Keeping an Edge on Detail Brushes

[Tobs6311]

Hey guys does anyone else have an issue with maintaining the edges on your detail brushes? No matter how careful I try to be with mine (specifically the army painter "insane detail") I end up with frayed ends, the individual hairs splitting up and making my brush pretty much useless.

JTS

paintinglittlemen.blogspot.com

[Deadlift]

Have you tried another brand ? I made the switch to Newton Windsor series 7 brushes awhile ago and their really good. I am using a 00 for detail and the point is superb. The brush is nice and soft and always keeps it's point. When I am not using them I keep the brushes in the clear plastic tube the brush comes in to keep it safe. I bought mine on eBay.

[SotonShades]

I've recently replaced my GW standard brush for the first time in 8 years, and I've only replaced my Fine Detail brush once in that time. I've only rarely had problems with the bristles splaying. Can't say for certain why yours are splaying, but i can give you a few hints that might help;

• Don't dip the bristles more than half a millimetre into the paint. Sounds simple, but all too often you see people dipping the brush right into a pot. If the paint gets into the metal ferrule, there's almost no way to stop them splaying in future. If you want to get paint further up the side of the brush, use an old brush to take the paint from the pot to your pallette and water it down, then when it's nice and thin use your detail brush (though why you'd want to use more than the tip of a detail brush is quite beyond me!)
• Never store your brushes tip down. When you wash them out, make sure you don't leave them sittting there as you will very quickly bend them. When not in use, try to store them tip up, in a tin or pencil holder for example, or at the very least horizontal. If you can, keep the little plastic tubes that they come with when you buy the brushes and replace it even between uses and deffinitely when storing them for any length of time.
• Sounds like a simple one, but never let paint dry on your bristles. It'll get inbetween the scales that make up the hair, widenning the gap to the next scale, which will let in more paint, which will widen the gap which will... ok, so you get the idea? This will lead to those stray hairs that sometimes seem to want to go off in a different direction, even when the rest still come to a nice point. Speaking of whom;
• Don't pull out those stray hairs that sometimes seem to want to go off in a different direction, even when the rest still come to a nice point. It make the rest loose in the ferrel. One doesn't really matter, but it'll make it more likely that a second will go off, which will make another, and another... In short your brush will only get worse and worse.
• Saliva.
• Ok I'll say that again; Saliva. When you wash the brush out, make sure you have actually got all the paint out (unless you like the taste ) and then stick it in your mouth, under your tongue and pull it out slowly between your lips while twisting in one direction. Clockwise or anti-clockwise doesn't matter. This will bring the brush to a point and helps get any fluid out from the farrule (again, this can cause bristles to splay). Obviusly only twist for brushes that are supposed to come to a point... Doesn't work quite so well for the big flat Tank Drybrush from GW, but the pulling out between your lips is still a good idea.

That's all I can think off at the moment. I'll post more if I think of anything. Hope it helps.

[doom-kitten]

XD sorry saw the bit about saliva and went wtf, I generally use water and the curve in your hand to re point my brushes. Basically you curve your hand slightly, wet the brush in water then pull it through the line in you hand, give it a slight turn as it comes out and then recap the brush and store with the bristles up. Incase I forgot to mention keep the plastic tube that comes with the brush it'll make life so much easier when it comes to your brush bristles, oh and try not to fine edge highlight with the brush tip, use the edge it's hard to do but with reduce the chances of splaying drastically. I've been using the same set of brushes for over 10 years now and so far so good and one last little tip never be frugal on your brushes.

[isotope99]

I have 35 brushes in my brush graveyard pot so yes, I have this problem too.

It's usually the result of laziness and not switching to old brushes for anything they're not suited for, like washes or drybrushing.

Also one of those wet palette thingies helps so you're not trying to scoop up the last dregs of half dried paint.

[Tobs6311]

thanks for the tips guys...after first making sure my girlfriend wasn't watching, and making sure the brush was cleaned off, I actually tried the saliva thing and it worked perfectly...I had never heard of this..hope you weren't just messin with me haha. I tend to put the whole brush in my water pot, so that probably contributed to the issue. What works pretty well with the larger detail brushes is getting the bristles wet and pressing it between the 2 sides of a damp paper towel (kind of like the whole finger crease deal); but with the insane detail, no go.

JTS

[krispy]

i had trouble with mine and then i bought myself "The Master's Brush Cleaner And Preserver"

i got it off of ebay, feels like it lasts forever and keeps my brushes nice and clean, even cleaner than i could have imagined actually.

[fuzzbuket]

befor each use dip in water and spin in a cloth, dosnt preserve the point forever but works for a while,

or


(i will get killed for this)

brush-licking :L

[SotonShades]

Honestly not messing with anyone. It's a tip you will actually find in a lot of watercolour books and something artists have been doing since Da Vinci's time. You won't find it in a lot of modelling advice books because. traditionally, modellers used oil/solvent based paints rather than waterbased acryllics. Try it with those paints and you could quickly end up in hospital, so I'd advise against it... but hey, it's a free(ish) world.

It also only works on natural hair brushes, but will preserve the tip a lot longer than just using water.



(How do you think wild animals smoothe down their fur after a rain storm?)

[Deadlift]

Honestly not messing with anyone. It's a tip you will actually find in a lot of watercolour books and something artists have been doing since Da Vinci's time. You won't find it in a lot of modelling advice books because. traditionally, modellers used oil/solvent based paints rather than waterbased acryllics. Try it with those paints and you could quickly end up in hospital, so I'd advise against it... but hey, it's a free(ish) world.

It also only works on natural hair brushes, but will preserve the tip a lot longer than just using water.



(How do you think wild animals smoothe down their fur after a rain storm?)

I lick my brushes all the time just out of habit now. It really is the best way to preserve a point. However as its become a habit I have been known to stick a brush loaded with paint into my gob too . I found foundations taste the nicest.