Purchase Guide: Safety & Cleaning

Cleaning Art Supplies

As any art lover knows, sometimes creative expression can get a little messy—it's half the fun! But once the paint stops flying, every artist must face the least fun part of creating something beautiful: cleaning up.

Whether you're into painting, crafts, sculpting, scrapbooks, calligraphy, or airbrushing, your work is going to require a lot of tools, supplies, and space that will become useless pretty quickly if they aren't kept clean. MisterArt.com may have everyday discounts on paint brushes, easels, drawing boards, and shelves, but no artist wants to buy new supplies or furniture just because their stuff has gotten too dirty to deal with.

As usual, though, MisterArt.com can help! We carry hundreds of products designed to keep your studio, furniture, artwork, and skin sparkling. With our notoriously fast shipping, the only problem is deciding which art scrubber, cleaner, or cleanser is best for you. This guide is designed to help you narrow down your options until you find the best fit! It's divided into four sections, each giving tips on cleaning or preserving something that's difficult to replace:

• How do I clean my artwork?
• How do I clean my tools?
• How do I clean my studio?
• How do I clean my hands?

How do I clean my artwork?

The precious results of our creative labors are typically pretty delicate, but that doesn't mean that they don't need a good scrubbing now and again. Keeping your artwork under glass and free from dust goes a long way towards keeping it clean, but sometimes a little extra effort is needed.

Keeping your art nice and clean is the goal of painting restoration. For oil and acrylic paintings, a good choice to get rid of some grime is oil painting restorer. This surface cleaning agent specifically designed for paintings removes surface dirt and helps restore the fresh appearance of your paintings without damaging them. Some of these products contain ammonia and other harsh-smelling chemicals, so it's always important to use them in a well-ventilated area.

Especially when working with scrapbooks, artists can get a tad overzealous with adhesives. Luckily, there are a number of different kinds of adhesive removers available that can increase your margin for error and erase your mistakes! You can find liquid adhesive removers that will allow you to remove and even reuse self-adhesives such as stickers, tape, stamps, photo corners, and more at low prices using MisterArt.com. We also carry solvents and pick-ups intended to clean up and remove any excess rubber cement that you might have spilled in your scrapbook! Aerosol removers are available for getting rid of nasty adhesive overspray, and pens are available that are good for cleaning up sticky adhesive residue as well as some marker graffiti.

How do I clean my tools?

Keeping your art supplies and tools clean is especially important, because leaving them gunked up and lying around is usually a sure way to ruin them. With the right cleansers and a little elbow grease, however, you'll be able to keep your art tools in great condition year after year.

Liquid brush cleaners and restorers are perfect for getting all of the stubborn paint out of your paintbrushes. Most of these cleansers will remove all types of oils, acrylics, enamels, and varnishes from synthetic and natural hairs; some can also be used on your hands after a lengthy painting session. Most brush cleaners include chemicals intended to condition and preserve the life of your brushes, as well. MisterArt.com also carries an array of wash basins and tanks that are designed to withstand the often harsh cleansers. Using proper brush cleaners, even brushes that students haven't exactly worn themselves out cleaning can be restored to like-new condition.

If your paints are just too thick for the project you're working on, you can make them easier to work with using solvents and thinners. Some of these will even wash out of your brushes with plain old water.

Similarly, pen cleaners can keep your writing and calligraphy instruments in prime working condition between inks. Specially formulated liquid pen cleansers clear out any dried, waterproof ink inside your instruments, ensuring smooth lines every time.

Airbrushes require unique maintenance, as well. Liquid airbrush cleaners typically include a lubricant to help them pass through and remove dried paint from the internal parts of an airbrush. Simply blow the solvent through the airbrush and into a jar or a tabletop airbrush cleaning station.

You can find all these art cleaning supplies and more at MisterArt.com!

How do I clean my studio?

A clean workspace is a productive workspace. Or at least, so we've heard! The key to having a great studio is always to keep it organized and tidy. Sometimes, however, it's time to get the paint splashing around! There are a few ways to minimize the damage.

The best way to limit the time you spend cleaning up is to make sure your best stuff doesn't get dirty! You can shield your floors, carpets, desks, shelves, and drawers from paint, glue, clay, and more very simply by laying out a few drop cloths. And hey, why stop with your furniture? Putting on an apron works just as well as wrapping a drop cloth around yourself, only it's easier to breathe!

Of course, throwing drop cloths around sometimes tends to kick up a lot of dust and grime. MisterArt.com carries a variety of wipes, dusters, and cloths that are great for removing dust, dirt, and stains from your workspaces. After you're done, you can just toss them in the trash!

If your cleanup is going to involve a lot of harsh cleansers that give off fumes, or if you're working with a dusty medium like pastel, wood, or glass, an air purifier is almost a must. This handy machine makes sure that the air you're breathing as you work is clean, fresh, and above all, safe.

As always, MisterArt.com is ready to ship affordable cleaning supplies to your door today when you shop with us online.

How do I clean my hands?

As we've established, creating art is messy work, and that mess often ends up on your most valuable tools: your hands! Fear not, though; MisterArt.com has what you need to keep your hands mess- and pain-free.

The best way to combat dirty hands and fingernails is to avoid getting them dirty at all! Wearing gloves while you work protects your hands not only from messes, but can also keep them safe from toxic or rough materials that you might be working with. Latex gloves keep you covered while maintaining your dexterity. Cotton gloves, on the other hand, give artists a soft touch and can be washed and reused again and again. If neither of these feels right to you, there's another option: barrier creams can be applied to your hands, creating a chemical barrier that prevents oil, paint, dirt, and grease from adhering to your skin.

If gloves cramp your style or if you manage to soil yourself anyway, it's time to take a look at hand cleaners. These versatile cleansers are designed to remove ink, paint, oil, and other stains from your hands safely. Some are powerful enough to be used on brushes, as well. Use them on your hands as you would any ordinary antibacterial soap.

Sometimes, of course, you need a little more protection than gloves and soap can provide. Especially if you're working with dusty or noxious art materials, it's a good idea to check out some masks and goggles. Goggles fit over most glasses and can protect your eyes and eyewear from dust, splinters, chemicals, paint, and nearly anything else. Masks, including dust masks and ventilators, keep those same harmful art by-products out of your lungs, ensuring you'll always be able to laugh heartily at those who claimed you'd never make it as an artist!

You can find everything you need to keep yourself, your tools, your workspace, and your work clean, tidy, and looking sharp at MisterArt.com!

Goggles

Goggles fit over most glasses and can protect your eyes and eyewear from dust, splinters, chemicals, paint, and nearly anything else.

Masks

Masks, including dust masks and ventilators, keep harmful art by-products out of your lungs.

Gloves

Wearing gloves while you work protects your hands not only from messes, but can also keep them safe from toxic or rough materials that you might be working with.

Aprons

Aprons shield your body and clothing from harm or stains caused by paint, glue, clay, thinners, and more.