How to clean paint brushes
Updated: 21 October 2026
The brush is still wet, the roller sleeve is heavy, and the sink is the obvious next step. Stop there if the tin was gloss, varnish or anything the label tells you to thin with white spirit. How to clean paint brushes starts by scraping paint back into the tin, then a wash that matches the paint, and ends with waste that does not go down the drain. The steps below follow the six listings on the [brush cleaner comparison](/hub/painting-supplies/brush-cleaner). We did not time a wash in a lab. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The brush is still wet, the roller sleeve is heavy, and the sink is the obvious next step. Stop there if the tin was gloss, varnish or anything the label tells you to thin with white spirit.
The brush is still wet, the roller sleeve is heavy, and the sink is the obvious next step. Stop there if the tin was gloss, varnish or anything the label tells you to thin with white spirit. How to clean paint brushes starts by scraping paint back into the tin, then a wash that matches the paint, and ends with waste that does not go down the drain. The steps below follow the six listings on the brush cleaner comparison. We did not time a wash in a lab. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Rinse | Tools | Wet or dried | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  GENERAL'S Masters 2.5 oz brush soap | Water | Natural and synthetic brushes | Bullets say wet and dry | 9.1 | about £13.46 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Bartoline Bartoline white spirit | n/a | Brushes and tools; also a thinner | Hardened brushes not claimed | 8.1 | about £5.89 | View offer |
| Best value |  POLYCELL Polycell 500 ml brush cleaner | Reviewers describe a soapy rinse | Brushes, in the title and reviews | Not in the bullets | 8.6 | about £8.71 | View offer |
On this page
Scrape first, then choose water or solvent
Scrape the surplus back into the tin with a knife or the rim of the can, before any cleaner touches the bristles. The British Coatings Federation starts there. Wipe the ferrule.
Emulsion washes in cold or warm soapy water. Work the bristles, rinse until the water runs clear, reshape the tip, and dry the brush flat or hanging. Cling film until tomorrow is a pause, not a cleaner. Gloss needs white spirit or a specialist, then soap and water. Read the paint label, not the colour on the bristles. Do not soak the handle, because water or solvent in the ferrule softens the glue. If the paint has already gone hard, use dried paint on a brush.
Soap, specialist liquid, or white spirit
Masters, the 2.5 oz paste, and Golden Maple, the 30 g cake, are water-lather soaps. Wet the brush, work a lather through the bristles, and rinse with water. They are not thinners. X ARTY HUB is a water-based studio liquid for acrylic, gouache, watercolour and airbrush. It is not for oil, and the only soak it states is four to six hours for slightly dried water-based paint.
For wet oil-based gloss, varnish or polyurethane, Polycell’s page says work the cleaner in and rinse with soapy water. Rustins says emulsify the wet coating and rinse in plain water, and that water-based paint does not need this cleaner. The 2024 label limits Rustins to wet paint and warns of a flammable liquid and serious eye damage.
When the tin says thin with white spirit, pour a little Bartoline into a glass or metal jar, work the brush, and wipe. The UK Health Security Agency notes that white spirit can attack some plastics, and that explosive vapour and air mixtures may form above 21 °C. Then wash with warm water and soap. Bartoline against a specialist is on white spirit or brush cleaner.
Fumes and skin
Open a window before you open Bartoline or Rustins. Keep the lid on between brushes. The Health and Safety Executive says prefer water-based products where they will do the job, and never clean your skin with solvent. Wash splashes off with soap and water. If spirit gets in an eye, rinse with plenty of water and get medical help. GOV.UK says that if white spirit is swallowed you should not make yourself sick. Call 999 in an emergency. The National Poisons Information Service number on the Rustins sheet, 0344 892 0111, is for health professionals.
Where used solvent goes
Recycle Now treats paint thinner and white spirit as hazardous waste. In England and Wales, use the GOV.UK postcode lookup rather than the sink or the household bin. Let solids settle in a lidded container, keep clearer liquid in a labelled jar if you will use it again soon, and take the sludge to that route. Do not decant solvent into a jar a child can open. No hazard line on the Polycell bullets is not permission to tip the washings away.
Common questions
How do I wash a gloss brush with white spirit or a specialist liquid?
Work the brush in a glass or metal jar of white spirit, or in Polycell or Rustins if that bottle matches the coating, then wash off the residue. Polycell’s page wants a soapy-water rinse. Rustins’ bullets want plain water. After white spirit, use warm water and soap. Keep the soak off the handle, and do not pour the used liquid down the sink.
How do I use a brush soap such as Masters or Golden Maple?
Wet the brush, lather the soap through the bristles, and rinse with water. Both listings are water soaps, not thinners. Masters names oil and acrylic among other paints. Golden Maple names acrylic, watercolour and oil, on four reviews. Neither replaces white spirit in an alkyd tin.
Can I leave the brush soaking overnight?
Not as a default, and not with the handle underwater. A long soak in the ferrule can loosen the glue so the bristles fall out. X ARTY HUB is the only listing here that states a soak, and it is four to six hours for slightly dried water-based paint only. Wet emulsion does not need an overnight bath. Hard paint is a different page.
Where does used white spirit go?
Treat it as hazardous waste. Recycle Now classes paint thinner and white spirit that way, and in England and Wales you use the GOV.UK postcode lookup. You do not use the sink and you do not use the household bin. Solids can settle in a lidded, labelled container so you are not carrying a full jar of liquid if the clearer spirit can be kept for another wet brush.
What if solvent gets on my skin or in an eye?
Wash skin with soap and water. Do not clean skin with more solvent, which is the Health and Safety Executive line. Rinse an eye with plenty of water and seek medical help. If someone has swallowed white spirit, do not induce vomiting. Call 999 in an emergency. The poisons number on the Rustins sheet is for clinicians.
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)