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Hey i have a problem with metallic paints, specifically GW dwarf bronze, even though I washed the brush regularly, and afterwards at the end, the bronze just did not come off, it subsequently ruined 2 of the brand new brushes I bought, how the hell do I get this stuff off!

I only dipped them a reasonable amount, no where near the ferrule.

Any tips welcome! Cheers

90% Isopropanol will get rid of dried on paint I've found. I don't know where you get IPA outside of a lab tho.

metallics ruin brushes, you'll never get all the little metallic bits off of the brush itself

Ill stick to my somehow survived 5 years standard brush for metals then

ta

None of my brushes have been ruined by metallic GW paints. But all I use is gold and silver so it could be just a bronze problem.

Mr.Awesome1 wrote:None of my brushes have been ruined by metallic GW paints. But all I use is gold and silver so it could be just a bronze problem.

I think it depends on how picky you are, every once in a while i will get a metallic spec in my normal paints if using the same brush, but yeah I haven't been able to get bronze out of my brushes with anything less than fancy brush cleaner.

Phototoxin wrote:90% Isopropanol will get rid of dried on paint I've found. I don't know where you get IPA outside of a lab tho.

Rubbing Alcohol, you can buy it at the pharmacy. I don't know about in the UK, but here in Canada you can get it at 70% just off the shelf.

how about master's brush soap? I use that and Windsor Newton Brush Cleaner/conditioner and it gets up into the ferul as well. I also have dedicated metallics brushes.

heavybolter wrote:I also have dedicated metallics brushes.

I ended up doing the same thing when I started paining my Sanguinary Guard. So much metallics I just decided to get some good quality, but cheap brushes just for this.

heavybolter wrote:how about master's brush soap? I use that and Windsor Newton Brush Cleaner/conditioner and it gets up into the ferul as well. I also have dedicated metallics brushes.

I have been doing the same thing... The master soap works miracles!!

heavybolter wrote:how about master's brush soap? I use that and Windsor Newton Brush Cleaner/conditioner and it gets up into the ferul as well. I also have dedicated metallics brushes.

This. Master's keeps my Series 7's nice and clean, but for Foundation and metallics, I use lower grade brushes that are dedicated for that purpose incase the Master's doesn't get the job done.

+1 for Master's and dedicated brushes. Paint buildup is inevitable, even with reasonable care, but this happens exponentially faster with metallic paints - it's just the nature of the beast. Using a separate brush (and water) for metallics helps avoid contaminating the rest of your paint, of course, but it also restricts the abuse that the constant cycle of buildup and its subsequent removal can place on the bristles to a single brush.

When the time comes to clean, Master's is the best product I've tried, balancing ease of gunk removal and preservation of bristle quality. It's not the cheapest product out there (nor is it the most expensive, by a long shot), but the small tub (roughly the size of a hockey puck - I forget what they call the size) should run you under $10(US), lasts quite a while, and more than pays for itself in extended brush life. A soak in isopropyl alcohol will likely loosen up the gunk, as well, but it's hell on natural bristles, so I'd only use it on synthetic brushes or, on natural brushes, as a last resort for serious messes, preferably to be followed by conditioning.

While we're at dedicated brushes for metals (which I use as well), don't forget to have a dedicated water pot as well, or the measure will be pretty much in vain. (especially if you are like me and refresh your water not that often).

I rinse my brushes constantly while painting, especially if I notice the paint is drying fast (due to higher than normal heat or lower than normal humidity for example) and that seems to have helped. One of my first Citadel brushes got wrecked while I was doing a lot of work with Chainmail and Boltgun Metal early on... but once I started with using a jar of water and rinsing constantly it seems to have solved the problem, including when I'm using Dwarf Bronze, Tin Bitz and like a half dozen other metallic paints.

Try rinsing after a few turns of taking paint on the brush, it definitely helps in my experience.

thanks everyone some very useful stuff here, definately gonna start with seperate water/brush and rinse it every few applications, until I can get round to a better solution.

heavybolter wrote:how about master's brush soap? I use that and Windsor Newton Brush Cleaner/conditioner and it gets up into the ferul as well. I also have dedicated metallics brushes.

This is a great product.

You need to begin with quality brushes that can tolerate a bit of handling though. Cheap brushes will fall apart regardless.

As you are in the UK, try Fairy Power Spray.