Brush brands

[Richard Bingham]

Originally Posted by Julie Deane

Even Trekell isn't perfect . . .

Gosh, I hope I didn't give the impression I thought they were. Truth is, thebest brushes now available are a sorry lot compared to what was available even 20 years ago.

I'll pass along these tips for brush care, knowing some may disagree, and others will have their own "cures".

1. After a painting session, thoroughly rinse your brushes in kerosene . Yeah, it stinks. It's also a mild solvent that is the most penetrating, and is excellent for dissolving the oils, resins and varnishes commonly used in oil painting. MS, OMS are OK, but not as penetrating, beware harsh solvents like lacquer thinner, acetone, or "hotter" solvents such as xylene or commercial reducers.

2. Immediately wash your brushes in tepid water with a good castile soap. Kirk's, or Ivory are good, I like Fels-Naptha. Some of the "special" brush soaps sold by art supply makers are also very good, especially SP's "Ugly Dog".

3. Work lather into the heel of the brush. The best way is to grab the tip of the brush hairs, and gently rotate the ferrule. This cleans paint and residues from the heel of the brush, where buildup eventually ends up splaying the hairs and ruining the action.

4. Squeeze the water from the brush, and use a thick, pasty conditioner, the kind they advertise on TV for beautiful, lustrous hair and healing split ends, and re-shape the brush to its original form.

5. Put the brushes in a jar or vase bristles-up to air-dry.

Bill whitaker advised the use of hair conditioners at his workshop in Scottsdale last April, and since then, I've found it to be really, really good for my brushes. Naturally, conditioner isn't going to do synthetic hair any good . . .

[Julie Deane]

That's okay, Richard. That's not what I meant.

Escoda brushes are luscious too and appear to be of very high quality. Wish I could afford more of them.

[Sharon Knettell]

Richard,

Thank-you again for your valuable technical information. You are a gem.

However you make me feel guilty about how I treat my brushes, I should be brought up on cruelty charges.

I am also a brush junkie. There are brushes you have not mentioned. The Raphaels.

They have a series 8772 filbert brush, which they call Kevrin. I think it is mongoose, whatever. It is not as soft as a sable, which is too floppy, and not as rough as a bristle. It can make quite a sharp edge and is really great for the more delicate facial areas. They are quite reasonable as well.

The second brush in my repertoire is the fabulous bristle series 3577. It is a short filbert. It is a straightened bristle, no curves on the end. It gives you great control on the larger areas.

For more swishy areas, I love the 3577, also a straightened bristle filbert but longer. It also has great control, but filled with paint it is great for those dashing and virtuoso effects we long for.

They are great and reliable workhorses.

I get them at the www.italianartstore.com

[Marcus Lim]

I was just wondering if anyone use the "Ferrari of paintbrushes" - the Da Vinci brand brushes? I came across them while travelling Down Under, and they cost a whopping 50 bucks for a large size 12 brush!
I wonder if they are really as good as the price hyped up to be...

[Gary Hoff]

I got similar information as Michelle did from Bill Whitaker years ago, and I've happily used Trekkel sables. The bristle brushes I've had from them are serviceable but tend to deform rather more than I'd expect.

In my experience Silver Brush makes good bristles--I've been using those for perhaps 5 years and have never had a problem with splaying, loss of hairs, or deformity. But I hasten to add that I've not purchased new bristles from them in a long while. Instead I've used their Ruby Satin line of synthetics--they're smooth to use, easier to clean than natural hair, and wear down very slowly.

Dunno much about da Vinci or Raphael brushes.

I was taught the same brush care tips as Rich was, btw.

[Sharon Knettell]

I wasn't aware that DaVinci was considered the Ferrari of paint brushes. They do not seem to have an extensive line of bristles.

I have both the Silver Brush and the Raphaels. I prefer the Raphaels as they give me more control and their bristle filberts come in long and short.

I don't like the dratted curvy ends of the Silver Brushes, the Raphaels are boiled and straightened.

Try the Raphael Kevrins for skin, it is the best for that purpose that I have found.

[Richard Bingham]

Originally Posted by Sharon Knettell

I wasn't aware that DaVinci was considered the Ferrari of paint brushes . . .

I just received three "experimental" series 5026 DaVinci's, (extra long 24" handles) and now I'm not only not aware, but unconvinced . . . unless Ferraris have slipped to the quality level of a used Chevrolet while my back was turned. (!)

Once again, as I've found European-made brushes, the bristle seems to be good quality, two of the three brushes I ordered show the hairs were cupped from curving bristle, and are interlocking. Then they trim off the flags, squaring up the end of the brush, ruining the hairs !!! (dammit!)

Although the handles are "raw", they are nicely shaped, and the ferrules and crimp are above reproach. Why don't the Euros seem to understand the value of flagged hairs ??

I may attempt to rectify this problem, experimenting on the near-unusable brushes from other sources . . . more anon.

[Richard Bingham]

Originally Posted by Gary Hoff

I was taught the same brush care tips as Rich was, btw.

Yeah, but I learned 'em even though I was in the "slow" group!

Re/ Raphael . . . are those Frenchies? Several years ago, I ordered some French made brushes from NY Central, on the recommendation of a friend. They cost about half again as much as top-tier brushes I was buying at the time . . . when I received 'em, I was appalled to see that while they seemed well made, the bristles had been trimmed at the tips! They were next to useless, except perhaps for daubing paint remover, or at the lathe for a chip brush. (We're still friends, in spite of this . . .)

Good natural bristle brushes use carefully selected hairs that have "split ends", i.e., they are "flagged". The hairs have a slight natural curve, and it's the master brush-maker's craft to assemble (cup) an amount of hair properly arranging them to form the tip of the brush before tying off and hafting.

Recently, in a vainglorious quest for brushes with longer handles, I ordered some brushes represented to be hand-made (there's really no other way) in the UK in a sort of "cottage industry" situation, presumeably to ensure very high quality. Same thing . . . clipped ends.
Is this a European "thing", or what?

[Gary Hoff]

Originally Posted by Richard Bingham

:...natural bristle brushes use carefully selected hairs that have "split ends", i.e., they are "flagged". The hairs have a slight natural curve, and it's the master brush-maker's craft to assemble (cup) an amount of hair properly...

I've had similar experiences, Rich. I don't know why that clipping business happens but my hunch is that its because they either use a lower quality bristle, or perhaps they're using the cut ends of other bristles (the tips already having been used), or they simply don't know any better.

As I understand it, the reason why the flags are so desireable is because they add to the volume of paint the bristles will hold when the brush is charged.