Two questions.

[bakalla]

Hi all,

I got two topics at once for you.

Question one: What brand of brushes do you use, and how long do they normally last? I have been using citadel\'s brushes, they cost me about $5 and they don\'t last very long. I estimate that they are worn out after 5-10 hours of continous painting, maximum. I might be a bit rough with my brushes, but anyway. I\'ve been buying a lot of new brushing but none seem to be of very good quality. I have also tried another brand called Dekorima, but they are even worse (and more expensive).

Question two: I tried Vallejo Game colours for the first time today. I guess most of you have tried them too. I love them! But my question is, do they contain a lot of oil? They seem to be very oily to me, compared to Citadel colours and other acrylic-colours i\'ve tried so far. So.. lots of oil in Vallejo\'s colours? Or is it only me?

Have a nice day :bouncy:

-bakalla/Hakan

 

[Tuubje]

answer 1: white brands brushes, no particular brand = dirt-cheap, but I usually do about 4 weeks of intensive painting with them.


Answer 2: It\'s you

Naah, just kidding, no idea actually

 

[supervike]

hello!

1. I buy all kinds of brushes from GW to cheap nylon ones. The ones I have really like are the Winsor & Newton series 7. They have lasted me longer and kept their points better than most others. I paid about 7.50 (american) each for them, but it was well worth the investment.

2. I could be wrong, but i don\'t think it is oil that you are having trouble with. I don\'t know the technical term but I have noticed in my Vallejo paints that the pigment seperates from the \'other stuff\' (which looks like oil). You really need to shake, shake, and shake vallejo paints. I even bought a little bag of small plastic beads and drop one into each bottle as an agitator.

I could be wrong on this, and if I am a fellow \'poster\' will correct me soon enough!!lol

 

[slidedog]

I\'ll take a shot

Answer 1: If you want cheap go to Michael\'s and try some different brushes. I have some (I\'m not at my bench) that use a synthetic I think, they have yellow tan bristles and green shaft, they last fairly well and I like how they act. They also carry red sable brushes that aren\'t too bad but are pretty cheap. If you want the best go to a real art store and buy Windsor Newton series 7, very expensive ($13-17 US) but they are awesome, last well and lay down paint the best.

Answer 1 a: Get used to it you are going to burn through brushes, just one of the expenses of the hobby, but I have to tell you I haven\'t had great luck with GW brushes.

Answer 2: Oily??? Make sure you shake the crap out of those bottles! They definately seperate after they sit a while, and even bang them down on a table to get the liquid out of the tip as well. What you may be experiencing is what I did, these paints actually have the right amount of liquid in them unlike GW after you\'ve left it open while you paint for a few hours. Play with them a bit, you don\'t have to thin as much and I\'ll bet you like them!

 

[slidedog]

Dang!

Supervike, where the heck are you getting WN Series 7 for seven bucks? I won\'t paint with anything else if I can get them for that price. Please let me know!!!
???

 

[slidedog]

OOPS!

Didn\'t notice you were in Sweden, That whole Michael\'s thing is probably not worth a hill of beans to you, but try a lot of brushes, go to an art store and try a variety, different ones hold up to different uses better, it\'s worth the experimants! Good luck I hope you find your hol grail brush!

 

[bakalla]

Originally posted by supervike
1. The ones I have really like are the Winsor & Newton series 7.

2. I could be wrong, but i don\'t think it is oil that you are having trouble with. I don\'t know the technical term but I have noticed in my Vallejo paints that the pigment seperates from the \'other stuff\' (which looks like oil). You really need to shake, shake, and shake vallejo paints. I even bought a little bag of small plastic beads and drop one into each bottle as an agitator.

1: I see.. I\'m sure i can find that brand of brushes somewhere, and i\'ll try them Are you from Sweden, Supervike? If so, which store do you buy those brushes in?

2: Yeah i think you\'re right, i guess i didn\'t shake them enough. Thanks! But how the hell did you get a small plastic bead inside that tiny opening in the bottle?!

 

[supervike]

replies....

@slidedog

Try this link http://www.dixieart.com/FineArts/Winsor_and_Newton_Series_7_and_707_Brushes.html

They are listed for 7.70 each. That is where I got mine! It looks like they have gone up in price slightly since I last ordered. I remember getting three brushes 000,00, and 0 and paid less than 25 bucks (including shipping)

@bakalla

Nope, I am in the United States, but I am sure most fine art stores either carry them or could get them...

I put the plastic beads (which are about a quarter the size of a marble) by popping off the eye dropper top. I was worried that it would keep popping off when I squeeze the bottle, but it went back on and sealed nicely.

GOOD LUCK!!

