How to remove oil paint from brushes without turpentine

Brushes are a major part of the painting because they work as a bridge between paint and paper. There is a need for good manners to keep your brushes in good and clean condition. But doing so can be a big challenge because of the permanent texture of oil paint’s pigments which are hard to remove from brushes.

In this article, we will take a look at some tips, tricks, and recommendations to clean your brushes easily. Turpentine is an effective solvent to clean oil paint from brushes but it can be toxic. If you don’t want to use turpentine then how to remove oil paint from brushes without turpentine?

There are following methods to remove oil paint from brushes without turpentine

1. Cleaning oil paint brush with vegetable oil
2. Cleaning oil paint brush with vinegar
3. Cleaning oil paint brush with linseed oil
4. Cleaning oil paint brush with dish soap

All these methods are quite easy and safe to use. All these procedures have been mentioned below step by step with their pros and cons. You can easily find the best suitable method according to your feasibility.

Table of Contents

• 1. Cleaning oil paint brush with vegetable oil
• 2. Cleaning oil paint brush with vinegar
• 3. Cleaning oil paint brush with linseed oil
• 4. Cleaning oil paint brush with dish soap (Best)
• Can you clean oil paint brush with water?
• How to clean an oil paintbrush with paint thinner?
• Cleaning oil paint brush with white spirit
• Tips to remove oil paint from brushes
  • Cleaning wet oil paint
  • Cleaning dry oil paint
• Top 3 picks of brush cleaners for instant results
• Final Words

1. Cleaning oil paint brush with vegetable oil

★★★★

Vegetable oil seems to be a very good and appropriate way to clean oil paint brushes without turpentine. You can also use domestic cooking oil for this purpose.

Required things:

• Vegetable oil
• Jar
• Clean rag or newspaper

Procedure:

• STEP 1: Take some vegetable oil and pour it into a clean jar
• STEP 2: Dip your brushes inside vegetable oil
• STEP 3: Use a rag or new paper to clean the brush and also clean the bristle very gently
• STEP 4: Put your brushes in a well-ventilated area to let them dry

Pros	Cons
Cheaper	Time-consuming as oil takes some time to dry
Easy	You cannot apply the method during the painting
All products are available at home	Require some efforts to clean completely

2. Cleaning oil paint brush with vinegar

★★★★

Vinegar is a cleaning agent which works very strongly when add to oil paints. Boil the vinegar in a pot then let it cool. Dip your paint brushes inside the vinegar liquid and try to clean the oil paint from the brushes with your hands.

Required Things:

• Vinegar
• Fire source
• Clean pot

Procedure:

• STEP 1: Pour some vinegar inside a clean pot
• STEP 2: Boil it for 5 min under low fire
• STEP 3: Let it cool and then dip your oil paint brushes
• STEP 4: Use your hands to peel off oil paint from brushes

Pros	Cons
Easily available	Not useable during work
Cost efficient
Easy to use

Important to know!
If vinegar is not available, you can use other substitutes such as lemon juice, rubbing alcohol and detergents. 

3. Cleaning oil paint brush with linseed oil

★★★★

Linseed oil is the most useable medium in oil painting. If you are working with oil paints then you must have some spare linseed oil. Linseed oil works to thin the oil paint and even dried oil paint can also be softened with linseed oil.

Just pour some linseed oil into a clean jar and put your oil paint brushes inside it. Use your hands to clean the bristles of oil paint.

Required things:

• Linseed oil
• A clean jar
• Piece of cloth

Procedure:

• STEP 1: Take a clean jar and pour some linseed oil in it
• STEP 2: Take your oil paint brushes and dip them inside the linseed oil
• STEP 3: Use your hands to clean the bristle of the brush
• STEP 4: Use a cloth to clean it at the end

Pros	Cons
Time efficient	Expensive
Easily available
Substitutes (safflower oil and walnut oil)
Effective

4. Cleaning oil paint brush with dish soap (Best)

★★★★★

Dish soap has some effective results and this strategy is cheaper to clean your oil paint brushes. I also prefer using this strategy too.

Mix dish soap with some clean water to make a mixture of water and soap. Pour this mixture inside a clean jar and dip your brushes inside the mixture. Use your hands to clean the brushes.

Required things:

• Dish soap
• Water
• Clean jar

Procedure:

• STEP 1: Take dish soap and mix it with a small quantity of water to make a mixture
• STEP 2: Dip your brushes inside the mixture and try to clean them with your hands

Pros	Cons
Cost efficient	Need some effort to clean the brush completely
Time efficient
Easy availability
Useful under working conditions

Can you clean oil paint brush with water?

Oil paints contain some quantity of oils that don’t dissolve in water. You can do an experiment to check it with yourself, take some water and pour some oil in it. Oil will not dissolve in water by any means.

No, only water cannot be used to remove oil paint from brushes. Instead of water, you can use linseed oil to clean them. There are so many other methods such as dish soap with water, oil paint thinners, vinegar, detergents, lemon juice, or rubbing alcohol.

How to clean an oil paintbrush with paint thinner?

