Hi all.
Ragarding brushes what should you look for when buying them? and at what price?

Ive been buying 3-5 dollar brushes from my local hobby store and they're alright for a few paint jobs but seem to have a sourvier lack of endurance.
There white tipped so eventually they get stained and it's painfully obvious.
Ive also got a vallejo brush which is slightly stained with brown on the brissles.

Ok, so my question is - is it my lack of painting skill (fairly new to the hobby) or my brushes aren't up to standard? or both?
Anyone got brush recomendations? and prices?


Regarding looking after your brushes, how often do you was them during painting? every few strokes or minutes??? whats the deal



Thanks

Lockie

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You shall not pass!

During the past years I have tried lots of different brush brands and there seems to be huge variety even within a single manufacturer. I still use my eight years old Citadel basecoat brush while I have been wearing down many Citadel detail brushes. Pro Arte brushes have been very durable and good quality for their price and they even have a special range designed for miniature painting.

Now I'm test driving Winsor & Newton Cotman series and they have been so far wonderful. They keep their tip sharp, hold paint inside them very well and deliver it consistently. I ordered them from ArtiFolk for the price of about £3 per brush.

A very important thing to do when looking after your brushes is to make sure you don't dip the brush too deep. Keep the paint far away from the 'roots' or the metal ferrule between the bristles and the handle. It's a pain to clean up and any dried paint there will make the individual bristles point at various directions, which, well, is not good.

I usually rinse my brushes before getting more paint from the palette, so that's every few strokes, I guess.

-- Pasi

I can recommend Rosemary Brushes (series 33) from the uk, they are abour 3 £ a brush, they have excellent service and if you are ordering from the internet they are great cause they have good quality control so you wont get any bad brushes.

As for care, I usually condition my brushes after every use (literally put hair conditioner on them) and that keeps them like new. I clean tem every week or two, just to make sure that they keep their point.

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http://noddwyr.wordpress.com

im interested in the conditioning method, how does it work?

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You shall not pass!

I use white nylon almost exclusively. The big thing is to keep paint at the tip and not let it get up to the "ferrule" (Metal bit) . Once there it begins to mat up and cause the bristles to spread and soon it is only good for drybrushing.

If you get paint dried on, get some denatured alcohol (Also sold as lacquer thinner) Soak the brush a few minutes, wipe it, keep soaking til no pigment comes off, the wash with water and draw to a point (I lick it but that is an old painters trick you can use your fingers) and store upright of course

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Not all who wander are lost, that is just me actually.....

Basically you just put a little conditioner on the brush tips and then lrinse it off before your next painting session. It works with kolinsky sable brushes, liek the rosemary's, or the windsor and newton brushes amongst many others because it keeps the hair springy and liekly to keep a point. Since it is natural hair it works very well, not sure how it would work on nylon brushes and such. It really is a must to keep your brushes it tip top shape.

i do reccomned buying sable brushes though, they make a huge difference in your painting by themselves. Kolinsky sable is better and keeps a point better, but any sable is better than nylon IME. I hear Dick Blick has some good ones in the states for a cheap prices, though there are other companies like Raphael 8404 series, Windsor and Newton, Rosemary, and many Pro Arte btu Im not sure about that. SOme of those will cost upwards of 10 $ per brush, but some like rosemary and dick blick can be quite cheap for similiar quality.

.

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http://noddwyr.wordpress.com

cheers bud. I appreciate it, ill look into it.

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You shall not pass!

some thing that ive learned from my mum (she's an artist) is that after you've used them for the day, you wash them all really well. so i would get a brush, put some soap on my hand and then rub the brush around in the soap, this keeps them in good condition as long as the piant doesnt get into the roots and that you dont damage the brush by rubbing/ cleaning it too hard

Here is some of my experience with different brush materials:
I have/have used-
raphael 8404 sable brushes
Winsor and newton series 7 and water color brushes- both are sable
Army Painter golden taklon and sable brushes
GW brushes


Golden Taklon and sable brushes are very different.
Are they both good for painting, short answer is yes.
But they are very different brushes.
Taklon does not deliver paint nor does it have the same rebound characteristics as sable.
They are very different materials and therefore have these differences in behavior with paint that you would have to learn.

I use the taklon brushes for painting rank and file troops.-no highlights or very few
I use the sables for painting my heroes and elites.-details highlights shading layering etc.
I prefer the sables because in my experience it is easier to control paint , but if all I ever used was taklon I would probably not know the difference.

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richmondwarmancers we play Lord of The Rings, Battlefleet Gothic, Infinity, some board games, and really whatever tickles our fancy..