Can you use rubbing alcohol to clean brushes?

Answer 1

No, Isopropyl alchohol tends to make natural hair bristles brittle and may damage synthetics (I adamantly do not use a synthetic brush for anything.) Mineral spirits can be effective but the simplest solution is plain ol' dish soap, bar soap, or for heavly used brushes, Murphy's Oil Soap. For brushes that have been "bagged" overnight but not dried out you can also use GoJo Pumice hand cleaner to get most of the paint out. One key tip is to hold the end of the bristles and rotate the brush while holding the ends of the bristles. This mechanism forces the soap up into the bristles just as the paint\varnish\stain gets worked into the brush. You can soak a brush overnight in a cup of Murphey's also to help clear out more of the paint. I have used Purdy bushes and with a routine of cleaning them with everyday hand soap and occasional Gojo Pumice hand cleaner have had burshes (sash and trim) last 2-3 years. Oil based products you should use regular mineral spirits\denatured alchohol but rubbing alcohol in my observations tends to damage brushes. This may simply be a result of the ratio (most bottles are 70%) but this is mearly my experience.