If you use a rubber brayer with acrylics, you know how quickly layers of paint can build up on it. You can minimize clean-up by wiping it with a wet paper towel in between your applications of colors. Nevertheless, a brayer still requires a thorough cleaning once your painting session is over.
If you dislike having to scrub your brayer to get it clean, I'll let you in on a little secret: there's a much easier, painless way to do it. Assuming your brayer is no wider than 4 inches, here's what you'll need:
A deep bowl, such as a cereal bowl
Murphy Oil Soap
Water
Fill the bowl with enough warm water to cover the roller on the brayer. Add a tablespoon or two of Murphy Oil Soap to the water and swish to mix. Place your brayer in the water with the framework resting on the bottom of the bowl and the roller facing up. Do not allow the rubber roller to touch the bottom or the sides of the bowl. (You may have to try a few different bowls to find one that's just the right size.)
Let the brayer sit in the water overnight. The next morning, the Murphy Oil Soap will have worked its magic. A few swipes with a paper towel and any paint remaining on the roller will come right off.
The brayers I use have plastic handles so leaving them in water doesn't harm them. If your brayer has a wood handle I don't recommend using this method because water could damage it.
FYI: When it's not in use, always store your brayer with the roller facing up. If you store it with the roller facing down, over time it will develop a flat spot that will make rolling paint on smoothly impossible.
©2016 Lynn Edwards
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