Paint Brush - Fix a Curved Tip???

[Corwin the Confused]

I am having a problem with my brushes. I am very careful when I select my brushes that they have a very good point. However, as I use them the very tip of the brush starts to curve. The brush still has a fairly good point but the curve is annoying.

My brushes that started out good turn into the brush on the far right of the lower right pic on page 355, here:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/17758323/CMON-...ting-Guide

When I use my brushes, I do not scrub with them. When I rinse the paint off, I do not drop them in the water pot. When I am finished, I wash them off with brush soap. I make sure they have a good point and store them flat so that the tip touches nothing.

I have heard that you can straighten them in hot water if they are synthetic or linseed oil or hair conditioner if they are natural.


Anyone else have this issue? Is there a remedy?

 

[Coneman]

Every nylon, taklon or other synthetic brush I have tried get a curled tip after a few strokes. They do say dipping them in boiling water for a few seconds straightens them but I never had any luck with it.

Its worth paying the extra for good quality kolinsky sable brushes as they dont curl and looked after last a long time.
I have also got some red sable brushes that have been quite good too, although they dont last as long as the kolinsky ones.

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by Corwin the Confused
Anyone else have this issue? Is there a remedy?

Buy a different type of brush. Sable and Kolinsky don\'t exhibit this problem.

You seem to indicate though that you\'re getting this with natural-hair brushes too, is that right? If so what type?

If you do a search though you\'ll see that there are a few threads on hooked tips and a few people (myself included) think that these can actually be useful, you just need to think of them a little differently to the original shape.

As far as remedies go, dipping in hot water can help a bit but it\'s not a solution in my experience, and bottom line you want a pointed round that keeps that point. Conditioning natural-hair brushes is worth doing periodically, not for this but just because it\'ll help extend the life of the bristles.

Originally posted by Corwin the Confused
I am having a problem with my brushes. I am very careful when I select my brushes that they have a very good point.

Do you test them wet? Good suppliers will allow this and it\'s the only way to ensure you\'re buying a brush that has a good point when wet.

Originally posted by Coneman
Every nylon, taklon or other synthetic brush I have tried get a curled tip after a few strokes.

Ditto.

The exception is with larger rounds (like 4-8) but they\'re not really the same shape, since they tend to have a blunter, rounder tip and not a true point.

Einion

 

[airhead]

What type / brand / model brushes are you getting?

I\'ve had some of my good sable brushes for over 15 years and they are still usable.

Yes, they are expensive compaired to the $1 wal-mart stuff, but over the life of the bursh, they are much cheaper to use.

Brands to consider:
Winsor & Newton (W&N) Series 7\'s
Rosemary (not sure of the line....)

Reaper Black Handle brushes (not quite as good, but very good compaired to everything else out there.)

 

[freakinacage]

enjoy your bendy brush:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/article/aid/154

 

[Corwin the Confused]

I knew there was an artivle like that.

I searched google for an hour. I even searched \"Fun with a Bendy Brush\" and \"Fun with a Bendie Brush\". Google Fail!

Thanks for the link!

 

[Sjakkie]

Be careful dipping paintbrushes in water too warm. The heat might melt any glue used to better hold together the bristles within the ferule of the brush. Seperate \'hairs\' might become loose and fall out.

Best advice was: buy new brushes, and use these for simple preparatory work. Some people like the \'springyness\' of synthetics over the \'smoothness\' of natural kolinsky bristles. There is variety in that category as well though. Have your local art materials dealer inform you. (as long as he knows what he\'s talking about)