Best Brush & Pen Cleaners AI pick

Chosen by an AI model from its trained knowledge, with its reasoning.

AI pick (line): General Pencil The Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver

This solid soap cleans oil, acrylic and watercolor from brushes and conditions the bristles, which suits nearly every painter.

Not for: Oil painters who need to rinse wet paint during a session; they need a solvent or a cleaning tank, not soap.

Gamblin Gamsol (line)

This odorless mineral spirit is widely trusted for thinning and rinsing oil paint, with a lower odor than turpentine.

Not for: Acrylic and watercolor painters, and anyone working in an unventilated room.

Jack Richeson Silicoil (line)

A brush tank with a coil scrubber that lets you clean oil brushes without solvents.

Not for: Watercolor-only painters, who need nothing beyond water and soap.

Speedball Pink Soap (line)

A mild liquid brush soap that is easy on natural hair and synthetic brushes alike.

Not for: Brushes with dried, hardened paint, which need a stronger restorer.

Paint compatibility: Match the cleaner to the medium. Use soap or water for watercolor and acrylic, and a solvent, a solvent-free oil or a dedicated oil soap for oils. Water-only cleaning leaves oil residue in the ferrule. Strong solvents are unnecessary for water media.
Fresh vs dried paint: Daily cleaners handle wet paint. Hardened acrylic or oil needs a product labelled as a brush restorer. Ordinary soaps will not dissolve fully dried acrylic.
Fumes and ventilation: Prefer odorless mineral spirits or solvent-free options for small or shared rooms. Turpentine and regular mineral spirits give off strong vapors indoors.
Bristle conditioning: Choose a cleaner that conditions the bristles if you use natural hair brushes such as sable or hog. Harsh cleaning dries out natural hair and splays the tips.

General Pencil: Maker of The Masters brush soap, a long-standing studio staple.
Gamblin: Respected oil-painting solvents and mediums.
Speedball: Pink Soap and other studio cleaning products.
Jack Richeson: Silicoil brush cleaning tanks.
Winsor & Newton: Brush cleaners and solvents alongside its paints.

Pouring used solvent down the drain; let pigment settle and dispose of the sludge properly.
Leaving brushes standing on their bristles in a cleaning jar.
Using household dish detergent alone on oil brushes, since it can leave oil in the ferrule.

No. It still releases vapors. Lower odor means less irritation, but you still need ventilation and a closed container.