Cleaning oil-based paint - arrghhh.

Hi Guys,

Not a real exciting thread but I need some advice on how best to clean my roller and paint tray after using oil-based paint.

At the moment, I'm simply filling up a bucket with around 2 litres water and 300ml of Turpentine and submerging the items, but I'm finding it difficult to completely wash away the paint. It seems to come off initially with some rubbing, but just sticks right back onto the tools when I take them out.

Alternatively I'll pour some Turps right onto the roller or tray, but this takes nearly 1/2 litre of Turps before the paint starts to thin and I feel I can run it under an open tap.

Either way, its gets real messy, stinks the whole house and the end-result is a roller and tray that just don't seem to be clean.

Maybe my problem is I'm not removing enough excess paint before I do the clean. Not sure.

There's got to be an easy way.

Cheers.
 
I'm perhaps just a lazy so-and-so - but I buy cheap rollers and trays, and throw them out at the end of a job- or cover them up in a plastic bag if it's only overnight.

Half an hour of washing $10 worth of roller and tray is just not worth the effort.

Using a tap to clean out stuff is a no-no as well- it's notgood to get that stuff into the drains.
 
Ditto..... Bunnings, and others, sell a pack of rollers at a price that makes it too easy to just throw away when you are finished. Brushes and trays are also cheap enough to treat the same way. During the painting project the brush or roller can be preseved in a plastic bag until the job is done!
 
That's it - I'm turfing the suckers after each major paint job. That's what I've been thinking all along, but wasn't sure if this was the norm. Really, it's just not worth the time and effort to get these things to scrub up well.

During the painting project the brush or roller can be preseved in a plastic bag until the job is done!

I'll do that but they're on they way out after the completion of each job.

Thanks geoffw and plumtree.


PS...about the drain part - rodger that!
 
Oil based paints

I use cheap rollers/paint trays that I throw away at the end of the job. In the meantime, if only overnight I put roller in plastic bag and seal with a rubber band to close the bag. If not getting back to the job for more than a day I put the whole bag with roller in it into the freezer. Before pouring paint into tray I put plastic bin liner/garbage bag around paint tray and then pour paint into the lined tray and at end of day peel bag off tray and throw in bin.
 
I'm usually not organised enough to have gladwrap or garbage bags- I end up using the shopping bags I had for the paint trays and rollers.
 
Forgot to say i once got distracted and left the glad wrapped roller and brush for 4 days, the roller was fine and the brush had hrdened a little at the metal band but wqas usable. So perhaps a week is not out of the question? This would give the weekend renovators an option.

MC
 
Michael Croft said:
Forgot to say i once got distracted and left the glad wrapped roller and brush for 4 days, the roller was fine and the brush had hrdened a little at the metal band but wqas usable. So perhaps a week is not out of the question? This would give the weekend renovators an option.
Was that an oil based paint Michael?

I've found that acrylics last well under wraps, but polyurethane starts to harden after a few days. I haven't tried an oil based paint yet.
 
IF I have to use enamel I chuck the roller and tray (too much cleaning!) and the cling wrap works a treat on acrylics.
Another tip I've found good is to soak brand new brushes in warm water overnight. Gets rid of all those stray hairs that muck up the job when you first use them!
 
Grubar30,
In a life long ago I was a painter by trade, So first thing to do while the roller sleeve is still on the roller, scrape the excess paint off with a putty knife or scraper into the tin that the paint came from. Second wash the paint tray with turps and only turps "NO WATER" till it is reasonably clean. Now pour fresh turps into the tray and start to move the roller back and forth for awhile. This will get most of the paint out but not all. Get a board about 1.5 mts or so and place it on an angle against a fence and run the roller down it as fast as you can,(this will remove excess turps from the roller" remember to stand back as far as possible other wise you will get the stuff all over you. You could buy a roller spinner from a paint shop which fits into the froller sleave, this spins the sleeve removing the excess turps. Now you have to repeat step 2 again with fresh turps, then wash in warm soapy water and put up to dry. A word of warning never lay the sleeve down on it's side to dry as you will cause a flat spot on the sleeve and will cause problems down the road when you go to use it again.
If this seems to much work then just throw the thing away and buy new when you need to a later stage.

Kind regards
John

"PS, I duy good quality brushes and rollers so I go through the trouble of cleaning, I am very particular"
 
I agree

Brizzy Boy said:
Grubar30,
In a life long ago I was a painter by trade, So first thing to do while the roller sleeve is still on the roller, scrape the excess paint off with a putty knife or scraper into the tin that the paint came from. Second wash the paint tray with turps and only turps "NO WATER" till it is reasonably clean. Now pour fresh turps into the tray and start to move the roller back and forth for awhile. This will get most of the paint out but not all. Get a board about 1.5 mts or so and place it on an angle against a fence and run the roller down it as fast as you can,(this will remove excess turps from the roller" remember to stand back as far as possible other wise you will get the stuff all over you. You could buy a roller spinner from a paint shop which fits into the froller sleave, this spins the sleeve removing the excess turps. Now you have to repeat step 2 again with fresh turps, then wash in warm soapy water and put up to dry. A word of warning never lay the sleeve down on it's side to dry as you will cause a flat spot on the sleeve and will cause problems down the road when you go to use it again.
If this seems to much work then just throw the thing away and buy new when you need to a later stage.

