How to clean a brush that was used for staining?

I was told to put the brush under water. But it only became little gooey! Must I wash the brush in running ( cold or hot ) water after use? Should the brush be bone dry before using it again?How to clean a brush that was used for staining?
Ok First of all Most stain you need mineral Spirts to clean the brush out.


Most of the stains and clear coat materials out on the market will say right on the front of the can WATER BASED.


When it says this you clean it with warm water.


Other then that you need Min-Spi to clean the brush out.


Next part of your question when you clean your brush out it does not need to be 100%dry but you need to get as much of the min-spi out you can do this by whipping it or placeing a dry rag down on a flat surface put the brush on it then fold the rag over and press down.


Always remember when you clean a brush out no matter how good you do this 99% of the time after the brush dries out and when you go to use it again it will seem stiff all you need to do is brush your hand it will make the brush nice and soft again.


PS- Always read the can before use. If you were to use Min-Spi on a water based stain the Brush can never be used again for water based again.


A thing to remember just like with paint


Latex paint you can always paint with latex or oil paint.


But oil based paint you cant use latex on it.


Once a brush or roller has been used for stain or oil thats all it could ever be used for again.


But you could use a latex brush and go to oil but not back.


And also the other answer that was givin if you were to use a brush and use it again 8 hours later you could rap it up but it would be better to put it in a can of Min-Spi this will make sure it dont dry up all all and all you need to do is whip it and dry it with the rag as good as you can.


I have been in the field for 20 years and most people ruin brushes like this all the time.


Read The can and Take your time


GoodluckHow to clean a brush that was used for staining?
If the brush doesn't apear to be coming clean in water, then you can try warm water and some light soap. If this does not work, then you can try mineral spirits. The container the stain comes in should tell you exactly how to clean the brushes.





When I stained my deck last year I used cheapo brushes and just threw them away afterwards. They cost like $1.00, worked great and clean-up was much better. On one occasion tho I did re-use the brush the next day.





You wouldn't be using a $15.00 brush to apply stain anyway more than likely because it is a very think liquid and does not show brush marks. If you are staining large area you'd be using a roller anyway.





Place the brush (bristle end) in a plastic baggie of some kind and put a rubber band around it to keep it kind of sealed. It will be fine the next day.





You just don't want it to get dirty or dry out.