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So the tips on my brushes are starting to curl and I have no clue what is causing it or how to reverse it.

I clean them with master brush soap after every use and leave them upright. I form the tip after washing them and even leave a tiny bit of the soap on there to help it keep form however without fail as soon as I rinse it to start painting the tip start curling.

any suggestions?

 TheMostWize wrote:
So the tips on my brushes are starting to curl and I have no clue what is causing it or how to reverse it.

I clean them with master brush soap after every use and leave them upright. I form the tip after washing them and even leave a tiny bit of the soap on there to help it keep form however without fail as soon as I rinse it to start painting the tip start curling.

any suggestions?

Are they synthetic? If so, there isn't much you can do once they curl outside of replacing them.

What kinda brush are you using first of all, second could we get a look at it? If i can see what you are talking about i might be able to help.

also this is how i maintain my brush.

During painting, i wash the brush every 5 min or so in the water, just give it a good swirl and tap on the cut, and then lick to a point.

If im painting metallic, i wash each time i need to reload the brush.

Never never NEVER get paint into the top of the brush bristle, if you are thats why its curling/splinting.

at the end of a paint session, i simply swirl and tap the brush getting all of the paint out, if there is still any dried on the brush, i very softly put the brush on my index finger, and push upwards with my nail to get the dried paint off, i have never used any cleaner other then water, and my brush is still solid.

A good brush is something worth dropping the money on.

I think its likely because of the cheapness of the brushes then. I think I paid like $4 a piece or something like that so I am going to guess they are synthetic. They were excellent for the first mini I painted but now the curl is killing it.

As far as pictures I am not at home but just imagine just the tip of the brush starting to curl over. The fibers are not splitting and they are still in a point but they are curling over.

Any recommendations for brushes then? I will probably just pick up some new ones and use these for terrain and whatnot.

 TheMostWize wrote:
I think its likely because of the cheapness of the brushes then. I think I paid like $4 a piece or something like that so I am going to guess they are synthetic. They were excellent for the first mini I painted but now the curl is killing it.

As far as pictures I am not at home but just imagine just the tip of the brush starting to curl over. The fibers are not splitting and they are still in a point but they are curling over.

Any recommendations for brushes then? I will probably just pick up some new ones and use these for terrain and whatnot.

The best brushes you can go with, are going to be Winsor and Newton. But you are gonna spend like 18 bucks for a brush.

http://www.dickblick.com/products/winsor-and-newton-series-7-kolinsky-sable-miniature-brushes/

http://www.dickblick.com/products/winsor-and-newton-series-7-kolinsky-sable-pointed-round/

You are probably going to want a size one, but these are some of the best brushes out there.They use what is called Kolinsky sable hair. Which long story short, its the best type of hair you can get for a brush.

Another very good set of brushes are reaper mini brushes located here.
https://www.reapermini.com/OnlineStore/MasterSeriesBrush/latest

Again Kolinsky.

If you are new to painting get smaller brushes, but as you get better try and use a larger brush. 2 is probably the biggest you want.

When it comes to taking care of them, just constantly wash them while painting, dont let the paint dry in on them, and dont get the paint outta the pot up to the top of the bristles, or else RIP your brush.

Get sable brushes rather than synthetic. You can get some nice kolinsky sable brushes like W&N or Rosemary or Raphael, but even just a couple of cheapo sable brushes are good to have around as well.

thanks for the input. Will have to see what I can find.