 

[Lurch]

I try to stay with Golden Taklon brushes.
My makers of choice have been Windsor Newton, or Royal for a slightly cheaper product.
Sable,or natural brushes work great, but wear out too easy and dont hold their tips very long. I have also had a problem with shedding from natural sable bristles.
Regular Nylon brushes hold their tip but are not as flexible as the Golden Taklon, and they tend to leave a more noticable brush stroke on the mini.
Also get yourself a good brush cleaner. This is a must! I use a brand called Pink Soap.
And Never let the ferrul of the brush touch paint. If you get any on or near the ferrul, clean it right away. It\'ll make your brushes last longer, and your tip wont separate as fast.

I also use beads as agitators, for my Vallejo colors, but I prefer to use Glass or rock beads as they are heavier, and less shaking is required.

 

[bakalla]

Originally posted by Lurch
Also get yourself a good brush cleaner. This is a must! I use a brand called Pink Soap.

A brush cleaner? What is that? I use a regular cup and normal water.. what is Pink Soap?

 

[Lurch]

Brush Cleaners and Conditioners are products made to clean and prolong the life of your brushes. The cleaners will remove alot more paint product tahn what regular water does.
There are many brands out on the market for the professional painter.
Pink Soap Is one.
Some others include:

• Chromacolor
• Ugly Dog
• Masters

And a ton of others are out there.
You can read more about the importance of a good brush cleaner and conditioner on WetCanvas.com

 

[tooshy]

Wears the soap.....

Hi Bakalla

There are several specialist brush cleaners on the market. Basically, they ensure that almost every scrap of paint that may be trapped in the bristles, esp near the ferrule, is removed. As Lurch mentioned, if you let paint build up under the ferrule (the metal bit that the bristles are connected to) it will splay out the bristles and you\'ll loose the nice sharp point. Plus some of the soaps have a conditioner in them, which help keep the natural bristles nice and happy

I\'m about to try the W&N Series 7 brushes - I\'ve just had a mega clean-out of my brushes (see another post for photographic evidence!) and I\'m expecting big things. I just know as soon as I use them I\'m gonna start scoring 10\'s and very soon......I\'ll take over the world.....muuaahhhahhaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol

 

[bakalla]

Great, thanks a lot. I never figured water was inadequate for cleaning the brushes, but yeah.. i\'m sure those brush-cleaning things are much more efficient

Thanks, and thanks a lot for the links!

 

[tooshy]

Too late....

Damn, that offer for the W&N Series 7 is no longer available...... but they still have the brushes available at $7. Goodness only knows what the special deal was! lol

 

[finn17]

I think all the best advice has been given...

However, one thing that might be worth mentioning is that, although the glass bead idea works fine, I like to use the lead scrap I trim off from my minis.

Two reasons:

1) The heavier it is, the better it works.

and..

2) It\'s recycling. Why buy glass beads when you tend to throw away lead scrap.

I have noticed that a lot of the minis I have bought in the last 12 months have such dynamic poses that there are lots of \'feeders\' that can be cut off and popped into a pot of paint....

Make life easier and score yourself a \'Brownie Point\'

 

[wightzombie]

i could swore sweden was right next to iowa vike. maybe im thinking wisconsin.

anyway i use usually whatever i happen to be around at the time brush wise. if im in a gamestore then i get those, if im at aron brothers art store i get those. and usually just the pointiest near cheapest brushes around. for cleaning i use water and a most colorfull sock for drying them. if hairs in the brush split i cut em and keep usin the brush. evil pratice it is.

 

[bakalla]

toshy: No problem.. there is an artstore where i live, that i know have stuff from W&N, so i\'m sure i can get their brushes there. I\'ll give them a try

finn17: So, let me get this straight. You cut a small piece of metal off a miniature and put it inside the Vallejo paint bottles? To make the paint mix better when you shake the bottles?

wightzombie: Eh.. the Sweden that i live in, is in Europe

 

[finn17]

Why not...

Originally posted by bakalla
finn17: So, let me get this straight. You cut a small piece of metal off a miniature and put it inside the Vallejo paint bottles? To make the paint mix better when you shake the bottles?

Close..I don\'t cut a piece off deliberately to act as a stirrer.

Thing is, as I prepare my minis inevitably end up with a big box of cut-off pieces.
(I occasionally cast my own pieces and I also recycle anything \'lead\' as fishing weights).

Just as a matter of practice, I found that the discarded pieces from minis made great stirrers.

I could be a lone loony in the darkness, but I thought that this was generally accepted practice???

Yours truly...

The lone loony...:duh:

 

[tooshy]

Update

Bakalla - still check out the link \'cos I\'ve updated my posting earlier. The brushes are available for $7 which is a good price.

Re what Finn was saying - on some figures there are \'spare\' bits of metal that sometimes support legs or arms if they are in a dynamic pose etc and these are the bits you cut off. I had visions of you cutting off important bits of your models, no offence meant if you already knew this

 

[bakalla]

finn17: I see.. thanks. I will give it a try, just to make you appear less loony