A recent post on Facebook by Testors states that soaking a paint brush in fabric softner or hair conditioner for 10 minutes will allow the paint to be easily wiped off.

Has anyone tried this? Does this work for enamel and/or acrylic?

I wonder what or if there is a recommended brand to use.

Cheers

No, just fabric softner or hair conditioner

I use this stuff on my natural bristle brushes:

Dick Blick::The Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver

From all that I can tell, it is pretty much the same stuff as hair conditioner only in a paste form. There may be some other ingredients, but it really does help keep the brushes in good condition.

Instructions say to leave it in the bristles and form them into a point for storage.

I do rinse it out of the brushes in what ever thinner is appropriate (mineral spirits or water) before I use the brush next.

The small tube is a life time's supply if you just have model painting brushes. I also got mine from a local "big box" crafts supply store (Michael's IIRC).

I wouldn't hesitate to use regular hair conditioner in a natural bristle brush after cleaning if I wasn't using this.

I was asking because I think I have 'Snuggle' fabric softener in ye ole laundry room.

Cheers

I second what Mike said about the Master's stuff - it's great!
You'll see pretty quickly just how clean your "clean" brushes really are.

As to the fabric softener/conditioner question... I'd recommend the hair conditioner over the fabric softener, just from experience & what I've heard by word-of-mouth. Fabric softener could very well work fine - I don't know.

If I'm not going to use a brush for a while, I'll give it a good cleaning with the proper solvents and after it's dry I will take a drop of Johnson's & Johnson's Baby Shampoo and gently work it in and form the bristles into their shape. When I want to use it again, I'll rise it out with cold water. When dry, it will be ready for any medium.
Cheers!

I have been using Winsor and Newton Brush Cleaner and Restorer, but I have found it can be a little harsh. I have actually had it take the paint of the brush handle.

Well, If I do get anything out of this, I will have soft silky hair (yes, at my age I still have long hair) and soft clothes to wear for the next couple of months

Cheers

This is what I also use to actually clean my brushes. I had the same experience - the W&N cleaner taking the paint off the brush handle.

However, it will definitely get the paint out of the bristles and that hard to clean area where they go into the ferrule.

I usually rinse the W&N cleaner out of my brushes using clean water after I clean them and then take the wet (but clean) brush to The Masters conditioner. Even after using the W&N cleaner, I sometimes still get a little more paint out of the bristles with The Masters product - usually this is some kind of light staining in the hairs.

I started using The Masters paste as a post-cleaning conditioner because I was concerned about how harsh the W&N cleaner was, but the combo of the two products works well for me.

I have some natural bristle brushes (W&N Series 7) that are 10-12 years old and still on the front of my rack as "go to" brushes (even if a couple don't have any paint on the bottoms of the handles!).

Winsor & Newton works , and it eats up the plastic also . Don't let it get to any of the models .

As far as fabric softener, I think I understand. I did a google search a long while ago as to why my bath towels always smell musty, the answer was the over use of softener, because the softener forms a coating on the fabric which prevents it from being thoroughly washed (the detergent can't get down into the fabric weaving) and even prevents it from drying you off as well!
So, given that, I'm assuming the idea is that the fabric softener will create that same Teflon type coating on the brush bristles making the paint easier to clean off.

Just my thoughts. It shouldn't be brand specific, as it's the actual chemistry of the softener that is the cause.

I tried both Softener and Conditioner after seeing this post and the brushes I used for the test did not look any cleaner. I used both acrylic and enamel with the same results. I soaked them for up to 30 min. For me this was no better then what I usually do with thinners though now my brushes feel soft and silky

Cheers

Bummer, thanks for the update. The fact that it was stated by Testors thought it might have some merit.

I have had no detrimental effects with that.

I have used that master brush cleaner. Hands down a godsend even cleans off dried on paint.

That Winsor Newton stuff ain't cheap. I can see why people are looking for a cheaper alternative. I found a 16oz bottle for $32US.

No Cheers for that