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I have issue with my brush cleaner/ cleaning my brushes to keep them crisp points, and the paint on the base of the brushs.
1. How long do you keep your brushes for?
2. Do you use Brush Cleaner/ Restorer?
3. How long is the shelf life of a Brush before its time to drop it?
4. What are your tips on keeping your brushes and giving them an extra few minutes to live?
Question and topic come from an issue I am having in the brush upkeep and use. My brushes don't seem to last as long as they should, and the paint keeps gumming up the brush bases and my use of the Brush cleaner destroys the brush, rather then cleans the brushes.
Todays going to be brush day, where I go get a load from the shop, but it lead me to ask others of their professional take.
At Games Workshop, we believe that how you behave does matter. We believe this so strongly that we have written it down in the Games Workshop Book. There is a section in the book where we talk about the values we expect all staff to demonstrate in their working lives. These values are Lawyers, Guns and Money.
I'm sure that everyone's going to dive into this one, but here's my take:
1: Forever. Old brushes almost never get binned, they just get relegated to rubbish jobs once they're knackered.
2: Brush cleaner? I use brush soap after every use.
3: My numero uno brush which does 90% the work is still pristine after two years, it's a W&N Series 7 size 1. Other people have had those things for far longer than I have and they still look brand new.
4: Buy the right brush.
Use it for the right jobs - if you drybrush, it will annihilate it. Use funky textured paints? That will kill it too.
Only use the tip only for carrying and applying paint - don't dip the thing in the paint and let it get up to the ferrule - that will kill the brush.
I try to use poorer brushes for washes, simply because it's so thin that it wicks right up the bristles.
Mine have some issues, I want to compare how other people do. I don't know if I am doing it right, so I asked how other people do theirs.
At Games Workshop, we believe that how you behave does matter. We believe this so strongly that we have written it down in the Games Workshop Book. There is a section in the book where we talk about the values we expect all staff to demonstrate in their working lives. These values are Lawyers, Guns and Money.
Grot 6 wrote: Tell me how you take care of your brushes....
My fancy expensive brushes get tender treatment, not clogged or mashed during use, washed in cold water (hot damages the glue down in the ferrule, or so I was informed) with brush soap, and carefully pointed and dried.
My cheap gakky brushes that're going to hook and fishtail anyway get a swill around the jam jar.
Grot 6 wrote: Tell me how you take care of your brushes....
My fancy expensive brushes get tender treatment, not clogged or mashed during use, washed in cold water (hot damages the glue down in the ferrule, or so I was informed) with brush soap, and carefully pointed and dried.
My cheap gakky brushes that're going to hook and fishtail anyway get a swill around the jam jar.
Which is which often depends on 'whose brushes'.
He is asking what brand your brushes were. Probably also whether they are natural hair or synthetic.
Grot 6 wrote: I have issue with my brush cleaner/ cleaning my brushes to keep them crisp points, and the paint on the base of the brushs.
1. How long do you keep your brushes for?
Forever pretty much. Once they're no longer good for painting I use them for other stuff.
If you're asking how long do they stay good for painting, my current workhorse #2 brush I probably painted 200-ish miniatures before it started to lose its tip, but it's still a decent brush and I still use it for non-detail work.
It's just a cheap Kolinsky sable brush (not a W&N or anything, just a cheap brand about half the price called "creative models").
2. Do you use Brush Cleaner/ Restorer?
No, I use a bar of regular hand soap. You need to use some sort of soap, hand soap seems to work for me. I recommend the bars rather than the liquid soap.
3. How long is the shelf life of a Brush before its time to drop it?
Never heard of a brush having a shelf life ("shelf life" usually means time sitting on the shelf not being used)?
4. What are your tips on keeping your brushes and giving them an extra few minutes to live?
Just the typical things. Wash it with soap at the very least at the end of a painting session, perhaps during the painting session if I let it get too claggy or let paint get too far up the bristles. Don't leave it point down in your water jar. Change your washing water frequently. I just store my brushes on their side.
Buy Kolinsky brushes for your main brushes, they last longer.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/02/28 14:47:27
Tbh, I would not bother take too much care for cheap synthetic brushes. No matter what amount of care you give them they turn to crap soon or later. For my Citadel and some sable brushes I have I use this:
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/02/28 14:46:54
My oldest brush is about 20 years old, and is still okay, due to taking care of it with brush soap and such. (I spent $20 on it, so I was going to make sureI did everything right).
About two or three years ago, the bristles started splitting when I painted with it, so I think the glue in the ferrule is wearing out, but $20 for 15 years of good service is a pretty cost efficient investment.
"-Nonsense, the Inquisitor and his retinue are our hounoured guests, of course we should invite them to celebrate Four-armed Emperor-day with us..." Thought for the Day - Never use the powerfist hand to wipe.
