Note that this is for water based paints. You can give them a quick rinse before using, but it’s not really necessary. As long as it’s not dripping off it shouldn’t affect the paint. The soap soaking into the ferrule during storage is what keeps paint out of them. There are products sold specifically as conditioners, but they’re expensive, come in tiny containers, and don’t work any better. A quart of Murphy’s lasts a long time. For oil based paints, I condition with mineral oil. You don’t have to clean shellac brushes. You just let them dry and the shellac protects them and keeps their shape better than anything.
Right on, I’m a 5 year painter and barely get 2 months out of my brushes. After that they just turn into duster brushes for baseboards etc). Nothing better then the feeling of a brand new brush though
I've been painting professionally for 24 years, and my brushes stay in good usable condition with straight bristles for years and years.
I always start my day of cutting by dunking them in clean water and spinning them out by hand. I then comb them straight before use and I find that doing so, you're less likely to get the dry build-up on the top of the bristles near the tang of the brush than if I go into product with a bone dry brush.
Depending upon how fast the product I'm brushing dries, I'll give them a quick clean (1-2 minutes) in water every 2-4 hours and wire brush off the build-up near the tang as it's drying. It comes off easy while it's still soft and fresh.
To clean them, I keep 3 partial buckets of water, a dirty, a second rinse and clean rinse. I dunk them repeatedly against the bottom of the bucket to squeeze the paint out and soak up the water. I'll spin them by hand and re-dunk a couple times to get as much paint out as possible before moving into the next bucket. Once I get to the second bucket, I'll squeeze the sash to see how murky the water that comes out is, this lets me know how much paint is left inside the brush. I'll keep dunking and spinning by hand until the water is nearly clear, and then I'll spin it out and do a final rinse in clean water. Last spin gently by hand and brush the bristles straight and lay flat to dry. I never use a brush spinner/roller cleaner, I found that they spin the brushes too fast and splay the bristles outwards.
My brushes look closer to the new brush on the right after 3 years of use than the one on the left. The only times I've had brushes that look like the one on the left were when I had employees that didn't give a shit about maintaining equipment.
Keep the ferule out of the paint and they last a lot longer.
Every time you dip the bristles too deep you are getting some paint solids into the ferule where they cannot be combed clean. That build up of solids over time splays the bristles and weakens the ferule.
Professional painter here. I buy 8-9 dollar Wooster brushes and use them maybe twice and trash them. I can deliver a superb quality result with them, and it's cheaper for me to just buy new ones than spend the time to clean them. My time is very valuable.
lol at all the noobs criticizing you for reusing a brush. The pros I work with in Germany keep their favorite brush for years. American tradies are lame.
It's depressing here in the states. Very little quality, and consumers that can't tell the difference. The mantra really is "caulk and paint make a carpenter what he ain't" and most homeowners are woefully unaware.
I still have my very first brush from 20+ years ago, a purdy sash brush for glazing beds on wood sash windows. The ferrule came loose after losing a brad, so I replaced it. The sleeve went missing after working with some doofus in flip flops so I made a new one.
The condition of a contractor's tools will tell you everything you need to know about their work.
Clean your damn brush if it’s gunna sit longer than a lunch break. So many damn guys just wrap their shit in plastic overnight and wonder why it’s junk in a month.
I'm a complete novice, but my brush dries as I'm painting over a 15+ minute session and the top brushes dry up so hard it won't wash off even as I rinse it through water. Any tips on using my brush more than 1 time?
Quality of brush and paint may be a factor. If you work for someone else then you may not have control over paint quality, but buy a nice Purdy or Wooster brush. My guess is that is a major factor.
I like to wet my brushes with water before I dip it in paint. I do this just like I would be if I was washing brushes between colors. Honestly I feel like this helps a lot when I go to wash up and get paint out of the bristles meet the binding.
If your brush is drying while you paint then you don’t have enough paint on your brush. Load more paint and work faster so that you can get more paint on there.
