Tonto says "Brush paints with falked tongue" Ke-mo Sah-bee

[Guest]

Drives me mad. A jam jar of the smallest art brushes.

Some cheapish the last two supposedly the best.

Except for one of the best the renaider have all forked into two bits.

Tried leaving them dripping after washing hoping they will stay together but no.

Am I treating them incorrectly some way. Any body any ideas how to get rid of fork.

Laurie

[Guest]

This normally happens when the paint capileries up into the base of the hairs and even after washing stays there and hardens to push the bristles apart. Happens mostly on cheaper brushes as the metal bush/plating isn't tight enough around the bristles to stop the paint travelling up, but i've had it happen on some brushes that cost an arm and a leg.

What i do to lessen the problem (untill i throw them away or use them as stippling brushes for chipping etc) is when washing i gently roll the brush hairs (where they enter the metal plating) between my fingers, this seems to help the paint thin and wash out of the hair "base". another thing i try not to do is bang the brush on the bottom of the jar/cup/pot as this compacts the paint further up into the bristles.

As i only use the hairy stick for all my work i try and look after them, not an easy task but the above seems to lengthen the life somewhat.

it's not an easy task to look after brushes, some artists throw away their expensive sets after one painting so it seems even they may have similar problems keeping them up to scratch as we do.

Hope this helps Laurie

[Ian M]

Every one in a while I give my brushes a clean in airbrush cleaner or some other hot solvent.

Another good tip is when you clean them after painting, never stand them hairs down in the cleaner. When you dry them off only drag them across the cloth or tissue to remove the excess, then dip them in clean cleaner and leave them to dry. I think it was in a post from Spanner aka Ron about how to paint with a hairy stick.

Ian M

[Guest]

Thanks Ian & Colin. Great advice. Coincidence Ian I put a host of brushes in airbrush cleaner last night for the first time. Problem is it was hairs down. Stupid. Now got a couple of brushes which now paint around corners. Clever what !

Laurie

[Guest]

PS also clever way of spelling forked.

Laurie

[Ian M]

One word Laurie: Clothes peg. yer ok that was two.

Put the bush in a clothes peg so the brush don't rest on the bottom of the jar.

Ian M

[Guest]

If you're using acrylics washed out with water, you can return the brush to its original shape before drying by using your lips.

[Guest]

Goeffs got a point there, i do this without thinking which is why i probably didn't mention it.

The saliva dries and keeps the shape of the brush, keeping your cleaning water clean is a top tip, citadel arcylics have an aquired taste

[Guest]

Thanks men for all of that info.

Wonder what Vallejo tastes like.

Memory just clicked in after reading about the lips treatment. Early in my architectural life we used to render the architectural drawings with water colour & we all used to use out lips to get the brush shape. Also remember using a bit of ox gaul (spelling) to help.

Laurie