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I've noticed that the main reason I've been so slow with painting my models is getting all stressed out regarding brush maintenance. Instead of a nice, relaxing time getting my models all nice and painted up, I end up continuously stressing out over the brushes getting paint in the ferrule, the paint not all coming off when swishing it in a pot of water, etc. I do try to be careful with them, and always wash 'em out with master's soap when I'm done, and I think I'm taking care of them properly... but that ends up being so much work that I can't enjoy the actual painting. I start off intending to do a batch of Ork arms, and quit after the first pass of green, not going back to doing a second pass, or highlights, nevermind the guns and details!

Is that just the way it is, or am I doing something wrong? Am I worrying too much? I've always read to make sure you're cleaning off the brush regularly, to keep paint off the ferrule, not to wait until you're done to do all that.

I do think my brushes are relatively well kept (they're synthetic, originally that yellowish color, many of them already stained dark, but they still hold a point), but at this pace I can't think of going a full hour or painting, it's just too stressful.

Any tips? Should I change out the water in the pot when it gets murky? Would that help rinse off brushes faster? Should I add something to the water? Is regular tap water fine for that (I use filtered water for thinning the paints, but regular tap water for the pot)?

I wouldn't worry too much about synthetic brushes. I've had mine for years, they have paint in the ferrule too. I could probably clean it off but it's not really an issue. For nice sable brushes though it would be a death sentence.

You should still probably wash your brush frequently. I habitually swish my brush in the water after every few strokes, whether I'm changing colour or not, but that's more for the sake of paint consistency rather than to spare the brush. I've never found it bothersome?

You should change the water in pot when it needs changing. If you're painting 50 orks green then you've probably got murky green water, then that's not a problem, keep going. If you switch to white, then it's time to change the water, unless you want green in your whites.

I can totally relate. After I picked up my first batch of Kolinsky Sable brushes I found myself stressing so much about keeping them clean that I didn't even want to use them lol. Having to clean them after a painting session turned the idea of painting into a chore. It just wasn't enjoyable.

Since then I have become less OCD about my brushes. I do not dip them aimlessly into pots of paint, I have a designated brush for metallics, I don't allow paint to sit during use, and I clean them thoroughly after the painting session. I don't stress like I used to, as I know that one day they will have moved on from their prime and that it will be time for their replacement. As long as I'm satisfied with the use I've gotten out of them I'll be happy

You're just procrastinating, I paint with cheap brush sets from Hobby Lobby, so I don't worry about them being destroyed over period of time. I also use 20+ brushes at a time and rotate them, when they die, I replace them.

I find that camel hair brushes are quite good for washes of undercoat, their found in other section of Hobby Lobby not in the brush and paint area.

Yeah, tough love.

Get crackin'. Do it for Gork.

How long do you spend cleaning them? You're probably stressing too much.

I keep my brushes in good condition and it doesn't stress me at all, for every hour I'm painting it maybe consumes an additional 5 minutes to keep the brushes in good condition.

Brushes csn be disposable. Use and toss if you want.

Change your water often.
Thin your paints.
Buy cheaper brushes and throw them out if they get used up. Or turn them into dry brushes, etc.
Stop stressing so much. Paint.

It's not so much that I spend a lot of time cleaning them. In fact, the cleaning after I'm done is no problem at all. It's the cleaning and general looking-after while I'm painting that stresses me out. I'm always so worried about ruining the brush. I'll be doing some detail, and see the paint going up the brush, getting too close to the ferrule, and I have to stop, swish the brush in the water, take it out, dry it off, notice it still has paint on it, swish it some more, repeat, worry that I'm not getting the paint off (since I can still see the color of the paint on the brush), decide I'm not gonna get it any cleaner without actually cleaning it with master's soap, say "screw it" and just keep on painting with it, but now worried about whether I'm ruining the damn thing... eventually get tired of being stressed out over it, so give up, give the brush a good cleaning with master's soap, and call it a night (or more like "call it a half hour").

And yes, I know I'm procrastinating. That's the problem... I'm not procrastinating because I don't want to paint. I'll spend half the day at work thinking about going home and painting, but when I actually get home and consider the actual activity, I remember how stressful I find dealing with the brushes, and I put it off. =/

I guess I could just think of them as disposable and not worry so much... but I think I'd end up spending too much on brushes. Mebbe not, tho... I'll have to check.

