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Q:  "How do I use your brush soap? There are no instructions on the package."

A: Oops! I've cleaned so many stencil brushes that I didn't even think about instructions. We'll have to see if we can come up with something short and sweet that will fit on the label. At any rate, here is my method for using the brush soap.

Dip your brush into the brush soap. Rub the brush soap into the bristles. I rub the bristles in a circular, scrubbing motion in the palm of my free hand. Once you have worked the brush soap thoroughly through the bristles, rinse the soap from the brush under warm, running water. It may take more than one application of soap if there is a lot of paint in the brush. Remove excess water with a towel and allow the brushes to dry before using them again.

Paintstik color will often stain the brushes, so the brush may not return to its original color after it is washed. The only product I have found that will completely remove the stains is homemade lye soap -- a gift from one of my students. Your brush may be clean, but still discolored.

Q:  "I'm making rubbings, but it's difficult to get a clean image. How can I keep my fabric from moving slipping while I am making rubbings?"

A: It's hard to believe that it took us so long to find the answer to this very common question, but we finally found a good way to get nice clear images when making rubbings with paintstik colors on fabric. Here's the secret...

Spray the top of your rubbing plate with a repositionable adhesive. Let the adhesive dry for a minute or two and then proceed to make the rubbings. The adhesive keeps your fabric from sliding around on the rubbing plate. It works! I have tested the 404 product from Spray and Fix with excellent results. Also try KK2000 from Sulky. Some of the basting spray products are too gummy, so make sure you test any adhesive before applying it to a bunch of rubbing plates.

Use a mild solvent (such as CitraSolv) if you want to clean the adhesive from your rubbing plates. The people at Spray and Fix also have a cleaning product called DK5 that is specifically designed to remove the spray adhesives from various surfaces.

Q:  "I used iridescent Paintstiks several years ago on a T-shirt. Even after drying for several days, then multiple washings later, I was never able to wear the T-shirt without shortly being overwhelmed by the oil paint smell that would rise from the shirt after being warmed by body heat. Has the Paintstik formula changed from, say, 15 years ago? Or do you not recommend them for wearable art? (Maybe the back of a jacket?) I loved the look and put the shirt on the wall, but could never wear it. Thanks!"

A: I have heard from several people who had issues with the smell of painted fabric, even after it has been washed a number of times. As a matter of fact, I just had a discussion about this with Laura Murray, the author of the Paintstik Inspirations DVD.

Laura has made a whole lot of samples over the past few years. She commented that when she was using mystery fabric (usually inexpensive stuff she picked up for throw-away demos in the booth, she notices the smell, even after a long period of time. She did not find the same to be true with her silk garments. We are both wondering if the odor may "hang on" more to synthetic blends than it does with natural fibers. Just a thought on our part -- we have nothing to back that up. It's worth noting that Laura is not particularly sensitive to linseed oil and does not normally notice the smell of the paint unless she opens the storage cabinet that is full of paintstiks.

I have also heard from a small number of customers who are very sensitive to linseed oil and can't tolerate working with these paints. You may be one of the people in this category.

I seriously doubt that there have been any changes to the paintstik chemistry in recent years. The product was developed as a solid oil paint for the fine art community back in the early 1960s. Compared to standard oil paints, there is very little odor in this product, but that doesn't matter if you happen to be sensitive to the smell.

My sister brought me a pile of Indonesian batiks a number of years ago when she traveled through that country. These were fabrics made for local markets, not for export to the US. As much as I loved the fabric, I couldn't deal with the smell of the wax that permeated the fabric. I washed them a number of times and never got rid of the smell, so they eventually went to someone who could use them. Since batiks are made with a wax resist rather than oil, it's possible that the wax may be the offending ingredient.

Given your sensitivity to the smell of the paint, I would look for other paints for embellishing my garments. You could try putting paintstik color on the back of a garment, but I suspect you would still smell the odor that is bothering you.

Thanks to Nita Sims for submitting this question.

Q:  "I am using freezer paper stencils, and some of the images have to overlap. After I have painted the first image, can I overlap the second image and press it down immediately? Or do I have to wait a period of time before pressing down the second stencil? If so, how long must I wait?"

A: You can press your second freezer paper stencil on the fabric right away and continue to work. Just put a piece of plain paper over the stencil to keep any paint off your iron.

When you work "wet" (without waiting for the paint to dry) you may see some blending of colors as you apply paint with each subsequent stencil or image. If you do not want any blending, wait 24 hours between images. You can also use a heat gun or embossing tool to get a film to form on top of your paint quickly. (A hair dryer probably is not hot enough.) I would reserve the heat-gun method for cotton and natural fabrics as synthetics will probably melt.

Thanks to Julia Voake for submitting this question.