Oh no! Your paintbrushes are stiff, either from dried paint or drying out after not using them for a while. Even if your brushes have hardened up, there are tons of easy ways you can soften your paintbrushes again with some common household products. We've put together a list of the best products and how to use them to restore your synthetic or natural brushes so they’re soft again.

1

White vinegar and conditioner

  1. A soak in hot vinegar breaks apart bristles to make any brush soft again. Heat up enough distilled white vinegar in a pot to coat the brush bristles. Set the brushes in a heat-safe container and pour the vinegar over the bristles. Leave your brushes to soften for 20–30 minutes. Then, scrape out any paint in the brush with a comb and just rinse the vinegar out. Rub a pea-sized amount of hair conditioner on the bristles to make them soft again.[1]
    • Wrap the bristles in a plastic bag for 1 hour after applying the conditioner so it absorbs deeper. You do not have to rinse the conditioner out of the brush.[2]
  2. Advertisement
2

Dish soap

  1. Dish soap effectively breaks down hardened water-based latex paint. Add a squirt of dish soap to a small bowl of hot water and mix it well until it suds up. Swish the brush in the soapy water and work the bristles apart gently with your fingers. Once you clean out all of the paint, give your brush a rinse and shake out the excess water.[3]
    • Avoid using dish soap on natural-hair paintbrushes meant for oil paint since you could damage the bristles.
3

Fabric softener

  1. Water-based paint dissolves off the bristles with fabric softener. Add 12 cup (120 ml) of liquid fabric softener to 1 gallon (3.8 L) of warm water. Swish a brush caked with acrylic or latex paint through the solution for 10 seconds to help loosen the paint and soften hardened brush bristles. Run your fingers through the bristles to ensure they don’t have any leftover paint.[4]
    • You can use laundry detergent if you don’t have any fabric softener.[5]
    • You don’t need to rinse your brush after using fabric softener since it actually helps prevent paint from sticking to the bristles the next time you use it.
    • Fabric softener also works to soften new or dried out brushes.
  2. Advertisement
4

Acetone

  1. Give acetone a try to make water-based paint slide off the bristles. Set your paintbrush in a plastic cup and pour acetone in to cover the bristles. Let the acetone soak into the bristles overnight so it can soften the hardened paint. After that, run a comb through the bristles to get any paint residue out and make the bristles flexible again.[6]
    • In a pinch, you can also use nail polish remover since it normally contains acetone.
    • If there’s still some stubborn pain in the bristles, try soaking your brush in acetone overnight again.
6

Baby oil

  1. Baby oil works best for cleaning and softening brushes caked with oil paint. Dab the brush bristles in baby oil so they’re completely coated. Gently work the oil deep into the bristles with your fingers or a clean cloth to soften the paintbrush. Push any paint residue down to the tips of the bristles so it falls off. When you finish, give your brushes a quick rinse with soapy water.[8]
7

Mineral spirits or paint thinner

  1. Rely on paint thinner if other natural cleaners aren’t working. Since mineral spirits and paint thinner are chemical cleaners, use them as a last resort. Pour the spirits or thinner into a clean bucket and set the brush bristles in it to soak for 20–30 minutes. After that, work the bristles with a soft brush to remove the excess paint. Then, just rinse the brush with clean water and let it dry.[9] [10]
    • You can use mineral spirits or paint thinner to clean acrylic brushes or oil brushes.
    • Paint thinner can irritate your skin, and it produces harmful fumes. Work in a well-ventilated area and wear a respirator and rubber gloves when you work with it so you stay safe.[11]
    • Paint thinners can damage brushes and make the bristles fall out after repeated uses.
  2. Advertisement

Expert Q&A

  • Question
    How do you soften a dry brush?
    Patrick Coye
    Patrick Coye
    Painting Specialist
    Patrick Coye is the owner and operator of Patrick’s Painting & Home Improvement in Alexandria, Virginia. With over 15 years of experience in residential construction, Patrick specializes in painting, wallpaper removal/installation, drywall, staining decks and fences, and kitchen cabinetry painting. To date, Patrick and his team have painted over 2,000 houses and stained over 800 decks. Patrick's Company won a "Top Job" award from the American Painting contractor magazine in 2020.
    Patrick Coye
    Painting Specialist
    Expert Answer
    To try to get as much paint off of the dry brush as possible, put it in some water or Mineral Spirits paint thinner. Then, clean the brushes with laundry detergent to help soften the bristles.
  • Question
    How do you clean a hardened paint brush?
    Patrick Coye
    Patrick Coye
    Painting Specialist
    Patrick Coye is the owner and operator of Patrick’s Painting & Home Improvement in Alexandria, Virginia. With over 15 years of experience in residential construction, Patrick specializes in painting, wallpaper removal/installation, drywall, staining decks and fences, and kitchen cabinetry painting. To date, Patrick and his team have painted over 2,000 houses and stained over 800 decks. Patrick's Company won a "Top Job" award from the American Painting contractor magazine in 2020.
    Patrick Coye
    Painting Specialist
    Expert Answer
    Soak the paint brush in mineral spirits to think the paint. Then, remove as much of the paint as possible. However, be careful that you don't handle the bristles too roughly, as they can get damaged.
  • Question
    Were the hair conditioner and fabric softener tips for oil based paint brushes?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Sometimes if you soak them in hot water for a couple of minutes, it helps. If these are oil brushes though, you can't use them right away. Don't soak them for too long as it's bad for your brushes!
Advertisement

About This Article

Patrick Coye
Co-authored by:
Painting Specialist
This article was co-authored by Patrick Coye and by wikiHow staff writer, Hunter Rising. Patrick Coye is the owner and operator of Patrick’s Painting & Home Improvement in Alexandria, Virginia. With over 15 years of experience in residential construction, Patrick specializes in painting, wallpaper removal/installation, drywall, staining decks and fences, and kitchen cabinetry painting. To date, Patrick and his team have painted over 2,000 houses and stained over 800 decks. Patrick's Company won a "Top Job" award from the American Painting contractor magazine in 2020. This article has been viewed 211,907 times.
2 votes - 80%
Co-authors: 15
Updated: December 16, 2022
Views: 211,907
Categories: Paints
Article SummaryX

If your paintbrushes are hard because you haven’t used them in a while, you can use various household items to soften them up. Try applying a pea-sized amount of baby lotion or hand lotion to the bristles. Then, bend the brush back and forth on your hand so the bristles get coated in lotion up to the handle. After about 2 minutes, wipe off any excess lotion with a towel. Alternatively, soften your brushes with white vinegar. All you need to do is boil 2 to 3 cups of white vinegar and put your brush in a jar with the bristles pointing down. Once the vinegar begins to bubble, pour enough into the jar to cover the bristles and leave your brush to soak for 20 minutes. Scrape off any leftover paint with a comb, then rinse your brush under warm water. For tips on how to soften your brush using liquid fabric softener, keep reading!

Did this summary help you?
If you buy through links on our site, we may earn a commission.
Advertisement