Thanks for all the tips, suggestions, and encouragement, guys. =)

I make sure to soak 'em first, to make sure the ferrule is full of water so no paint can get in. Then just rinse & dry the exposed bristles often and you will be fine.

Yes, you should change your water pot when it gets murky.

If you're using cheap brushes, just abuse 'em til they die. The points will kink anyhow, no matter how well you treat them, because synthetic brushes just do this, so there's no point in being anal about cleaning them (no pun intended!).

I only clean my brushes in soap once per session anyhow (anywhere from 2 - 6 hours), and my brush longevity is hundreds of hours per brush, and they're still good brushes when I'm finished with them and give them away.

My series 7s are only ever rinsed, in murky water, between painting sessions. I brush soap them once every other month.

They're in perfect condition after over a year of this abuse.

You're worrying too much

How are you getting paint near the ferrule though? Are you dipping into a citadel pot?

kb_lock wrote:
My series 7s are only ever rinsed, in murky water, between painting sessions. I brush soap them once every other month.

They're in perfect condition after over a year of this abuse.

You're worrying too much

How are you getting paint near the ferrule though? Are you dipping into a citadel pot?

Nope. I use Vallejo paints, with the dropper tips. I put a drop or two into a plastic palette (with those round depressions), then add a drop or two of filtered water to thin it down. I mix it up with the butt of the brush, not the bristles. I only dip the point, maybe up to halfway up to the ferrule if I'm painting large areas. The paint slowly creeps up as I paint, tho.

I use these brushes: http://amzn.com/B00PS8GVU2 (I didn't pay $40 for 'em tho. Paid $25.)

Toniork wrote:

kb_lock wrote:
My series 7s are only ever rinsed, in murky water, between painting sessions. I brush soap them once every other month.

They're in perfect condition after over a year of this abuse.

You're worrying too much

How are you getting paint near the ferrule though? Are you dipping into a citadel pot?

Nope. I use Vallejo paints, with the dropper tips. I put a drop or two into a plastic palette (with those round depressions), then add a drop or two of filtered water to thin it down. I mix it up with the butt of the brush, not the bristles. I only dip the point, maybe up to halfway up to the ferrule if I'm painting large areas. The paint slowly creeps up as I paint, tho.

I use these brushes: http://amzn.com/B00PS8GVU2 (I didn't pay $40 for 'em tho. Paid $25.)

Well there's your problem - those are synthetic brushes and are more prone to having the hairs fanned out and tip bent. It's just the nature of the material. Get yourself some quality sable like Series 7 and stop stressing. Similar to kb_lock, I only clean mine every week or so while dipping it deep in murky paint water to rinse between sessions. Brushes remain fine so they're definitely worth the extra cost of money.

Paintnig should be a relaxing hobby - if not, you're doing it wrong and it's no longer a hobby.

Toniork wrote:
(since I can still see the color of the paint on the brush), decide I'm not gonna get it any cleaner without actually cleaning it with master's soap

If you really need your brush to be perfectly clean while painting just use soap to begin with. I just have a block of hand soap sitting on my palette that I occasionally use, just swirl the brush in the water for a few seconds, run it over the block of soap and then massage it in to the bristles with my fingers then wash it in the water again for a few seconds. It may sound pedantic to do that while painting but it only takes me about 20 seconds at most and my reasonably cheap Kolinsky brush has lasted me ages.

I'd definitely grab some kolinsky sable brushes, maybe not the super expensive ones people are recommending here but even just something a bit cheaper is fine. Caring for synthetic brushes is much harder because they get destroyed so much easier.

But either way, whether you choose to keep your brushes super clean or choose to treat them as disposable.... it should not be something that stresses you. Like, really, it's no big deal, even if they get destroyed it's only a few bucks worth of brush you should not being getting stressed over it.

I think if you're getting stressed over something you have to realise that it's not actually all that important. Though I'm not a psychologist or anything, lol.

Also try Pink Soap. I find it easier to use than Master's. It's a liquid, so just unscrew the cap and dip the brush in it then swish in water. If there's still paint, rub the brush tip between your fingers and repeat.

