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I'm dreadful when it comes to keeping my brushes intact, my record being one being ruined in a week... so you can guess why I'm going to ask you how they hell you keep citadel brushes from getting too worndown.

Don't leave sitting in the water pot (bends the tip), avoid getting paint on the ferrule, and use brush cleaner after each painting session.

One thing I try to do is clean the brush regularly, rather than using it for hours. Just rinsing the paint out completely is enough I think.

It's particularly important if you are letting the paint rise up into the ferrule (the metal bit holding the bristles), as dried paint will destroy a brush.

I generally use cheap brushes, but they actually last quite well. All I do is clean them thoroughly in water between colours. I don't do anything different at the end of a session. I have some brush cleaner (Vallejo) but I've not been that impressed with it. It doesn't seem to keep the brushes any cleaner than water. Once the brush is old and has a bit of old paint stuck in it, losing its point etc, the cleaner doesn't help.

I'd like to upgrade to better brushes (not quite W&Ns, but better than what I currently use), but don't want them dying too quickly. As I said, mine last 'quite' well, but I'd want to really look after better brushes. Not sure what I'm doing wrong with the cleaner.

Buy good brushes. It took me years to make the switch. I wish someone told me to switch when i was nw to the hobby. I typically use shampoo to clean the bristles. If the brush will not be in use for a long time i.e. Vacation, I coat it with conditioner.

Rather than replacing my cheap brushes every 3 months, I have the same three W N brushes (00, 1, 2) in near perfect condition going on 2 years.

Don't use brushes you care about for extracting paint from pots, mixing and thinning. Use a crappy brush to get the paint on your palette and thin it down, then whip out your good brush and only wet the tip of it. That will help stop paint getting up in the ferrule which is the death of a brush.

Rinse the brush every few minutes when painting, stops paint drying in the bristles, and wash it out immediately if you let paint get up toward the ferrule.

Use a soap to clean out the brush at the end of a painting session (or maybe every half hour to hour if you're doing a long painting session).

Store brushes in a way the bristles aren't being damaged.

Don't leave brushes bristles down in a water pot.

Use ay Kolinsky sable brush. They simply last longer when using acrylic paints.

 Whittlesey40k wrote:
I generally use cheap brushes, but they actually last quite well. All I do is clean them thoroughly in water between colours. I don't do anything different at the end of a session. I have some brush cleaner (Vallejo) but I've not been that impressed with it. It doesn't seem to keep the brushes any cleaner than water. Once the brush is old and has a bit of old paint stuck in it, losing its point etc, the cleaner doesn't help.

I'd like to upgrade to better brushes (not quite W&Ns, but better than what I currently use), but don't want them dying too quickly. As I said, mine last 'quite' well, but I'd want to really look after better brushes. Not sure what I'm doing wrong with the cleaner.

I have a mix between a few W&N, Citadel, and some cheap brushes. I picked up a Kolinsky Sable brush by a brand called Rhapsody at a local art shop. I have to say I am impressed, and it was 1/2 the price of a W&N. Not sure if you have that brand where you are, but its a nice brush and not a huge investment.

I only used citadel brushes, guess that's part of being a "self-taught" noob.

Brush upkeep that I know of:

Buying:
- Not sure what people mean by saying "buy good brushes", I would say start off and look at it, does it hold a point? Any stray hairs? Getting the best Kolinski sable is not an automatic buy. See as you push the tip that it springs back to a point. Some thickness in the body of the tip is wanted to act as a reservoir for holding paint: the smaller it is, the more you need to dip into paint. Natural hairs have rough features on them that better hold paint.

Use:
- I usually wet the brush first, prior to dipping into paint, it acts as a bit of a barrier to the paint for the ferrule.
- Do not dip paint right up to the ferrule (the metal crimp area) paint drying inside that causes the hairs to splay out and lose the point.
- Draw the brush across the surface both to paint or to clean, mashing the tip straight down kills a brush quickly.
- Try to keep the brush facing down or on it's side, again to avoid paint running to the ferrule.

Cleaning:
- Natural hairs are like your own: using really hot water can damage the hairs so only use cold water to clean.
- Slight compression of the hairs and drawing across a towel (paper or cloth) will help remove the worst of most material.
- Soaps are needed, some suggestions:
The below link is more of a solvent and cleaner specific to acrylic.
http://www.winsornewton.com/na/shop/oils-mediums-varnishes-and-solvents/artists-care-range/brush-cleaner-restorer-4oz-bottle-bottle-3230895
"Pink soap" has been a bit of a staple for cleaning in general:

In the end, plain soap and a conditioner not containing silicone for your hair is sufficient for cleaning.

- Do not store them up while wet: again, things run into the ferrule (many artists suggest the head can be stored up and have not had issues so your discretion).
- Holders like this are great for drying and even in-process.

The tip resting on anything or being stored in water will wreck the tip.
- After cleaning, draw the brush along a towel and rotate it slightly to get a point.

Best I figure for now.
At the very least, the "ruined" brush can spend it's life as a drybrush.

I store my brushes on their sides, just sitting on top of the speaker that sits at my painting desk. Can't say I've noticed any problems. I wash them with soap and dry them off with a tissue before storing them, I usually just leave a bit of soap in the brush while they're resting.

