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Watercolour Brush Care in 6 Steps: Rinse, Reshape and Dry

Care for brushes used with watercolour or traditional gouache: remove pigment, rinse gently, avoid long soaking, reshape the bristles and dry before storage.

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Wikimedia Commons / PolBr · PolBr / Wikimedia Commons, 'Pinceaux.jpg', CC BY-SA 4.0; original photo used unchanged. · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗

Watercolour brushes may use synthetic fibres or delicate natural hair, and need gentle handling around the bristles and metal ferrule. This guide follows Jackson's Art advice updated in 2026 and covers watercolour and traditional gouache, not solvent cleaning for oil paints or alcohol inks. The cover is a reference image of two brushes, not a cleaning demonstration.

Your try-it-at-home checklist

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1. When you finish painting, lightly blot excess colour and water from the brush with a clean cloth or paper. Do not twist the hairs forcefully or scrub them on a rough surface.
2. Swirl the brush gently in clean water, blot and repeat until little or no pigment appears. This is for watercolour and traditional gouache; do not use it as an all-purpose solvent-cleaning method for oils or acrylics.
3. Never leave a brush standing in a jar of water for a long time. Bent hairs, swollen wooden handles and loosened ferrules can result.
4. Brush soap is not usually needed after every watercolour session. Avoid frequent household dish soap on natural-hair brushes; if specialist brush soap is needed, rinse it away thoroughly.
5. While the bristles are still damp, gently reshape the tip. Let the brush dry flat in a ventilated spot or suspended with the head pointing down so water is not retained around the ferrule.
6. Store only once completely dry, with the hairs protected from being crushed. For dirty rinse water, allow pigment to settle and follow local disposal rules rather than sending concentrated pigment sludge straight into the drain.

Jackson's Art / Evie HatchBrush Cleaning Tips For Painters ↗Original specialist guide last updated 2026-09-16: watercolour/gouache rinse and blot until clear, no frequent soap especially natural hair, no standing soak, reshape wet; settle pigment from brush water.Jackson's Art / Julie CavesWatercolour and acrylic brush care — Rule no. 1 ↗Separate care advice: never rest brushes standing in water; keep tips and ferrules from prolonged soaking.Wikimedia CommonsFile:Pinceaux.jpg ↗Original watercolour brush photo taken by PolBr, own work, CC BY-SA 4.0; two brushes on neutral background.Wikimedia CommonsCommons:Reusing content outside Wikimedia/technical ↗Source-level hotlink allowed, and independent per-file attribution requirements verified.

Your try-it-at-home checklist

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