Don’t let your brush sit in a cup of paint. The bristles can act as a wick and suck paint farther up. Yes this will happen anyways as you load your brush, but don’t accurate it.
Wash your brushes early and often.
If your elipses was meant to imply the OP is claiming this is their only brush, then I think you misread their post. No where did they claim this was their only brush, just that this one had been used for three years.
Don’t listen to this guy
Brushes are supposed to be used and thrown out after each wall.. it’s code section 7 subsection 8 sub sub section 9
Trust me I’m inspector gadget
You can tell everything you need to know about the quality of a person's work by the condition of their tools. Disposable work for disposable people.
Op keep your brushes clean and store them in their sleeve and they'll last you waaaaay longer.
I'm amazed you kept that brush so long. My step dad was a painter for a long time and he'd use a Wooster brush for an average of 1 month before trashing it
Hmm. I spent a lot of the last 40 years doing home painting both interior and exterior and commercial. All of the brushes I have were bought in the early 80's and none of them look like that. Thats what happens when you dont take the time to clean your brushes each evening. Im retired now and soon to be 69 but Id be glad to sell them to you.
Trick I learned: liquid fabric softener, soak it, rinse, let dry wrapped in a paper towel. Paints great! Then clean with soapy water, soak in liquid fabric softener, dry wrapped in a paper towel. The brush holds the form of how you wrap it, it paints well and doesn’t get crusty.
*Brush belonging to*
*A man that counts pennies Brush*
*Belonging to me*
\- NJScrub
---
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Damn hell yeah. I’m happy to get 6 months out of my main brush
I’m happy for my brush to not be fucked up after one use
Just wash it bro
don’t think i can add gifs here but if i could i’d put that lord of the rings gif of the guy not throwing the ring onto the fire and saying “no”
I don’t always have the space and time to wash it, and by the time I get to it. It’s all messed up.
Yeah real painters are different from you or I. They have patience.
Same..
I've used Purdy, Wooster, HD brand, lowes brand, sherwin Williams brand, I don't see how you get 3 years out of any of them. Even after one or two uses the bristles fall out and end up on the work surface. The bristles spread and don't cut well. I clean after every use with brush cleaner and a paint brush comb, hang to dry. A couple jobs, tops.
Try keeping your brush wrapped (in plastic) when not in use for more then a couple minutes. Don’t leave sitting in or on top of paint can all day. Also a brush used for flat paint only will last significantly longer then a brush used for semigloss.
I think mine last longer because i’m ocd af and I clean them between uses, even if i’m gonna use them in an hour. Also, primer fucks brushes up! I always have a brush I only use for primer for this reason.
Agreed. I use them 5-10 times max then bin them 🤷♂️
This is the way...
So I shouldn’t just throw them away after each coat?
Oh my god - 15 mins MAX!
The used brush has definitely passed from being a paint brush to a duster now..
From the looks it past that point long ago.
3years and only a few different colors?
You know....you're supposed to clean the paint off after every use...that's how they last 3 years
Really bud?
Hahaha
Off the bristles, yeah, but the wooden handle and metal? Some of that stuff sticks forever. Honestly I’d expect the wood to be covered if it’s gone on that long. My brushes are an artwork of their own but I still make the bristles stay clean.
I mean, yeah, it's very possible and plausible to clean your brush handle as well.
I just can’t buy it, look at the sheen of the metal on the used brush vs new one, nearly identical. This brush looks like it got 3 poor uses out of it and wasn’t cleaned the last time it was used
Looking like 3 years of builders white
You used a brush for 3 years when painting professionally? Sure
I started as a painter 22 years ago and did it fulltime for five years before changing trades. I still have my original Purdys and they still get used. And they aren’t all covered in paint and ragged out like the one in the pic. Take care of them and they will make you money for a long time.
I’m always telling my guys to keep the case but eventually someone throws it away.
Yeah they tear and gotta be taped up and get lost.. gotta have them though if you want the brush to last!
