This is Why You Always Clean Your Brushes… Completely

Hey internet.  So… after proclaiming a couple of weeks ago in my blogiversary post that I’d like to be on here more often, I went silent.  There are a host of things happening at “jhbhq” (good and not so good) that have kept me away.

Namely, the feller (my mega-handsome boyfriend, whom I’ve known for around 13 years, and have been dating for almost the last four of those) is on a little overseas visit with the US Air Force.  Over the last couple of weeks, as we prepared for his impending departure, my efforts and attention were focused on enjoying our time together, not my diy and craft projects.  I mean really look at this guy…

I’ve basically been vacillating between being super proud of my Airman and weeping because I can’t share life’s daily adventures with him.  Luckily for me, my bestest friend won’t be gone very long.  Luckily for you, I am going to do my best not to whine about it.

That being said, I now have amplified free time in the event of his absence, so you may see lots of little crafty crafts on here, along with some larger projects that are both in-progress and in the pipeline.  For now I’m going to pop in really quick to show you how I royally screwed up one of my in-progress projects.

Friends, when you use oil based primer, you have to clean your brushes thoroughly with mineral spirits if you plan on ever being able to successfully use them again.  I do this every time I use oil based anything.  Including the last time I used this brush (a Blue Hawk brush for oil based paint).

But…

As you can see from the picture, I half-assed it.  Admittedly, when I last cleaned the brush, I was having serious trouble getting all of the primer off (probably because I waited a smidge too long to clean it), and I’d been at it for what felt like a half hour, and it was late at night, and I was hungry, and I had to get up early the next morning for work.

So I said “Self, these last flecks of primer are NOT leaving this brush.  They live with this brush now, and they will do so until the brush dies.  They’re faithful little primer stains that won’t ever come off.  Not even the next time I take out the brush and use it.”

And then yesterday, when I dipped the brush in some polyurethane and brushed it onto this carefully painted black surface, those flecks dropped from that brush like it was their job.  Ahem.  It WAS their job WHEN I WAS CLEANING THE THING!  And now my black surface looks like some sort of janky constellation map.

Now that I’ve spent a day pouting about it, I’m able to share it with the world in hopes that you wont be as lazy as I was the last time I cleaned this thing.  I’m not sure how the heck I’m going to fix my project but I’m going to spend the weekend trying.  Hopefully my next post about this project will be a reveal and not another #diyfail.

Today’s takeaway:  Don’t be lazy, clean your brushes properly, and in a timely manner.  If you have some walking around sense, you’re buying good brushes, and replacing them after each use just isn’t practical.

Have you made a lazy mistake during a craft or diy project?  How did you fix it?  Anyone have any suggestions as to how I should remove white flecks from polyurethane without damaging the black surface beyond repair?  Do tell…