Welcome to Polly's Blog

Welcome to Polly's Blog
Watercolour, humour, this and that

Friday 29 November 2013

BRUSHO, WATERCOLOUR & BLEACH

Thought it would be interesting to see how the two react with bleach.  I had only ever used bleach on Brusho and it was suggested that you could use bleach on Watercolour too.  So Polly had to experiment and here are the results, which you might find interesting.


This is the Brusho chart. Using all the colours that I have.  With the exception of Prussian Blue on all the above I used just one sweep of a brush loaded with bleach (or you can use Milton (a sterilising agent)   And the whiteness of the paper just appeared through as if by magic.   Obviously some reacted better than others.  The paper didn't turn yellow and wasn't damaged.  In fact, I have tried and you can paint over the top when it is dry.  Could be very handy to know. 

Watercolours and exactly the same procedure BUT I had to scrub the bleach into the paint, no single strokes here, so was worried about the paper and the brush (an old brush that I washed constantly) And while I can see that some of the colours allowed the white paper to show through, many of them, even after the vigourous brushing, did not turn white.  The scrubbing affected the wash giving run backs sometimes.  I wouldn't use bleach on a watercolour painting from choice, as I feel it could damage the washes around the bleached area, not to mention quickly ruin any brush.

I would be interested to hear from anyone else who has tried a similar experiment.

Have a wonderful weekend my lovely blogging friends!!

16 comments:

  1. Do you have bleach pens where you live? There are these Clorix pens to like pencil onto your clothing but ohhhhh they are just perfect for painting effects purposes. Look in the laundry department if there is such a think where you live. Also those white eraser pads,,,snip a piece off and whooooosh removes color nicely too.

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    1. Thanks Cynthia. Must look out for the pens - I do hope I can get one. I have tried the eraser pads, but I am too heavy handed and must learn to use them gently and not disturb the paper. Have a great weekend and thank you for the information,

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  2. Very interesting post Polly, hace a nice wekeend!

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    1. You too have a nice weekend, thanks for your visit

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  4. Dear Polly I used Milton to sterilize bottles when my daughter was a baby.
    Then it's out of my life ... now baby bottles can be sterilized with the microwave ..
    I used bleach to see if it was right for me to raise the lights in the watercolors, on the advice of my first teacher ... many years ago.
    Now I see the miracles of Milton on Brusho and also experimenting on watercolor ... Milton is maybe better than Amuchina (refined bleach and disinfectant that I buy at the pharmacy) because I've never gotten good removal of color, what would take off with water alone. In your honor, I'll get the Milton, if on the market here, and I will do further tests! You never know when the trial can give new results ... I'll try soon!
    (I deleted the comment because the copy and paste from the translator had come very bad ...)

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    1. Oh well I hope it works for you, and that you like experimenting with it. I used neat bleach at first but the smell is too strong. Do let me know what happens. Have a wonderful weekend. Ciao

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    2. Milton effects so nice on my washes on old lost watercolour ,but now rescue...I tried yesterday Milton (instead Amuchina)...Wow!!!
      Thank you for sharing!!!

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  5. Dear Polly:) Thank you for sharing these experiments with us. Although the results on the watercolor are not exact what you had hoped for, I think they are interesting enough to try them for myself. New ideas, new fun:):) Have a nice weekend. Hugs!xx

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    1. I will be very interested to see what you do with the bleach. Have fun trying even if you never use it again. Have a great weekend and hope you are feeling much better :)

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  6. wow--that is a great experiment--so colorful! those colors are so bright and it is great to see the contrast against the white

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    1. Glad you like my experiments, I am a glutten for trying new things. Have a lovely weekend

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  7. I keep away from bleach, but I like how you're experimenting!

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  8. Polly - wonderful experiment and so glad you shared it. I have never used Brusho but that is going to be on my list in the coming New Year...so glad you showed also bleach on watercolors...like you I had heard it could be used on watercolors but once again I never tried it. Hope you are having a great start to the Christmas season- take care.

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    1. Hi Debbie. Brusho is catching on over here. I think originally it was used for textiles. I don't know if it is widely available but I got my starter set in Amazon. Also you can use Milton instead of bleach (not as smelly). The Christmas festivities are gently taking shape. Thank you for your lovely visit.

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