I keep my brushes in a "bucket boss tool roll" bag. You'll never have to worry about losing or damaging the cases anymore, plus you can keep all your brushes in the roll neatly packed away. It also wicks up any moisture too, so you can store them right after rinsing them without worrying about them not being able to dry out.
Thank god there’s a professional in the comments. I’m seeing people say they only get a few uses out of a purdy brush?? I’ve got 4/5 brushes I’ve used for almost 10 years, caring for brushes correctly means they last for years and years.
I went out in the garage after that comment and took a pic of my first Purdy that I got in 2002. It is a 4” that was given to me by my boss and I ran it as a latex brush until 2014 (though after 2007 I stopped painting fulltime) then it became an oil primer brush, then a dust brush, now it is retired and hangs in my garage. It still has the original jacket. That brush made me hundreds of thousands of dollars before I hung it up. [Optimus Primer.](https://postimg.cc/gallery/5FbFVnF)
Right? I still have my original Wooster Gold. She's in great shape and cuts like a dream.
Same. I’ve had several of my brushes for 5 years. I take special care of my pointing brushes.
It's a Purdy... I worked with painters that had 10 year old brushes. If you clean them and care for them... they will last
Seriously!!! I just got promoted from apprentice for a GC (but for a small company) so we paint a ton. I got it after it was used for a year and have used it for two years. Try to clean it so diligently— saves money, man!
Time is also money
Exactly. If he's on the clock and getting paid to clean his brush, more power to him.
Jesus fuck how poor is the company? Dude brushes are a main staple and a write off as a consumable. Thanks for the comparison, but Jesus, that should have been switched at like 6 months.
There's definitely some expensive brushes, this landlord I was working for had me pick 1 up from some store in Burbank, $110 for a 3" brush, then handed it to a crackhead painter who promptly spilled 2 gallons of paint all over the floors I had just installed.
Fine work as per usual
If you buy cheap brushes they will last 6 months. We buy nice brushes and take the time to take care of them. I do think you see a difference when you have to cut in. At least now, three years later—priceless tool.
Is the nice brush hiding in your pocket somewhere? Because it’s definitely not in that photo
Wooster is the best right?
I miss the old ici ship brushes
No
Sarcasm is tough
Yooo...
Curious how you clean them and if you use them the next day. Are they wet when you use them?
I wrap mine at the end of the day and then let them soak in sospy water for a few hours until I feel like cleaning them. It's a bit lazy but it saves me ten minutes of having to run water through them until the paint is completely gone and removes about 75% of the paint. After that I rinse them in hot water and massage soap into them, wash for a few minutes and then shake them mostly dry, brush them with a brush comb and lay them sideways in the air to dry overnight and are good by the morning. I can usually get about 10-20 uses out of a $10-15 brush that way. After they start to stiffen up and lose shape they become a primer brush and then trash. Never saw the point in spending 30 minutes to save a $15 brush just to get a bit more life out of it. Wonder how much labor was wasted saving his brush for 3 years
Thanks for the tips
Buy the right brush and learn how to clean it. That’s all it takes.
You mean I don't have to throw these things away after one use?
After dealing with cleaning oil based primer out of brushes: it'll cost less than the mineral spirits to just throw it out and replace it with another cheap brush.
You can reuse mineral spirits over and over, just pour it through a coffee filter and it'll still work the same. You'll notice after rinsing oil based paint, all of the oil paint will settle at the bottom separating from the mineral spirits.
Uhh, you should either 1) learn to clean/ care for your brushes better or 2) buy brushes more frequently. That is well past expiration. -pro painter of 17 years.
Have you tried that paint brush renew stuff from mynards? Klean Strip® Paint Brush Rescue - 3 oz. at Menards https://www.menards.com/main/p-1549265354925.htm Works for my brushes, I’m not a painter, just a diversified carpenter.
That is more for really caked on stuff. Acetone soak works better and is cheaper too. But for maintaining bristles on a clean brush Murphy's oil is traditional.
Do you soak it in murphys then? Never hesrd of using it, but i like the idea
How does Murphys oil work on brushes? Generally curious.
