Tamiya brushes

[JR]

Another satisfied customer here, I’ve been using Masters brush cleaner for several years. It certainly improves brush cleaning when using acrylics, and maximises brush life.
John, I really wouldn’t treat a series seven like that...you are damaging the bristles. Masters cleaner is cheaper than a single series seven so invest in some....
Any good art shop should carry it, failing that, use amazon....
The way I use it is as follows;
Remove the majority of the paint using water, rewet the brush with clean water, swirl in Masters cleaner, lather up bristles in the palm of your hand, rinse out under running water, point brush and allow to dry upright with bristles at the top.....

PS, for brushes, use Rosemary & Co. They are cheaper than series seven, but still good quality. Modellers are hard on brushes and these are a good compromise of cost against quality.

Cheers
Tim

Tim,
I stand guilty as charged.:sad: I do rinse them out with clean water after a slight dab of fairy , and put them away with the covers on in a jar with a net separating them , including doing the tip with the fingers gently.
Amonst the collection of brushes I have some Rosemary, and ProArt . The later Peter uses if my memory is right .
I do find that the Series 7 have a much finer tip in the size 000 than the others . I realise that the numbering is slightly different with each manufacturer......,..maybe time to invest ?
John

[Guest]

... I use series 323 or series 93 with Vallejo, so the flats or filberts from those ranges would be worth a crack? ...

Cheers Tim. One last question ... in use, what's the difference between a flat brush and a filbert? Is one more useful than the other for larger areas (say, playing card size and up), or what? How would a chap decide which one to use for a particular application?

(Pardon my ignorance, btw. So much still to learn, and it seems so little time left to learn it!)

[Tim Marlow]

Hi Norman
The best way to describe this is as follows;
A filbert is like a flat brush with the corners cut off. I use them for dry brushing because they don’t have the risk of the paint built up on the corner. I have used both flats and filberts for larger areas and like the filberts for not leaving a strong paint line at the edge of the stroke.
You can’t really go wrong with either so I would buy one of each to trial hem and see which suits your style best. I’ll have a look at the site and see which one corresponds to the rounds I have quoted.
Cheers
Tim

[Tim Marlow]

Hi Norman
As a trial I would try a series 305 filbert and a series 303 one stroke. Once you know what type of brush you want then move up to the Red sable or Pure red sable ranges.
Cheers
Tim

[Guest]

Tim, thank you very much indeed for helping me out

[rtfoe]

Hi Norman, all the brush points above are relevant to optimise life span and usage of brushes. Paint is the next issue...I have many nightmares brush painting with Tamiya Acrylics (Not actually an acrylic per say) I have tried but it consistently lifts the moment a second stroke of the brush touches the first layer which should not be the characteristics of an acrylic. It's first class for airbrushing provided the surface is prepared properly and I have no problem with that.
Sorry to go off point but if you are going to invest in good brushes and maintenance, best to paint with the right paint for hand brushing. I use Vallejo for my figures...for large areas perhaps fellow modellers can suggest a paint for you. I can't as I airbrush large areas including base coats on large figures.

Cheers,
Richard

[Guest]

...I have many nightmares brush painting with Tamiya Acrylics ...

Well funnily enough, I've recently ditched Vallejo because (a) it doesn't dry matt/flat enough for me and (b) I found that the completely dried (as in a week later) surface was relatively easily damaged and I really didn't want to have to varnish everything. Humbrol was out because of poor stock availability online and my previous experiences with its very variable quality, so I went with Tamiya primarily on the grounds of prior experience and the matt finish (with the XF series paints!).

I prefer it to Vallejo Model Air for airbrushing, which I usually use for larger areas, but as I'm new to scratchbuilding, I seem to be finding myself needing to paint areas which I should have airbrushed but now can't because the masking off would be a major PITA. Hence my interest in flat brushes!

[rtfoe]

Hi Norman, I've not tried Vallejo Model Air for airbrushing as it seems too diluted for me but I've heard it needs misting a few layers before it covers an area. I have not used Vallejo Model Color for airbrushing either only for brush painting. Humbrol enamels were my initial paint for both airbrushing and brush painting but as you said poor stock availability has led me to try Vallejo and I've been happy with it although being skeptical at the beginning. Yes some of their range dry satin but for me that's ok for figures as I matt varnish in the end.

Perhaps small touch ups with Tamiya may work on a surface with a pre painted cured Tamiya surface. But I haven't had good results painting straight on with a paint brush...always ends up as gunk.
Gunze Lacquers are also not brush friendly. I would suggest you try out on scrap first until you're satisfied it works for you.

Cheers,
Richard