For washes and some other steps before final details, I just use some inexpensive natural brushes. High quality brushes are now more easily available (try Amazon and FRPGames.com) so buy 'em. *Those* you can obsess over!

I also stress over painting miniatures, but if your brush wears a little early, so what? You can still use it for washes, priming, and basecoating. Make a sammich instead of eating out two times and you can afford a new brush!

Brushes are tools and inevitably you run the risk of wearing them out during use.

Even if you buy expensive brushes, their purpose is to paint things.

I would switch to cheaper brushes.

Tired brushes can be used for stippling and dry-brushing. Really worn brushes can be cut off and the bristles used for patches of long grass on bases.

@KK - you can't really get much cheaper than those. He paid an average price of like, $2.50 each, and that's including a 1/4" or so flat.

I buy a set of paintbrushes like that once in a while to apply gesso, punch metallic paints into crevices and that kind of thing. IMO, a $2.50 brush is not worth walking on eggshells on, because its life isn't going to be that long no matter what you do. The flats will fray and split, the rounds will kink, they will stain, etc. Either buy primo brushes that you clean diligently, or just abuse cheap brushes -- you can get ok mileage out of them if you do a *reasonable* cleaning job once a day.

My favorite cleaning solution is W&N Brush Cleaner and Restorer.

I use bog standard GW brushes and wreck them till they die. My basecoats brush also does the PVA on bases and the liquid green stuff. If the brush gets frayed I scrap a knife down the side to sharpen it up again. Once the brush has completely died I throw it in the bin and buy a new one.

I think my models are painted well. Brush maintence is the least of my worries really.

Huh, so sable brushes are more durable than synthetic ones? I thought it was the other way around, go figure. I thought sable brushes got you better results, but didn't last as long.

I'll try some sable brushes and see how that goes.

On a positive note... last time I tried not to stress so much over the brushes, and only quit painting when my hands and upper back started to hurt, which is certainly an improvement! Didn't get as much done as I wanted, but certainly more than previous sessions. Don't think I ruined any brush, either, hehe. =)

Again, thanks for the tips and encouragement! =)

Toniork wrote:
Huh, so sable brushes are more durable than synthetic ones? I thought it was the other way around, go figure. I thought sable brushes got you better results, but didn't last as long.

I'll try some sable brushes and see how that goes.

On a positive note... last time I tried not to stress so much over the brushes, and only quit painting when my hands and upper back started to hurt, which is certainly an improvement! Didn't get as much done as I wanted, but certainly more than previous sessions. Don't think I ruined any brush, either, hehe. =)

Again, thanks for the tips and encouragement! =)

Sable brushes are sensitive to solvents that strip the natural oils off the bristles, we don't typically use those sorts of solvents for painting miniatures. If you're using enamels, you typically have to clean them with white spirit or turps or something which does a brilliant job of stripping the natural oils off the brush and destroys them quickly.

But if you're using typical hobby acrylics, then you usually clean with water and soap, under those circumstances, sable brushes are much more durable than synthetic brushes.

For oil paints, you can actually clean oil paints off brushes with nothing but soap and water, so sable brushes CAN hold up quite well. The problem with oils is we typically thin them with white spirits or some harsh solvent, so for that reason you're typically better off using synthetics. I do, however, sometimes use my sable brushes when painting unthinned oils.

I don't know what sort of sable brushes you can get around your location, but down here there's a few stores that sell cheaper Kolinsky brushes, in the region of $10-15AUD for a #1 or #2. That's what I use as my main brush and it's lasted me ages (well over a year).

I just use cheap art-store synthetics for about 99% of my work, you can get a fine enough tip to get fine details done, but I use a very small sable brush for eyes etc.

Basically a $11 set of synthetics (1 fine detail, 1 detail, one large flat top and 1 large taper top) will do about 1 project for me, about one 1500-1850 point army, depending on how elite it is.

Yeah, they do break down, and lose their points, but after painting $500 in models I am fine to scrap them and blow $11 on a new set.

Not an expert on hairbrushes, but the ferrule of my Citadel Detail Brush (the only Citadel I currently own) Is all messed up with any sort of acrylic paint and this does not effect my painting in any way. I'm not aware if this ruins the brush thou, but even If it does I can afford a new brush.

That's for my Citadel brush The rest brushes looks like something that was pulled from the corpse of a nurgle minion