Kind regards
John

"PS, I duy good quality brushes and rollers so I go through the trouble of cleaning, I am very particular"
I had cheap rollers once and they left fur and crap on the wall (acrylic)

So I only buy good quality ones now.

I use a fair bit of turps - but buy it buy the 4 litre can - about 8 bucks or so.

The job comes up OK so washing up is worth it.


TIP - leave the turps stand (covered) for a while, and the sediment settles, you can re-use it over and over, just let the sediment harden on newspaper and you can chuck it out in the bin.

Totally aside - I've got a door at home that looks like the previous owners painted with a cheap roller or an acrylic roller...

Don't ever use a cheap long pile roller with enamel paints...

It looks like it was painted with an un-vacummed carpet roll that had a nest of cats living in it.

Plus it takes off your skin if you rub against it.
 
Brizzy Boy,

Reading that post I actually pictured myself going through those exact steps - cursing like a madman as the turps and specs of paint began to fly off that 1.5 metre board and into my eyes. But somehow in the middle of that rolling and cleaning frenzy, I realised I was getting the better of that oil-based paint, finally feeling relief that I had found the solution, only to cop a nice big spec of paint in the head.

:eek:
 
Grubar30,
When you spin the roller off put an extention handle on and you will find that you will avoid the spray comming of the roller getting all over you.

Alwayscurious,
some tips, use medium to long pile roller sleaves for acrylic paints usually used on walls and ceilings. Use mohair a very short pile sleave for oil based paints. When painting doors give them a "light" rub with sand paper then paint the door with the roller, with a good quality brush tip the door off with very light up and down strokes (never across the door) remember only use the tip of the bristles. This will remove the orange peel affect that the roller leaves. Rub the door down again lightly with sand paper and repeat the process all over again. The end result is a mirror finish on the door.

Good quality tools will not leave bristles from the brush or hair from your roller all over your job. You could have 2 20 lt drums one filled with water and one filled with turps to store your brushes and roller sleaves in until the next job, a word of caution make sure only tools that are used with oilbased paint go into the turps and tools used for acrylic paint into the water otherwise you could ruin your tools.

Hope this is of some help
Regards
John
 
I must agree with the late posts, to suggest to buy cheap rollers and throw them away seems ok but only if you want cheap results. Good roller sleeves cost $30 and those plastic tray are just garbage. One that you can relay on not to spill, twist, buckle and contain more than 1/2 litre of paint costs around $100. I suppose it is not too much money to throw away but cleaning them is not difficult at all. Once you use good tools, a nice wool sleeve, a roller that is made of steel and does not bend like boiled spaghetti, a heavy bucket for the paint, a heavy aluminum extension pole, you will never use cheap stuff again.

Cleaning is with turps only, Turps is cheap and you can buy it in bulk at the paint shop, BYO container. Remember that turps is also toxic on your skin.
Repeated wash with small quantities of solvent saves turps. If you are painting with varnish and you dry your brushes rollers on a rag, those rags can catch fire all by themselves just by leaving them there in a bunch.
If you have an extension pole, the rolling up and down the board exercise described above is a piece of cake :)
 
Thanks for the tips!

Brizzy Boy said:
Grubar30,
Alwayscurious,
some tips, use medium to long pile roller sleaves for acrylic paints usually used on walls and ceilings. Use mohair a very short pile sleave for oil based paints. When painting doors give them a "light" rub with sand paper then paint the door with the roller, with a good quality brush tip the door off with very light up and down strokes (never across the door) remember only use the tip of the bristles. This will remove the orange peel affect that the roller leaves. Rub the door down again lightly with sand paper and repeat the process all over again. The end result is a mirror finish on the door.

Good quality tools will not leave bristles from the brush or hair from your roller all over your job. You could have 2 20 lt drums one filled with water and one filled with turps to store your brushes and roller sleaves in until the next job, a word of caution make sure only tools that are used with oilbased paint go into the turps and tools used for acrylic paint into the water otherwise you could ruin your tools.

Hope this is of some help
Regards
John


John thanks for the tips re painting doors & walls. I've painted two houses fully now, and am getting better each time!

I like the results that I achieve, and use a similar technique to yours.

I like idea of the bristle effect after the roller, I haven't used this as much yet.

If only other people who were there before me weren't in such a flaming hurry/half wits.

EVERY SINGLE JOB THEY DID, They did shoddily.

badly painted doors & walls, badly put together pergolah, badly planted palm trees (right next to house, ready to crack slab etc).. Badly put down turf, paint all over the floor, etc, etc.

More haste less speed.
 
Do ya really wunna know how to clean paint from things?

CAUSTIC SODA

Works like paint stripper, leaves things clean as new. Just don't try to clean pure bristle brushes, otherwise you end up with a chunk of soft gunk attached to a paint brush handle!!!

I can't remember the ratio of soda to water, just add more if not enough. I think I use about a tablespoon to half a peach tin of water. If you use too much the bottom of the peach tin becomes quite hot due to chemical reaction!!! Also try to avoid soaking above the top of the bristles otherwise sometimes you will disolve the glue holding the bristles into the ferrule.

I am one of those people who sometimes leaves a brush soaking until the next day to clean it, or the day after that, or the day after that. Finally it becomes a "frozen moment." I have reserected many a brush like this, including a favourite I did not want to loose. You can also clean paint from paint trays and paint tins (to recycle).

Try to avoid getting on skin, but it would not take the skin off the bones - unless you decided to fill the bath with it and soak overnight!!!

Happy stripping :eek: :D
 
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