New paints and new brushes require new cleaning and storage methods. Dutch manufacturer Go!Paint knows that times are changing and offers new methods for cleaning and storing brushes.

For cleaning brushes Go!Paint offers an eco-friendly, non-flammable Brush Cleaner fluid that effectively removes both water and solvent based paints from the bristles when used in combination with a Clean and Go cleaning station. The trick is in a ‘kind of soap’ formula that works with both types of paint and the combination with flexing the brush fiercely over a coated metal grid. The molecule chains in the paint are broken so the paint comes off the bristles easier and the movement over the grid pushes the paint out of the core of the brush whilst the grid scrapes the paint off the bristles. The fluid can be thinned down 1:7 for water based paints. With other paints or combinations, it should be used undiluted. Leave the brush soaking in the fluid for better performance. It can be used for about 10 full washing cycles of up to 4 brushes per cycle. Rinse out the fluid and the brush is ready for re-use or storage. Cleaning a brush like this not only saves you time, it also saves you much time as deep cleaning takes rarely takes more than half a minute per brush.

For storage of brushes Go!Paint has developed a bio-based gel called Store and Go. Once the brush is placed inside the gel (all bristles fully covered) any drying of the remaining paint inside the brush is stopped. You can keep it in the gel for a coffee break or for months. Of course, if the paint particles are already drying there is no stopping that, so it is recommended to first clean the brush before storage. Especially when working with fast drying paint systems.

When you are certain you will re-use the brush the next time with exactly the same type and color of paint you can also skip cleaning and simply stick the brush into the gel.

In case there is some paint or dust contamination inside the gel, there is absolutely no reason to panic. The gel is thick and unlike water, solvents or oils it will not move around the container, so the contamination will not end up inside the bristles of another brush.

As soon as you want to re-use the brush, you simply wipe off the gel with a cloth and dip it in the paint. There is no use in washing the gel out, as the water or solvent will have more effect on the paint than the tiny bit of gel that may still be there. The biggest paint manufacturers have tested this elaborately and fully endorse the product for brush storage.

Re-using a paint brush like this takes just about as little time as taking the packaging off a new brush. And we all know a used brush just gets worn in to nicely fit your hand. So why not give some love to your used paint brushes? They deserve a second life.

GO!Paint is a brand of the Hildering Group. A Dutch family owned business in packaging for the paint and chemical industry since 1958. Go!Paint offers a wide range of paint tools for professionals.