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Coloring Finishing And Painting Wood
The ends of the bristles of all brushes should not touch the bottom of the "brush keeper" or they will curl to one side and never again be really useful for the proper spreading of varnish back and forth. All brushes should be carefully cleaned and put away dry if they are not to be used frequently or in the near future. Store them in such a position that the bristles will not be bent.
343. Cleaning of Brushes.—Success in the brush application of all finishes depends to a considerable extent upon the brush used and its condition. The brush should be clean, soft, pliable and elastic. Selection of a brush always should depend upon the kind of finish to be applied, and also upon the size and material to be covered. Brushes of a good grade are set in cement or some rubber composition. Brushes set in shellac or glue will not hold their bristles when used in some finishes.
The general rule for brush cleaning is: Use the same solvent for cleaning the brush that was used in thinning the finishing material. It is a puzzle sometimes to know just what to use for cleaning brushes that are saturated with synthetic varnish. One of the large manufacturers states that he uses turpentine in his brushing synthetic varnishes, and that brushes used in such varnishes may be cleaned in turpentine. The same manufacturer says that "equipment or brushes used in spraying synthetics should be cleaned in synthetic reducer." Probably many varnish brashes will be saved by keeping some synthetic reducer on hand, because many synthetic varnishes do not contain turpentine, and brushes used in such varnishes should not be cleaned in turpentine. You should obtain a synthetic reducer from the manufacturer of the synthetic varnish that you are using.
Lacquer thinner or lacquer remover in general should clean lacquer brushes and possibly brushes used in synthetic varnishes. A lacquer brush cleaner made of grain alcohol and acetone is good for lacquer brushes, but it is not good for synthetic varnish brushes because most of the synthetic varnish resins are not soluble in alcohol or acetone.
The solvents used in thinning synthetic varnishes are in general a coal-tar product, which evaporates slowly, such as xylol, together with a petroleum thinner, such as mineral spirits or varnolene. With this in mind a synfhetic-varnish brush cleaner tliat is made of varnolene and xylol, half and half, probably will be satisfactory. Another similar formula would be mineral spirits and toluol. Oleum Spirits and Hydrogenated Naphthas No. 2 or No. 3 are also recommended. Such cleaning solvents for brushes should be considerably cheaper than lacquer thinners and better for removing the varnish.
344. Undercoats for Quick-Drying- Varnishes.—The same types of undercoats that are used under slow-drying varnishes may be employed when four-hour varnishes are used. Ordinarily this means stain, filler, and shellac. Many expert finishers and some of the best manufacturers recommend shellac as a sealer undercoat in preference to an extra coat of varnish.