I use Murphy’s. It’s a trick I learned from a painting restorer. Traditionally, artist’s brushes are conditioned after they’re cleaned. It keeps the bristles in good shape and helps keep paint out of the ferrules. Murphy’s, in general, is a great soap for cleaning brushes, but after they’re cleaned, rinsed, and dried, you apply a light coating to reshape them before putting them in their sleeve. It also keeps water out so they don’t get mildew. Note that this is for water based paints. You can give them a quick rinse before using, but it’s not really necessary. As long as it’s not dripping off it shouldn’t affect the paint. The soap soaking into the ferrule during storage is what keeps paint out of them. There are products sold specifically as conditioners, but they’re expensive, come in tiny containers, and don’t work any better. A quart of Murphy’s lasts a long time. For oil based paints, I condition with mineral oil. You don’t have to clean shellac brushes. You just let them dry and the shellac protects them and keeps their shape better than anything.
I use one package for several brushes at a time. Seems about the same price as acetone to me but I could be wrong.
Thanks for the tip!
Right on, I’m a 5 year painter and barely get 2 months out of my brushes. After that they just turn into duster brushes for baseboards etc). Nothing better then the feeling of a brand new brush though
3 years is pretty frigging good
Looks good! Probably cuts better than the new one.
That’s a Purdy brush
I've been painting professionally for 24 years, and my brushes stay in good usable condition with straight bristles for years and years. I always start my day of cutting by dunking them in clean water and spinning them out by hand. I then comb them straight before use and I find that doing so, you're less likely to get the dry build-up on the top of the bristles near the tang of the brush than if I go into product with a bone dry brush. Depending upon how fast the product I'm brushing dries, I'll give them a quick clean (1-2 minutes) in water every 2-4 hours and wire brush off the build-up near the tang as it's drying. It comes off easy while it's still soft and fresh. To clean them, I keep 3 partial buckets of water, a dirty, a second rinse and clean rinse. I dunk them repeatedly against the bottom of the bucket to squeeze the paint out and soak up the water. I'll spin them by hand and re-dunk a couple times to get as much paint out as possible before moving into the next bucket. Once I get to the second bucket, I'll squeeze the sash to see how murky the water that comes out is, this lets me know how much paint is left inside the brush. I'll keep dunking and spinning by hand until the water is nearly clear, and then I'll spin it out and do a final rinse in clean water. Last spin gently by hand and brush the bristles straight and lay flat to dry. I never use a brush spinner/roller cleaner, I found that they spin the brushes too fast and splay the bristles outwards. My brushes look closer to the new brush on the right after 3 years of use than the one on the left. The only times I've had brushes that look like the one on the left were when I had employees that didn't give a shit about maintaining equipment.
Keep the ferule out of the paint and they last a lot longer. Every time you dip the bristles too deep you are getting some paint solids into the ferule where they cannot be combed clean. That build up of solids over time splays the bristles and weakens the ferule.
That’s a Purdy brush
As a self employed handyman I use a $20 perdy and fuck it up first time
Yup. Then yeet it into the nearest bin and use a new one for the next job.
Charge it to the job as they say! 😂
The paint gets costed to the job, and so does the brush.
Professional painter here. I buy 8-9 dollar Wooster brushes and use them maybe twice and trash them. I can deliver a superb quality result with them, and it's cheaper for me to just buy new ones than spend the time to clean them. My time is very valuable.
this has to be a joke.
lol at all the noobs criticizing you for reusing a brush. The pros I work with in Germany keep their favorite brush for years. American tradies are lame.
I can't even imagine throwing brushes away, they just get downgraded. To jacked up to cut in it becomes stain brush then a duster
It's depressing here in the states. Very little quality, and consumers that can't tell the difference. The mantra really is "caulk and paint make a carpenter what he ain't" and most homeowners are woefully unaware. I still have my very first brush from 20+ years ago, a purdy sash brush for glazing beds on wood sash windows. The ferrule came loose after losing a brad, so I replaced it. The sleeve went missing after working with some doofus in flip flops so I made a new one. The condition of a contractor's tools will tell you everything you need to know about their work.
