Hi all I do hope someone could help me, for years I have looked for good quality brushes for painting small detail and I have tried various types even citadel one (which I though rubbish, unless it was to 2 I got as the bristles came out), but some of the most excellent modellers on. The forum could suggest a good make for me to get and if possible where from.

Thanks for your help.

Peter

Hi Petpole
Nothing awkward about buying brushes just go to your local artists store like Hobbystore for instance and buy the best you can afford , sable are generally the best and with all brushes be they the cheap ones or expensive ones some shedding of hairs will occur.
Its the cleaning of brushes that is the most important thing to get right as a badly cleaned brush will just clog up and fail quickly. I generally use liquid detergent with acrylics giving the brush a good spread so the cleaning solution fully penetrates the hairs and after a good rinse in clean water to remove the detergent. To make sure all the paint has gone i do this again and after use clean water to set the hairs back in position and then leave to dry naturally.
If the brush was supplied with a plastic tube cover always retain this and store the brush in it ,doing this should let you get a good few years service from a brush . hope this helps
regards
Andy

A tip that I found works well is after cleaning,work a little hair conditioner into the bristles and then rinse thoroughly.This keeps the bristles as soft as when they were new and I have actually had brushes improve with the use of this process.
Kind Regards Nigel

Thanks for all the suggestions, I knew it was going to be a hard subject to answer.
As for cleaning my brushes, as I only use acrylics now days I generally wash them out in clean running cold water, dry them then use a shaving foam dish (the ones you get from wilkos ) with a little water just to get the softness back then another quick rinse in warm water and then wrap them in parchment paper with an elastic band tied round and left to dry on its own accord and also it keeps the shape better.
I know it's a long process but it does work.

Peter

You can use hair conditioner too on the bristles.. Keeps them nice and soft.. Remember to rinse through though

Spencer

Hi Steve,
Any brand which uses Kolinsky Sable are OK. I ordered the Creative Model ones for my most recent ones, because they go down to very small sizes e.g. 10/0 and they have the chunky triangular handles, which are easier to hold. We used Kolinsky Brushes at work as they are considered the finest (in both senses).

For anyone who doesn't know the Kolinsky is a type of weasel (not a sable) that lives in siberia and grows particularly fine fur, because of the very cold temperatures. Only the hair from the tail is considered good enough and real aficionados say that only the male tail will do. Larger watercolour brushes can run into the hundreds of pounds!

Me too triangular handels are more comfertable.