I just take a little extra time and don't like using my stats to need to clean them after every few. I keep wood tooth picks for each color I use in a small container and get out what colors I am painting with. As I dip the head and as soon as I pull it out I stick the tooth pick through the eye and if need be I do it again after putting it back in the flame for just a second. Now sometime even with this when I cure the heads the eye will close back again. When this happens I clean it when I tie it and I do this with a old bodkin I keep just for this. I keep a cigarette lighter where I tie and heat the bodkin and stick it through the eye melting the paint out when I do this. Sometimes it may take an extra time , but usually not that long of a thing. Been doing it like this since I started and works fine.

I may need to get one of the tools in the link above as I have been looking for something like a very small round file for this, but have not been able to find exactly what I am looking for, but will look at that thing next time I go to Home Depot or Lowe's.

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