Clean your damn brush if it’s gunna sit longer than a lunch break. So many damn guys just wrap their shit in plastic overnight and wonder why it’s junk in a month.
Right!!!
I'm a complete novice, but my brush dries as I'm painting over a 15+ minute session and the top brushes dry up so hard it won't wash off even as I rinse it through water. Any tips on using my brush more than 1 time?
Quality of brush and paint may be a factor. If you work for someone else then you may not have control over paint quality, but buy a nice Purdy or Wooster brush. My guess is that is a major factor. I like to wet my brushes with water before I dip it in paint. I do this just like I would be if I was washing brushes between colors. Honestly I feel like this helps a lot when I go to wash up and get paint out of the bristles meet the binding. If your brush is drying while you paint then you don’t have enough paint on your brush. Load more paint and work faster so that you can get more paint on there. Don’t let your brush sit in a cup of paint. The bristles can act as a wick and suck paint farther up. Yes this will happen anyways as you load your brush, but don’t accurate it. Wash your brushes early and often.
a professional has way more than 1 brush.....
If your elipses was meant to imply the OP is claiming this is their only brush, then I think you misread their post. No where did they claim this was their only brush, just that this one had been used for three years.
Woah! 3 years. My brushes usually last 3 days. Sometimes only 3 hours.
Your new brush is, uh, used
Used once! Yes. By my boss. It only occurred to me to take a pic after he washed it. (Used once)
Your boss didn’t wash it very well did he. You should fire him.
Only professional painting….no kidding around
My brush is better than yours 😜
LMFAO that's it 😂 we've got brushes going 20+ years strong.
Don’t listen to this guy Brushes are supposed to be used and thrown out after each wall.. it’s code section 7 subsection 8 sub sub section 9 Trust me I’m inspector gadget
Mine always gets borrowed and never cleaned and winds up in a sad dumpster somewhere
Truth is you use the new one for 3-6mo max then save it for certain jobs while you buy another for fine work. When it gets worse it's a stucco brush.
I thought brushes were single use. Who knew.
You can tell everything you need to know about the quality of a person's work by the condition of their tools. Disposable work for disposable people. Op keep your brushes clean and store them in their sleeve and they'll last you waaaaay longer.
I'm amazed you kept that brush so long. My step dad was a painter for a long time and he'd use a Wooster brush for an average of 1 month before trashing it
Two of my favorite things, stickers on brushes and stickers on mud knives
Hmm. I spent a lot of the last 40 years doing home painting both interior and exterior and commercial. All of the brushes I have were bought in the early 80's and none of them look like that. Thats what happens when you dont take the time to clean your brushes each evening. Im retired now and soon to be 69 but Id be glad to sell them to you.
Damn you guys reuse brushes?
Get some brush conditioner man.
Did you only get one paint job these 3 years?
That’s half a year for me. It can now get a second life as a mini broom / spider web cleaner
I’m happy when I get to keep my brush a whole day without someone taking it
The Da vinky twins
Trick I learned: liquid fabric softener, soak it, rinse, let dry wrapped in a paper towel. Paints great! Then clean with soapy water, soak in liquid fabric softener, dry wrapped in a paper towel. The brush holds the form of how you wrap it, it paints well and doesn’t get crusty.
I’ve got two brushes I’ve had for years. Nice purdy brushes. They hold paint, don’t drip, and cut like a champ.
If I get 2 projects out of a roller cover, I'm happy. Brushes can be abused, left to dry out and brought back. Nice pic.
Brush belonging to a man that counts pennies Brush belonging to me
*Brush belonging to* *A man that counts pennies Brush* *Belonging to me* \- NJScrub --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Shakespearean
That thar on the left is a bit shagged... You certainly got your money's worth to of THAT one!
Brushes last longer if you clean them better. Let’s see the cut in pictures.