 Talizvar wrote:
Brush upkeep that I know of:

Buying:
- Not sure what people mean by saying "buy good brushes", I would say start off and look at it, does it hold a point? Any stray hairs? Getting the best Kolinski sable is not an automatic buy. See as you push the tip that it springs back to a point. Some thickness in the body of the tip is wanted to act as a reservoir for holding paint: the smaller it is, the more you need to dip into paint. Natural hairs have rough features on them that better hold paint.

Use:
- I usually wet the brush first, prior to dipping into paint, it acts as a bit of a barrier to the paint for the ferrule.
- Do not dip paint right up to the ferrule (the metal crimp area) paint drying inside that causes the hairs to splay out and lose the point.
- Draw the brush across the surface both to paint or to clean, mashing the tip straight down kills a brush quickly.
- Try to keep the brush facing down or on it's side, again to avoid paint running to the ferrule.

Cleaning:
- Natural hairs are like your own: using really hot water can damage the hairs so only use cold water to clean.
- Slight compression of the hairs and drawing across a towel (paper or cloth) will help remove the worst of most material.
- Soaps are needed, some suggestions:
The below link is more of a solvent and cleaner specific to acrylic.
http://www.winsornewton.com/na/shop/oils-mediums-varnishes-and-solvents/artists-care-range/brush-cleaner-restorer-4oz-bottle-bottle-3230895
"Pink soap" has been a bit of a staple for cleaning in general:

In the end, plain soap and a conditioner not containing silicone for your hair is sufficient for cleaning.

- Do not store them up while wet: again, things run into the ferrule (many artists suggest the head can be stored up and have not had issues so your discretion).
- Holders like this are great for drying and even in-process.

The tip resting on anything or being stored in water will wreck the tip.
- After cleaning, draw the brush along a towel and rotate it slightly to get a point.

Best I figure for now.
At the very least, the "ruined" brush can spend it's life as a drybrush.

Man, that's really helpful... I'm wondering wether or not I should make a few extra accounts to properly exalt this.

Most important tips:

1. Use natural hair brushes, not synthetics.

2. Never, ever twist the brush.

3. Always use brush soap at the end of every session, and after rinsing, put some more soap on and shape the bristles to a Point.

4. After cleaning, leave the brush hanging downwards in a brush holder. This helps water run off.

5. Never, ever dip the brush in paint further than say halfway up the brush.

Lord Kragan wrote:
Man, that's really helpful... I'm wondering wether or not I should make a few extra accounts to properly exalt this.

Comments like this is enough to make it worth while... thanks!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Mymearan wrote:
Most important tips:
1. Use natural hair brushes, not synthetics.

Other than not holding as much paint, synthetics I have not had much issue with.
Since they do not have the cuticle (rough surface) they at least clean really well (trying them out for metallic paints due to contamination issues).
They also tend to "stick" together better so work really well for very fine brushwork (but again hold much less paint).

2. Never, ever twist the brush.

I agree to a point.
To grab and twist would damage it for sure.
A slow turn while drawing the brush to clean I have not noticed any visible twist to the strands when wetted to a point in this fashion.

3. Always use brush soap at the end of every session, and after rinsing, put some more soap on and shape the bristles to a Point.

Straight out of the textbook, good advice here and expands on the detail much better than I did.

4. After cleaning, leave the brush hanging downwards in a brush holder. This helps water run off.

I forgot, some rather enterprising individuals used clothespins glued (screwed?) to a stand like the edge on an artists water cup.

5. Never, ever dip the brush in paint further than say halfway up the brush.

Well, that is a reasonably safe distance to use.
I find with the small brushes I need to get to the 2/3 to 3/4 mark or I do not get to paint much.

I find with some basic methods of preserving the brushes, you can have them for years.
My "favorite" has the enamel worn off the handle where my fingertips go (from use), the brush tip has a slight hook to it that I like: when painting the eyes on a model I can better see where the tip is going and the curve makes a fantastic edge highlight. I think I cut off over some ten errant hairs over time but it is still doing the job. I have no idea how long I have had it other than over a decade.

First, as others have said, clean them. I often clean my brushes several times during a painting session, as a brush with dried-up paint on it performs poorly compared to a brush that's clean. So either get nice brushes that you clean frequently, or buy cheap brushes and throw them away after their performance starts to suffer (the former is much cheaper).

I had one of those paint drying racks with the coil on the top -- I don't like them because they eat up the handles over time. I'm not fond of those bucket-brush-cleaner things as the brush cleaner is meant for much larger brushes than what we use on minis, making the entire assembly really large and inefficient use of table space.

This is how I let my good brushes dry (my drybrushes and flats, I dry pointing up in cups, as they don't need to maintain a point)

+1 Pink Soap. Really easy for lazy painters. Dip and wash. Then dip and store, so your brushes can have that lovely conditioner look.

Handy hands with LED light. Cheap at Harbor Freight and Amazon. Use the alligator clips to dry your brushes. Use the light to help you paint.
http://www.harborfreight.com/jumbo-helping-hands-with-led-lights-65779.html

Save your hobby brushes by not using them! Use cheap brushes for drybrushing (duh), washes, and sometimes basecoating.

Also, two rinse jars, and cheap sable nail brushes on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007BLN17K/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3KTAZR4CEZKXN