Who makes nice paintbrushes?

[Guest]

All the paintbrushes I have bought from my LMS are cheap nasty ones which have turned into trolls on sticks.

I don't mind paying for quality.

Whose should I be looking at?

[Guest]

windsor and newton series 7, brilliant brushes, not cheap but worth the dosh

Paul

[Alan 45]

I use italiari sable hair brushes much better than the nylon type

[Guest]

Best thing I have found is to go to my local art shop. They have a variety for oils acrylics & other things. Have bought the acrylics & they work fine. Paid a bit more than I wanted providing I get there for cleaning before the Acrylics gets naughty they should last for ever. Got a nice spring to them & you can cut in by pressurizing the spring.

The ones I have re Windsor & Newton. But they do different grades according to what you want to pay.

Laurie

[Richi72]

Yep Paul is right with the W&N series 7 and I like to use the Da Vinci sable hair ones.

Cheers Richi

[Guest]

I would say it depends on what your painting with. If your painting acrylics and you seriously water them down then any top range Kolinsky sable i.e W&N Series 7, Da vinci, rosemaryandco just to name a few. If you dont water paint down then you can get away with cheaper Sable Mix Brushes, I use citidel brushes but am looking to upgrade, the army painter do a nice set of brushes which are same price as citadel but are better quality, W&N Galeria are a sable mix. If your painting enamals then i would go for a more expensive synthetic brush over the cheaper ones. The chemicals in enamels just destroy natural brushes, dry them out and make them brittle. But as i said you want more expensive synthetic, they will last better and hold together almost as well as sable. I use W&N series 7 for all my fine details on my Fantasy & 40K, But swap over to citadel brushes for my grunt work, as i said before im looking at army painter atm as there ment to be better quality.

Best advice really is decide what your painting with and then go out and pick up 1 or 2 brushes from the diffrent ranges, paint with all of them and see what feels right and works for you. Its the same old argument with paints as well. The products should work for or with you not against. once you know what you like go out and put together a set that covers all your bases. Oh and rember to use the biggest brush possible to get the job done, i.e dont use a 4/0 to paint the side of a hull, use a 5 or upwards.

hope this helps a little

Matt

[Guest]

The main point about brushes is the spring. It does not matter what they are made of the vital part of any brush is that spring. Test it by pressing the tip against your finger & you should have, with a good brush, a lovely arched affect without the hairs departing from each other in a disjointed way. When released the hairs then go back into their original shape.

Another test is to gently pull at the hairs to make sure they have a good foundation.

Agree with Matt use the largest brush possible. For house painting of architraves & frames for instance I use a 2.5" brush (not a 1" or a 1.5" as I have seen) and it is the same for modelling (in proportion ha ha).

Laurie

[Guest]

I agree with Laurie, maker doesn't matter ... If you find a sable brush with a nice action then it doesn't matter if its 1 or 20 pounds.

I have some cheap sable brushes that have lasted me years, mainly because i look after them.

In short for me

Sable brushes for nice smooth finish and detailing

Other natural hair brushes for weathering

Nylon brushes for washes and applying paint into rough surfaces.

[Guest]

As has been said, like everything, if you look after it, it will last, I bought my last set of series 7 six years ago, I wash then after every session and then cover them in a moisturiser and leave them, then just give them a quick wash before the next session.........simples

Paul

[Guest]

then cover them in a moisturiser and leave them, then just give them a quick wash before the next session

Now thats a good tip ...

im a bit more yukky than that and i have got into the disgusting habit of shaping them with my lips before putting the away .. saliva drys a bit solid so they keep their shape

[stona]

Now thats a good tip ...im a bit more yukky than that and i have got into the disgusting habit of shaping them with my lips before putting the away .. saliva drys a bit solid so they keep their shape

You are not alone Colin.......definitely not alone! I've always done it that way.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Thank god for that ... I though I was a wierdo

[Guest]

Thank god for that ... I though I was a wierdo

O yes you are as I do that as well. As anything I do is weird o according to she who knows best (and everything else).

You reminded me about this little trick Colin. I used to use it when rendering architectural drawings before the advent of computerised borne drawings. Had to be careful not to apply to much of the original ox gaul as it was not nice. Spit gives a nice end to the brush which stays there until the brush is used again. Rather like a perm.

Laurie

[Guest]

I tried that but the moisturiser tastes crap

Paul

[Guest]

i got out of shaping my tip with my lips due to the nasty minerals that are in the paints, if im painting then i role the tip on the palette to get a nice tip, if cleaning then i use Vallejo brush restorer to make sure the brush is super clean then i flick the brush ( like waving and flicking a magic wand) this produces the nice tight tip and leaves a little restorer on the brush to help it set

Matt