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How (and why) to Freeze Your Paint Brushes

by on Feb 4, 2021

Paint brush is in ice on the outside.

Like it or not, most painting projects require more than one coat of paint. Whether it takes place over one or more days, we’re still faced with cleaning our brushes between coats. To make this task less taxing, turn to your freezer.

As anybody who has cleaned latex paint from a paintbrush knows, the majority of the paint comes out in the first five or ten seconds. It’s the next ten to fifteen minutes that are devoted to getting the brush squeaky clean. Well, to save yourself some time and aggravation, after that first flush, just blot the brush with a couple of paper towels or rag. Tuck the brush in a plastic shopping bag–preferably one with no holes–squeeze out the excess air, twist tie the bag shut and place the bagged brush in your freezer.

When you’re ready for the second coat, just take the brush out of the bag, run it under hot water to thaw it, squeeze the water out with a rag or paper towels, and start painting. When you’re done with your painting project completely, then knock yourself out cleaning the brushes, but not before.

(P.S. I’ve frozen rollers as well, although they take up more space in the freezer, of course.)

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