Brushes

[hooterville75]

Hey all. What are some decent hand brushes ? Im tired of having brissels of the brush or hairs of the brush come off on my model or parts every time I use a hand brush. Seriously depressing every time this happens. So after spending the money on the Xuron sprue cutters and noticing the difference in quality I would rather spend more money on top of the line quality brushes then spending the $6 bucks for a bulk pack of cheap hairy crappy brushes at Michael's or Walmart. So what brand do you all recommend for quality ? Thanks in advance.

 

[hook1169]

I like the AK brushes, 2-6 bucks each and seem to be good for the acrylics that i am using.

 

[TiM]

You should add what you are painting with and to what detail etc really as a "brush" recommendation is like asking for a "car" recommendation

Personally, I use;

W&N series 16 (might be out of production) sable for acrylics painting miniatures
W&N series 7 for a really fine job, joy to use however very expensive.
I also have Daler Rowney synthetics and sables for the same.
Pro-Arte reconnaissance sable (red)
Synthetic flat brushes from Pro-Arte - bases, large areas of vehicle basecoats, pigments, scenery.
series 30, 106, 204,

basic choices:
Kolinsky sable - fine quality watercolour brushes, most expensive, best performance
"red" sable - (the 16's above) actually suirrel fluff.
semi-synthetic - blend of fibres to reduce price, still reasonable quality if the synth are taperered
synthetics - some people like them and don't like animal products,...

other bits of tat for other stuff.

;D

 

[spud]

I use Winsor & Newton series 7 sizes 000 to 2

The mig brushes are better than the ak ones I think so you could try them, a set of w&n bushes will set you back 60+ but worth e ery penny

 

[TiM]

Hi there Spud,

can you give a perspective on the model size vs brush size?

I've gone through the whole spectrum as a miniature painter since I was 16yrs old, cheaper synthetic, sable, kolinsky sable, small, larger, etc, etc....

Many people I've encountered on forums and in reality(GW Shop) particularly less experienced painters (miniatures) tend towards smaller is better philosophy.

I've been there, it isn't always. I don't paint with anything smaller than a no.2, and usually just a no.4 series 16.
The important factor for me is the quality of point on a brush, also a larger body brush can 'hold' a nice amount of paint and not dry out when trying to do small details.

 

[scaledale]

The first thing I did when I got back into modeling was to use and then toss Testors brushes. I went to an art and craft shop, Michael's in my area, and got a set of mid price sable brushes marked as either oil or general medium. Don't use watercolor brushes (I don't know why). They cost between $3 and $5 each and are a really good upgrade.

ScaleDale

 

[andrei383]

i use the Mig Abteilung Synthetic brushes for hand painting my vehicles, however, for figures, i just got a set of Winsor and Newton Series 7 brushes.

for vehicles i have a range from size 5/0 to 6 (and for figures i have a 2/0, 0, and 1.

and then for weathering and other heavy effects, i use some cheap/bulk brushes in varying types.

one thing i recommend is to get The Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver. its a fantastic product to clean and lengthen the life of your brushes!

btw, in response to scaledale, where did you hear that watercolor crushes shouldnt be used? the Winsor and Newton Series 7 are watercolor brushes but because us modellers usually use paints thinned to a light consistency, these brushes are recommended by many.

 

[dkev]

When I bought my Vellejo game color paint set, it came with 3 brushes. They are awesome. I use those more then anything. I hear Citadel are choice brushes as well.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Harder & Steenbeck have a nice set of brushes as well. Pack of 5 brushes, all Red Sable Spotter brushes in, 0, 2/0, 3/0, 5/0, and 10/0, about $25 for the pack....not bad really, $5 a brush. They also make the same sizes in a synthetic brush as well.

I have a bunch of different brushes I use, but for fine work, I actually prefer to use a liner brush vs a spotter brush. Don't know what it is, it is almost like I can control the brush alot better, able to do some really fine work that I just can't do with a similar size spotter brush.

 

[spud]

Hey Tim i Mainly use them for Figure work and mostly use size 0 00 and 000 the others i havent use very much but i will use them to lay down my base coat.

For weathering i use the Mig and AK brushes. the AK flat bushes are pretty good, for pigment i use cheap bushes that should never see paint.

 

[Glorfindel]

I have used Grumbacher, Windsor Newton, and even cheapo Michaels brand brushes in modeling. I will tell you this though in all my years as a traditional artist and painter it is best to keep separate sets of brushes for all of your media. What I mean is to have a set for oils, a set for acrylics, a set for enamels, and a set for lacquers. And definitely a set for pastel weathering and a dedicated liner brush for pin washing. Once a brush is used on one media it is forever loyal to that one media. If you use it on cross over media, ex...acrylic to oil, then the cleaning process changes from water/alcohol to turpentine/turpenoid. This will rapidly destroy the bonding agent inside the ferrule as it is not used to multiple solvents and hairs will fall out. You'll notice when you go to the store to buy brushes at Michaels, Pearl, or even Blick that the brushes are listed by media. The departments their in are usually posted as oil/acrylic or water color/gauche. That signage does not mean one brush for both medias but rather one brush for one media or the other! That is a huge difference. Then you will see some brushes specific to acrylics or oils only. (same for water colors/gauche/inks etc...)

"The Masters" Brush Cleaner and Preserver is excellent for cleaning all sorts of junk from your brushes.
http://www.dickblick.com/products/the-masters-brush-cleaner-and-preserver/

My art teacher way back in high school used to tell me "Anthony, a good set of brushes should last a life time if you take care of them properly." I've got some brushes still in pretty good condition from way back when. And that was before the abacus was invented.

 

[hooterville75]

Im just looking for a universal set of brushes that when I need to brush paint something I have a set of brushes that rise to the occasion. Not leave stupid hairs all over the piece Im painting or clear coating with Future (the case the other night). A universal set of brushes (knowing to have a different set for Acrylics vs Enamels is valuable), for anything weather it be a body, miniature, car part, plane part, ANYTHING. All sizes.

 

[MrNatural]

Check out the AK Interactive brushes. They are really nice and handle acrylic and enamel really well. The best part they are very easy on the wallet. I've had no issues with with the bristles falling out onto my models.

 

[spud]

the AK Flat brushes and the Mig brushes are really good, The AK round ones aint so good i think

 

[hooterville75]

I seen the Base-ix brushes that Les had on awesome paint job but they are $60 for five or six different sizes as a set and like $10 a brush. Seem like excellent brushes but a bit spendy. Then I stop and think I really only need about three or four different sizes for everything. I just want a good set of brushes in case I need to brush paint anything. Im going to look into all mentioned and see what the wallet affords come time to buy them. If I have to buy one at a time verses a set or all sizes needed it so be it.

 

[andrei383]

If I have to buy one at a time verses a set or all sizes needed it so be it.

well for me, i started with just a basic set of sizes and slowly built up my collection. usually i add 2 or so brushes to an online order to get free shipping. one thing i did too was gather up all my loose change and picked up a few brushes that way ;D