Rejuvenate your brushes

to save money!

It seems like heresy but I’ve been pruning my lovely brushes - both hog bristle and synthetic - to extend their usefulness. Don’t tell Rosemary!

I’m naturally frugal and now is definitely the time to pinch pennies, so I’ve taken scissors to the many brushes that have worn down, blossomed out of shape and generally become unruly tools. These are the brushes that I reject every time I reach for a fresh brush, but can’t bring myself to throw away because they still have some usefulness as scrubbers.

Invariably, the tips of these brushes have worn to fat ends rather than crisp, chiselled ones. To get back to a thin end, I cut out the outer layer of bristles, leaving less volume overall. The operation somewhat restores the thin tip that I need. I can’t make crisp, precise marks with my haircut brushes, but they’re definitely useful for more than just scrubbing paint.

I hope this tip has you reevaluating your worn brushes and grabbing your scissors. The money you save can be used on new tubes of paint!😁

Happy painting!