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Any ideas or advice on how to fix brushes that have had their bristles "split" or have gone a bit wild? New brush?

I highly recommend using B & J Brush Cleaner! It is fantastic and helps retain the shape of brushes and increase longevity. You can probably find it online if not carried at local hobby stores.

In my experience, once paint dries into the ferrule, the brush is pretty much done for. I'd get a new brush, and as LibertineIX suggested, use brush cleaner to keep it clean. Also, when putting paint on the brush, don't dip the brush all the way to the ferrule and if paint does get that high, immediately clean the brush.

Hair straighteners on low setting can sometimes help to reshape a brush tip, but it's only a short term solution. You'll find the bristles will gradually become weaker and start to go limp and snap. Probably time to get a new brush.

Also try to resist the urge to twist your brush-tips into a point. A lot of people do this instinctively because it is how we normally shape splayed threads and string (like when you thread a needle). But brushes are not threads; they don't splay because they are unraveling. Twisting them just leads the bristles curling, and you usually end up with two tips that split apart like a fork. You can avoid this by keeping your movements straight down in the direction the bristles are pointing whilst drying and reshaping the tip. Your brushes will last longer that way.

 IndigoJack wrote:
In my experience, once paint dries into the ferrule, the brush is pretty much done for. I'd get a new brush, and as LibertineIX suggested, use brush cleaner to keep it clean. Also, when putting paint on the brush, don't dip the brush all the way to the ferrule and if paint does get that high, immediately clean the brush.

this. Except i get lazy. I learned that twisting the brush while loading paint and while painting will help the tip stay pointy, but only to a small limit. It's more of an exercise of getting extra mileage out of a compromised brush. It cannot detail accurately, although it maintains it's use for doing solid lines and edging....

the lesson here is to make sure you wash your brushes.

Yeah....maybe good quality cleaner might help...but I would suggest getting some high quality brushes.

There are many threads out there on this (if the search is working) but the best brushes you can guy are those using Kolinsky sable.

They are amazing. Reaper and other brush companies make a variety....google "kolinsky brush" for a selection.

The use a good brush cleaner to help them last.

If my brushes end up splitting into two main groups, I'll slice one off to have a finer point.

 Smacks wrote:
Hair straighteners on low setting can sometimes help to reshape a brush tip, but it's only a short term solution. You'll find the bristles will gradually become weaker and start to go limp and snap. Probably time to get a new brush.

Also try to resist the urge to twist your brush-tips into a point. A lot of people do this instinctively because it is how we normally shape splayed threads and string (like when you thread a needle). But brushes are not threads; they don't splay because they are unraveling. Twisting them just leads the bristles curling, and you usually end up with two tips that split apart like a fork. You can avoid this by keeping your movements straight down in the direction the bristles are pointing whilst drying and reshaping the tip. Your brushes will last longer that way.

Ahh, now that I didn't know, I always do that and that always happens...thanks for the wisdom!