Best brush cleaner
Updated: 21 October 2026
You want one name, and the six bottles on amazon.co.uk will not give you one. The highest star line is 4.8 from seven reviews on a studio liquid that excludes oil paint. The largest review count on a water-rinse soap is a different product. Best brush cleaner here means who should buy it, and who should leave it. Scores and prices from 19 October 2026 are on the [brush cleaner comparison](/hub/painting-supplies/brush-cleaner). We did not run a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You want one name, and the six bottles on amazon.co.uk will not give you one. The highest star line is 4.8 from seven reviews on a studio liquid that excludes oil paint.
You want one name, and the six bottles on amazon.co.uk will not give you one. The highest star line is 4.8 from seven reviews on a studio liquid that excludes oil paint. The largest review count on a water-rinse soap is a different product. Best brush cleaner here means who should buy it, and who should leave it. Scores and prices from 19 October 2026 are on the brush cleaner comparison. We did not run a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Reviews | Role | Paint named | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  GENERAL'S Masters 2.5 oz brush soap | 2,460 | Artist brush soap | Oil, acrylic, alkyd, gouache, latex, enamel | 9.1 | about £13.46 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Bartoline Bartoline white spirit | 2,032 | Petroleum solvent | Alkyd paints | 8.1 | about £5.89 | View offer |
| Best value |  POLYCELL Polycell 500 ml brush cleaner | 1,968 | Decorating liquid | Not in the bullets | 8.6 | about £8.71 | View offer |
On this page
Top pick for brushes you already rinse in water
The top pick is The Masters brush soap, ASIN B0009RRT9Y, sold as GENERAL'S GP101-BJ. It is a 2.5 oz paste at £13.46, listed at 4.7 from 2,460 reviews, score 91. The bullets name wet and dry oil, acrylic, alkyd, gouache, latex and enamel, used with water. That is a lather, not a thinner, and nothing in the bullets describes a roller.
Skip it if washing-up liquid already cleans your acrylics. The name is 2.5 oz, and the file also prints 70 ml and 75 ml. A soap-free line conflicts with a water-lather paste. Chemistry before a badge is on the brush cleaner buying guide.
Best value for wet decorating paint
The best value is Polycell, ASIN B000TAY0YI, 500 ml at £8.71, 4.4 from 1,968 reviews, score 86. The rule is the next dedicated cleaner under £10 with at least 1,000 reviews, after Masters. Bartoline at £5.89 is cheaper and has no badge, because the title is a thinner and the file prints two volumes.
Polycell’s page says detergents for most wet paints, including gloss, then a soapy rinse. The amazon bullets do not name a paint. In the first 50 texts, about ten mention a leak, and several lids were hard to open.
White spirit when the tin asks you to thin
Bartoline, ASIN B005EFUSQW, part 6282-2, is £5.89 and 4.6 from 2,032 reviews, score 81. No badge is not a verdict that the bottle is poor. The bullets call it a degreaser, a thinner and a brush cleaner for alkyd paints. Buy it when the tin says thin with white spirit and you can ventilate. The title says 500 ml and the technical block says 750 ml. Emulsion is not named. One review says almost three bottles left old brushes unchanged. GOV.UK describes white spirit as a flammable petroleum-hydrocarbon mixture. Spirit against a specialist wash is on white spirit or brush cleaner.
Small samples and the other conditional buys
Rustins BRUC300, 300 ml at £6.64 and 4.3 from 48 reviews, score 75, names wet oil-based paint, varnish and polyurethane, then a plain-water rinse. The 2024 label says wet paint only and sends hard brushes to Brush Restorer, a different product. More than one of eight texts mentions a strong smell. Do not choose it for emulsion.
X ARTY HUB, 946 ml at £19.99 and 4.8 from 7 reviews, score 57, excludes oil. A four-to-six-hour soak is only for slightly dried water-based paint. Golden Maple, 30 g at £9.99 and 4.6 from 4 reviews, score 54, is a trial soap, and the weight line says 110 g against a 30 g cake.
Common questions
Why is 4.8 from seven reviews not the winner?
X ARTY HUB’s 4.8 is seven ratings, scored down to 57 because a sample under 20 reviews loses 20 points. The bottle also says it is not for oil-based paint, and it costs £19.99. A high star line without a large review count does not beat Masters on this page. The seven texts describe short, recent use, which is not a long record of dried brushes or gloss doors.
Is Masters better than washing-up liquid?
Sometimes the reviews say no. A share of the texts treat ordinary soap as enough for the same acrylic brushes. Masters earns the top pick from the size of the review base and from a paint list that includes oil and alkyd as well as acrylic, used with water. If your only paint is emulsion on a wall, washing-up liquid is the method the trade guides already give you, and neither soap in this set is required.
Who should skip Masters?
Skip it if you need to thin alkyd gloss, if the tool is a roller, or if you already get a clean brush from washing-up liquid. Skip it if the brush has been rock-hard for months and you are hoping the word dry on the bullet is a guarantee. The volume print is also messy, with 2.5 oz, 70 ml and 75 ml in the same file, so do not buy it for a precise millilitre claim.
Who should skip Polycell?
Skip it if you need the amazon listing itself to name the paint and the hazard. The bullets do not. Skip it if a leak in transit is unacceptable: about ten of the first 50 texts mention one, and several lids were hard to open. Skip it for emulsion, which does not need this kind of bottle, and for a brush that is already hard, which the listing does not claim to save.
Is Bartoline a bad product because it has no badge?
No. It is 4.6 from 2,032 reviews and it does the job the bullets name: thinning and cleaning alkyd paint. The score is 81 because a thinner title does not get the brush-cleaner bonus and because two volumes are printed. Buy it when the tin requires white spirit. Leave it when the only task is a water-rinse soap in a small room.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures saved for this set on 19 October 2026.
- GOV.UK, White spirit: general information (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- UKHSA, White spirit incident management (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- HSE, Solvents in construction (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Polycell, Brush cleaner (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Rustins, Brush cleaner (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Recycle Now, Paint (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- British Coatings Federation, How to clean paintbrushes (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Which? Trusted Traders, Cleaning paint brushes and rollers (retrieved 19 October 2026)