recommended brushes ?

My kingdom for a proper brush...

dear people,

what brushes do you use ?

I bought some rosemary en co's recently and although I am reasonably happy with them, I still struggle with them somehow i.e. detailing, the point of the brush is not what it should be.

there must be some decent brushes out there, without going all winsor & newton and Raphael.

So , please help me out before I go insane :lol: :grin:
 

Tex

Member
Winsor&Newton here, even if I find them a little too "hard" ( when I'm blending or glazing I often must concentrate in order not to carve the already painted surface)
I tried Rosemary&co, but - on the other hand - I found them too soft and - as you say - their point leaves a lot to be desired.
But I grew up using synthetic brushes which didn't last a single mini, so I cant' really complain
 
Hey Tex,

thanks for the info.

You explained it perfectly; they are indeed too soft.

Well I will take the plunge with the winsor and newtons , thanks :) !
 

Fimm McCool

Member
I use Pro Arte 1 to 10-0. They hold their points better and longer than any other brush I have found, are pretty cheap, synthetic and the super-thin ones have nice chunky handles to grip.
 
heya Fimm,

thanks for the reply :)

Never heard of those Pro arte brushes, found a website in the UK with only the descriptions, they have a lot of different brushes, I reckon it's the kolinsky sable series 1 right ? oh I am looking at the wrong brushes, damn, which are the synthetic ones you mentioned ? , want to look into those as well.

thanks and cheers
 

Berkut666

Member
I use Humbrol brushes more out of availability than desire as local shop has them. My old man used them back in the day for model railways and I have always stuck with them.

I have a few of the Army Painter ones too which are good for finer detail stuff
 
heya Berkut,

was wondering about the army painter ones as well, just as basic brushes so to speak.
so you have good experience with those then ?
 

EricF

Administrator
I've been using Daler-Rowney Aquafine recently (a synthetic) in addition to some Winsor & Newton Series7 (and a tonne of random other brushes from who knows where), I'm quite fond of the Aquafine Flat Shader #2. Personally I've never found the Series 7 to be quite as amazing as their reputation, they are nice brushes however. I have a few Pro Arte brushes and they are as I recall quite decent.

I'd wondered about the Rosemary and Co brushes myself, guess a soft tip might be quite useful for blending.
 

Berkut666

Member
Pumpkineater":3ft9tkm6 said:
heya Berkut,

was wondering about the army painter ones as well, just as basic brushes so to speak.
so you have good experience with those then ?

Yes I have. But as I said I only have the fine detail ones (triangle handle) Only tried their brushes as I like their paints! Especially their colour primers.
 

Mophus

Member
I use "Da Vinci" red sable brushes for acrylic paint. I use always brush soap for cleaning. My favorite and most used brushes are almost ten years old now and have still a perfect tip. I recommend to buy brushes in a real store as one can assure to get a brush with a good tip.

Personally I've made only negative experience with synthetic brushes, although I took good care of them. The paint seemed to stick on the brush hair. So they got ruined in a very short time.
 
Thanks Mophus for the brush cleaning soap tip, what brand do you use if I may ask ? and is there a certain way to use the soap ?
thanks :)
 

Mophus

Member
Pumpkineater":1qmwvmvt said:
Thanks Mophus for the brush cleaning soap tip, what brand do you use if I may ask ? and is there a certain way to use the soap ?
thanks :)
I use a da Vinci brush soap, but I think every soap is better then none. First I put the tip in water an clean the brush with a kitchen paper towel. Than I make it wet again and pull the brush hair with careful strokes above the soap surface. I repeat this step until there's no more paint coming out of the brush.

It's surprising how much paint is still left in the brush hair, when a brush was "cleaned" without soap.
 
Mophus":1553eqov said:
Pumpkineater":1553eqov said:
Thanks Mophus for the brush cleaning soap tip, what brand do you use if I may ask ? and is there a certain way to use the soap ?
thanks :)
I use a da Vinci brush soap, but I think every soap is better then none. First I put the tip in water an clean the brush with a kitchen paper towel. Than I make it wet again and pull the brush hair with careful strokes above the soap surface. I repeat this step until there's no more paint coming out of the brush.

It's surprising how much paint is still left in the brush hair, when a brush was "cleaned" without soap.

The main problem I've found with brush soap is that it tastes horrible! :lol:

As for brushes, I must admit, I've gone through many different types at different prices over the years, and always end up going back to GW's own range. They're surprisingly and consistently good.
 
I made an amazing yet disturbing discovery that has changed my brush buying habits, but also guilts me out a bit. How do you feel about farm produced sable? I think its a shame they dont do more free range farms, in general, but you cant argue with the price.

Royal & Langnickel Gold Taklon. Sable, hold their point, nice absorbency/paint load, good firmness. £2.80. for 3. YES< £2.80 FOR 3!!!!

https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/royal--lan ... 61358-1000
https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/royal--lan ... 61357-1000

I use them, they are great. Also, bristles start to bend? NEW BRUSH! Issue with paint in the base? NEW BRUSH! You get 3 in a pack. They are excellent quality, well I would say 4 out of 5. You do occasionally get a duff brush in a pack, and Im sure they are not quite the same handling qualities as a £30 brush. I swear by them and they fulfill all my needs.
 
dieselmonkey":3kk3v9n0 said:
As for brushes, I must admit, I've gone through many different types at different prices over the years, and always end up going back to GW's own range. They're surprisingly and consistently good.

!!!!
 
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