Using oil paint thinner to clean the brush is an easy way. You just need some paint thinner and pour it in a clean jar, then dip your brushes inside the paint thinner and try to remove all the paint over them. You can use a clean piece of cloth to remove any excess paint thinner.

Cleaning oil paint brush with white spirit

You can use white spirit which is a form of mineral spirit. You can pour some white spirit inside a jar and dip your brush bristles inside the liquid.

Beware of the toxic fumes which can cause a lot of irritation for your throat and also heart problems. Make sure to wear a face mask while cleaning brushes with white spirits.

Tips to remove oil paint from brushes

There are several ways to do so. Let’s take a look at them

Cleaning wet oil paint

Take a towel or a piece of paper to remove the excessive wet oil from the brush. You can do so by gently rubbing the brush on the paper. Take a jar and some water in it. Dip your brush in it and swipe it again with a cloth to remove all the pigments.

Then take another jar and add some solvent like white spirit and dip it until you see the color dissolve. Repeat the procedure until your brush gets fully clean and no pigment remains on it.

Take some safflower oil in another separate jar which will help to remove everything on it. Now, your brush is ready to paint again.

Cleaning dry oil paint

If you forget to clean the brush which is fully covered with that paint and got fully hardened. To resolve this kind of situation, you must have to soften the hardened paint first. To do so, you can take apple cider vinegar which contains acetic acid. It breaks down the bonds between pain. Dip your paint in it and leave it for 24 hours.

You will see that it will become soft like a gelly after that time. Now you can do the other procedure. Use grease to remove oil from the bristle. Use your nails or any hard material to rub them. Keep dipping the tip in vinegar and then again try to use grease until all the paint gets dry from the brush.

At last, use a solvent and dip bristle. Now, your brush is ready to start the journey again.

Top 3 picks of brush cleaners for instant results

If you don’t want to spend a lot of time cleaning paintbrushes, then you can purchase some of the best items specially made for this purpose. By using them, you will get instant results with mind satisfaction.

1. Wet & dry paint cleaner

The paintbrush cleaner from Green Piece comes in a 1.12-pound plastic bottle with 5.94 x 5.79 x 2.2 inches dimensions. It contains a powerful formula that makes sure to clean the dried oil and acrylic paint without harming the bristles of the brush. At the time of publishing, Green Piece paint brush cleaner had a total of 326 ratings with an average of 4.1 stars out of 5.

The best thing about Green Piece paint brush cleaner is its non-toxic nature which makes it free from any turpentine or paint thinner. If you purchase the items on the basis of their impact on nature then you will be happy to know that it does not have any harmful effects on nature. It is also Amazon’s Choice which is a real prediction of its working potential.

Features

Amazon’s Choice | Color : Green | Material: Wood & Metal | Package Dimensions: 5.94 x 5.79 x 2.2 inches | Item Weight: 1.12 pounds

Price at the time of Publishing: 19.88$

Our Ratings: 4 Out of 5

2. Winsor & Newton Brush Cleaner & Restorer

Winsor and Newton brush cleaner is a biodegradable bottle of liquid. It can remove dry, wet, gloss, and other solid forms of oil paint from brushes easily. You can even use it to clean other products like leather or any other stuff that caught paint. It contains the ability to restore the elasticity as well as the suppleness of the brush. Many senior artists use this for cleaning purposes. At the time of publishing, the listed item had a total of 8500 ratings with an average of 4.5 stars out of 5.

Winsor & Newton is a famous brand and the choice of many famous artists. That’s why we have recommended it to our visitors.

Features

Material: Biodegradable | Size: 16 ounce | Volume: 120 millimeters | Quantity: 1 piece | Made in: France| Product Dimensions: 3.19 x 3.19 x 9.63 inches

Price at the time of publishing: 38.43$

Our Ratings: 5 Out of 5

3. U.S. Art Supply Brush Cleaner and Restorer

When it comes to art supplies, US Art Supply Store is the most recommended brand that provides art-related accessories. U.S. Art Supply Paint Brush Cleaner comes in a 16 Ounce pint bottle with a blueish cleaning liquid. It can clean the paintbrushes as well as airbrushes without any harm to the bristles. At the time of publishing, Us Art Supply paint brush cleaner had a total of 1260 ratings with an average of 4.3 Stars out of 5.

To use the paintbrush cleaner, it is recommended to put some liquid inside a jar. Dip the bristles of dried paint brushes inside the jar and let them soak in the liquid for 24 hours. Reshape the bristles after cleaning.

Features

Package Dimensions: 6.22 x 2.87 x 2.8 inches | Volume: 1 Pounds | Brand: U.S. Art Supply | Material Feature: Spray

Price at the time of Publishing: 15.99$

Our Ratings: 4.5 Out of 5

Final Words

We have mentioned two solutions to the problem. One is natural in which you will clean paint brushes with your hands which is quite time-consuming. If you want instant cleaning for a long time then we have recommended some of the best products for the resolve of this problem. Keep your accessories clean to practice a cleaner painting style.

Help others by asking any related question about this article, you can also add your review or any question. We will add it directly in FAQs to let others know that useful information.

References:

• Milan Art Institute, “Oil paint properties“
• Winsor & Newton, “Winsor & Newton brush cleaner“