Save more money for minis. Clean your brushes, fool!
Sure it sounds simple in theory, but how do you effectively clean your brushes?
There are a ton of cleaning products out there, and I’ve found very few that actually seem to work without destroying the brush, or even my hands in the process.
But let’s face it, there’s better things to spend your money on than buying new brushes constantly!
Recently I heard about something that “supposedly worked” so I gave it a try, and as it turned out it was the product I had been looking for all along!
The cleaner is called “The Masters” Brush Cleaner, and it comes in the container shown here, and also in a bigger version for canvas painters as well.
It’s a solid at first, but after you wet your brush and stroke the bristles in the cleaner it becomes soap like and starts to work.
Apparently it also conditions the bristles as well and insulates them against further damage, so it’s good to use this product regularly!
Checkout a brush I recently used to basecoat red on my Death Cult Assassins.
Here you can see some residual red paint on the bristles. After awhile of build-up that can really hurt your brush. This is really true for drybrushes especially, as that style of painting lends itself to a quick build-up of paint. Heck a lot of times the short lives of drybrushes are not beccuase of the technique itself, but because of the damaging effect of paint build-up.
Plus if paint is left on a drybrush, that old color will apply itself to your models when you are using it to paint another color, whether you like it or not.
So I used some of the cleaner on it, and viola the paint is gone!
It’s like Magic, well sorta.
You can purchase “The Masters” cleaner on Amazon, as well as locally at stores such as Michaels, Hobby Lobby, AC Moore, etc.
Your brushes will thank you! -MBG
Be sure to checkout my other “Hobby Basics” articles for great tips on the hobby we all love and share here!
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
