Here’s a tool that I use very often, and yet is as simple as you can get. It’s available at most hardware stores, including Canadian Tire.

It’s a paintbrush twirler used to shake the water off paintbrush bristles after the printbrush has been washed in three baths of thinner. Here’s how I clean paintbrushes:

1. lay out three cans that are approximately the size of the paintbrushes to be claened, and fill each of them about halfway with thinner – Mineral spirits, Varsol, etc. Put on some dish washing gloves, dip the brush in the Varsol, and swish it around. Transfer the brush to a laundry tub sink and soap it up under lukewarm running water. Work the bristles until the soap has disappeared,
2. Dip the brush in the second tin of Varsol and transfer it to the running water. Work the bristles again.
3. Do this one more time using the third tin of Varsol. By this time most of the paint / varnish has been dissolved out of the brush and the Varsol is left fairly clean.
4. This is where the tool pictured below comes in. Insert the brush handle in the prong end of the tool and place the brush in a green garbage bag or garbage bin.Then work the twirler handle in and out to make the twirler twirl. This makes the water fly off the brush bristles by centrifugal force and it’s fun 🙂 The brush drys very quickly because after twirling it’s really only damp – not wet.

The Twirler

The Twirler in use

After twirling the brush is damp - not wet