How to Store Paint Brushes Between Coats

Many painting projects take more than one coat to achieve the coverage you are looking for, and you always want to let one coat fully dry before applying another. As that coat dries, however, so does the paint on your brush. You don’t want to go through all of the hassle to fully clean it each time, but you also don’t want to potentially ruin your brush.

With this guide, you’ll learn how to store paint brushes between coats so that they stay as fresh and ready as the first time you used them, and without the time and effort of a full cleaning.

Do You Really Have to Store Your Paint Brush Between Coats?

The short answer is yes. While water-based paints will feel dry to the touch after an hour, you should wait at least four hours between applying coats to ensure you are working with a completely dry surface. For oil-based paints, that time goes up to six to eight hours for a coat to feel dry, and 24 hours before you should apply another coat.

After 30 minutes you are going to see paint start drying around your brush, let alone four hours. Dried paint can cause the bristles to stiffen and become misshapen, causing unsightly streaks in your coverage or disruptions in your clean lines. Over time, dried paint can accumulate and make it harder and harder to use your brush. At its worst, dried paint can completely ruin a brush and cost you time, money, and energy to replace it.

Do’s and Don’ts of Paint Brush Storage

Now that you know why paint brush storage is important, even between coats, there are some general rules of thumb to follow that will help you get the most mileage out of your brushes. There are also some “hacks” or other ideas that could potentially ruin your brush, so here’s what you should do and avoid when storing your paint brush.

DO: REMOVE THE EXCESS PAINT

Use your painting tray or the lip of the paint can/bucket to scrape the brush – moving with the bristles – and remove the excess paint. You can also use a paint comb, or for very small brushes, a fine-toothed hair comb to further remove the excess paint.

DON’T: LEAVE YOUR BRUSH IN THE PAINT

It may seem intuitive to leave your paint brush saturated in paint between coats, thinking that the extra paint will protect it from drying out. Unfortunately, any surface of the paint that is exposed to air is going to start drying. This means that even though the paint in the brush itself may stay fresh, you are still going to run into problems with dried paint on the outside of the brush.

DO: COVER YOUR PAINT BRUSH

Once the extra paint is removed from the brush there are a few ways you can keep the residual paint from drying out.

One method is to wrap the bristles in plastic wrap, and tape the plastic around the neck of the brush with masking tape or painter’s tape to keep it airtight. Another method is to place the brush in a sealable bag and remove the air. Even if you cannot get an airtight seal, wrapping the brush as much as you can in a plastic bag, aluminum foil, or similar cover will help delay the drying process.

DON’T: EXPOSE YOUR BRUSH TO HEAT OR AIRFLOW

Paint dries faster at higher temperatures, and breeze or other consistent airflow also encourages paint to dry. While waiting between coats you should avoid excess heat by storing your brush at room temperature, and you should also keep it away from fans or other sources of airflow.

What if You Must Store Them for Longer?

Life happens, and even the best-laid plans often need to be modified. You may intend to come right back to your painting project after a coat dries – but what should you do when that is no longer the case?

The good news is that when wrapped in plastic wrap or placed in a sealed bag, paint brushes can remain fresh for up to 24 hours without taking further measures. If you are going to be coming back to your painting within that time, make sure you have an airtight seal on the brush and store it flat in a climate-controlled area.

For a longer pause between coats you can take your wrapped brush and place it flat in the refrigerator. This can keep a paint brush fresh for up to a week, with some people claiming longer. Having said that, the longer you are planning to take a break from painting, the more likely you are to run into issues with the paint drying on your brush. For any extended breaks it is recommended to properly clean and store your brush.

In conclusion, anytime you need to apply multiple coats of paint you are going to be waiting at least four hours between coats – which is plenty of opportunity for your brushes to dry out. Following the do’s and don’ts of brush storage will ensure that your paint brush is ready to pick up when your project is.