I bought an okay set on Amazon for 9 bucks and they get the job done but they all have a hair or two sticking out the top and after just a bit of use are seemingly permanently curving downwards a bit. They also seem to like splitting down the center, making detailing without a relatively large glob of paint on the brush next to impossible. I take good care of them (at least I think I am) but am hoping to soon get something better.
What kind of detail brushes would you recommend?
Windsor and Newton Series 7. I choked on the price years ago but they are fantastic brushes that hold their point
I believe they are sable brushes so i clean them, and give a little spit twist and they are ready for next time.
I get most of my paint brushes from a local art store, all Windsor & Newton, can’t remember what series. They are more expensive, starting at £3 for the smallest ones and going up as they get bigger, but its deffinetly worth investing in decent brushes.
How do YOU clean them? I use water and gently swirl them around in Masters Brush Cleaner.
You guys aren’t the first I’ve seen say that Winsor & Newton is the way to go so I guess I’ll just need to grab me one. Thanks!
I have several different pots for cleaning brushes. For enamels and oils i have 2 with white spirits and one with water. For acrylics i just have 2 with water.
I swish them through lacquer thinner and dry and give them the spit twist. I used to use brush soap, but given they are natural sable, i find the spit twist works great.
Ammo of Mig brushes are half the price as W&N and work just as well. The old Mig line- Abteilung 502, are also great brushes. All found on EBay
For really fine lines and small detail I use the end of one of those double ended, sharp toothpicks.
I shake the paint bottle, and remove the cap and lay it on the bench upside down. There is usually than a consistent thickness of paint in the cover. I then dip the tip of the toothpick in it and begin painting. The toothpick end does not hold much paint, so you have to dip it frequently for longer lines. Thus this technique is only good for shorter lines or for spot or small daub areas.
So, having gone through this myself not too long ago, I feel the need to comment. I had tried to use all different manner of sythetic bristle brushes to ill effect, everything from W&N down to the cheapest of the cheap. What I learned, don’t use synthetic brushes, they all do exactly what you describe. The bristles flay out quickly, and within one use, the tip of the finer brushes begin to curve downward…which, admittedly, is sometimes useful in certain applications.
That being said, you don’t need to go out and blow 15 bucks on a single 000 brush. If you have an art shop, like a Blick, go to their Fine Red Sable Masterstroke line. You can get a red sable(albeit not Kolinsky sable) 000 brush for about 3-5 dollars. I’ve found they work great. The tip stays pointy, and it doesn’t curve downward.
So, the moral of the story, always go for sable, never go for synthetic.
Edit: apparently I can’t use the full name of Blick Art Shops, due to the first name being the d-word.
I plan on keeping the ones I got specifically because the curved tip does make reaching small details a bit easier.
I’ve had good results for cockpit details, etc, with Masters Touch line, 10/0 round and spotter from Hobby Lobby for 4-5 each.
Tamiya brushed have worked great for me. Much better than a generic set I bought from Amazon for $14. I have one of their proII modelling brush on order.
If you’re going to spend that much money on a Tamiya brush you might just as well spend the same amount on a Winsor & Newton Series 7 brush.
I was quite lucky when I ordered a W&N Seriers 7 (00) brush from Amazon as the person in the shipping dept. sent me a packet of THREE for the price of one!
W&N cotman line are a bit cheaper sable brushes I use the 222 riggers they have a longer point and are great for detail painting figures.
These are what I use. I love 'em, this is not my first set I’ve bought! You can see they come in 5-0, 10-0, and 20-0, perfect for fine detail work, and the bristles hold up really well.
For fine detail work, get sable. Doesn’t have to be Windsor & Newton, necessarily; there are other brands. I’ve got some W&N, some DaVinci, and some other brand. I got mine through Richard Blick (take that, nannybot!), and at artists’ supply stores. But it’s the natural hair that provides the quality. Properly cared for, you’ll be able to get fine points with a natural hair brush, and the brush will last far longer, than with a synthetic brush.
For painting figures with acrylics, I use a Nr 1 and a Nr 2 round. Though the brushes appear too large for fine detailing, they work like fountain pens-the brush holds a reservoir of color, but has a fine tip for applying the color.
For my scale modeling use, I have other sable brushes, with smaller heads, like 0, 10/0, 5/0. I use those with all kinds of paints-acrylics but also enamels and oils.
I clean my brushes with thinner appropriate to the paint-water or isopropyl, with water-based acrylics; mineral spirits, with enamels or oils; also, lacquer thinner, with enamels and oils, when paints has gotten built up in the head during a session. I don’t use any fancy brush cleaners, but I do reshape the points with my fingertips, at the end of cleaning, and I will rub my fingers on my nose to pick up skin oil and then gently rub the bristles, to recoat them. There are products for that, too. I know a French figure painter who uses olive oil, to coat his brushes to preserve them.
Synthetics have their place, too. I have cheap synthetic brushes that I use for utility work, like applying a putty and acetone mixture to a piece, or applying Future, etc.
Thanks guys, lots of good info… overwhelming even, with so many choices! I suppose I’ll just have to try some out and see what I like.