"Brushes question" Topic

So I've been painting miniatures here and there for years, and I have typically always used the locally available "Royal" brand brushes. They're a few bucks each, and typically last me an ok amount of time (less if some jackalope I game with globs them up). What brand do you use, though? And what sizes/shapes are essential in your experience?

I've found that, even if I rinse them out in water regularly, they invariably fray at the very tip, and I've not really found a way to prevent this. This is particularly bad with every brand of "fine detail" size brush, which never seem to last more than two painting sessions without dying – doesn't seem to matter what I do.

Also, after some time I notice my brushes get extremely stiff at certain parts, almost as if they've become glued. If, say, I have a 1/4 inch long flat brush, it'll be somewhere about 3/16 from the end. This doesn't seem to cause -too- much harm, but it is strange and does limit how much paint the brushes hold. Also seems to accelerate wear on the ever important business end.

Tips and suggestions for someone who doesn't seem to learn?

M.

Get some artist's brush soap and try to clean the brushes. The fraying and stiffness are dried paint that hasn't been removed. Brush soap can sometimes get that out.

I use The Masters brand but there are others. If you're like me, the first time you try it, you'll make up some lather, start swirling your brush in it (on the palm of your hand or in the plastic top from the soap) and if you keep at it, black flecks will start coming out. This is dried paint. You'll be amazed what comes out. Keep at it until it seems like nothing more can come out, then rinse thoroughly, make up some fresh lather and use it to shape the brush tip and leave it to dry.

You may find you've just rescued that brush.

For fine points that last use the best sable you can afford.

W&N Series 7 are the best in my book – but they do have an RRP of £9.50 GBP for a #1 brush.

I paint small scale figures and they are very hard on brushes. I do paint a lot of them (about 8-10,000 a year) and only go through about 4-5 #1 series 7 miniature brushes a year. Consideringthat about 75% of the painting on a figure uses that brush, it is excellent value to me.

There are many products that will clean hardened paint from brushes, available at art supply stores, hardware stores, etc. I've used 91% isopropyl alcohol and W&N Brush Cleaner and Preserver. The W&N is a non-toxic liquid that works very well, but does cost a bit compared to alcohol. For regular brush maintenance and to condition I use a liquid or gel brush soap (Pink Soap or The Masters both work), but I've heard regular shampoo/conditioner work pretty well. I occasionally put hair conditioner on my good sable brushes after cleaning them.

Working on miniatures erodes the tips of brushes. Compared to working on watercolour paper, the substrate is enormously hard and rough!

I'd second GildasFacit – kolinsky brushes last significantly longer even than pure sable. I'd recommend giving Rosemary's Brushes a punt. I've found their kolinskys are as good as a W&N 7, at a fraction of the price.

The ones with the frayed tips and gunked up bases are very useful for dry-brushing! So at least they can have a second lease of life after they are too knackered for fine detail.

We use Loew-Cornell AP4000 series Golden Taklon. Out of the dozens of brands and types we've tried I have found I get the most mileage for the best price from them. They seem to retain their point better and I like the feel of the bristles when you paint. We paint tons of figures per month and they hold up well for the volume we do.

I tried the high end W&N brushes and similar, but they lasted no longer than the cheaper brushes.

I periodically clean the brushes with alcohol (we only use acrylic paints). This removes any of the stiffness that can build up. I then rinse the brush with water. The brushes are stored bristle-up.

I bought my brushes from Fernando Enterprises ( link ) . About twenty brushes for something like US$ 30.00 ( including p & p ) . I have used them for hundreds of figures and for more than a year, and I am quite happy with them.

I've used W&N and they work fine, so do other brands of sables. I noticed when I did use brush soap the bristles started coming out, 1 here, 1 there.

These soaps and conditioners that you guys use to shape the tip before putting it away – do you leave them in to dry? I noticed no mention of rinsing after you've set them up w/ said conditioner. I'm supposing I'll go the alcohol / hair conditioner route. Do I simply swish it around a bit then start "swirling" it on my palm until it comes clean (repeating as necessary)?

M.