I use Vallejo brush cleaner & brush restorer Steve. The brush cleaner smells very similar to isopropanol (not that I make a habit of sniffing it), so I suspect regular isopropanol would do the same job.
One thing I have found is that if I give my brushes a good swirl in brush cleaner after a Vallejo painting session, it does tend to shift those deep paint deposits which no amount of cleaning in water will move, so that’s a definite point in its favour.
As for the brush restorer, I give my regularly used brushes a good dunking in this about once a month & find it’s good for restoring the softness of the hairs & points. It also helps get rid of those pesky single hairs which you sometimes find sticking out from the head of the brush when you’ve put it back into its plastic tube to protect the shape, & one has snuck out the side.
One thing I always do is to wash the brushes out in soapy water to keep the shape (I once heard someone suggest Swarfega, the non-gritty variety, was good for doing this & he painted regularly with great results, so I’ve no reason to doubt him) but sometimes if there’s not going to be a long gap between painting sessions then I’ll just give them a dip in the brush restorer because it’s quicker.
I’d say give it a go if bench time is at a premium, & I’ve found Vallejo is the one that works for me. I don’t know of any other brands BTW, because I haven’t visited an art shop for a long time.
HTH,
Chris.
