Brush care and storage

[Cranky Dog 30816]

3 hours ago, Cyradis said:

 

The amount of moisture on a damp brush isn't really going to be affected by gravity. The risk of plonking them on their tip is worse than storing them upright. Best to rinse well, blot them to not be wet-wet, and either tip-up, or laid on their sides.

 

I was thinking the same thing.

 

Capillary effects like to ignore the laws of gravity and do their own thing. Pointed up or down won't make much of a difference with the brush sizes we tend to use.

[MojoBob 3698]

2 hours ago, haldir said:

 

 

 

These spring brush holders are fine for one or two brushes, but any more than that and they have a nasty habit of sproinging your brush across the room.

[ced1106 5651]

Jackson Arts occasionally has a brush sale, so get on their mailing list. Mebbe Rosemary and Company also has one.

 

To preserve my high-end brushes, I use low-end ones! (: They're fine for priming, basecoating, and especially metallics and washes. You can get cheap ones on Amazon, and some come with plastic sleeves for brushes.

 

You can also dip the brush in Pink Soap or conditioner after use, and let the conditioner dry on the brush. When you rinse the brush before painting, the rinse water picks up the soap, which helps clean the brush and reduce surface tension while painting -- maybe. 

[cmorse 1112]

2 hours ago, Cranky Dog said:

I was thinking the same thing.

 

Capillary effects like to ignore the laws of gravity and do their own thing. Pointed up or down won't make much of a difference with the brush sizes we tend to use.

 

This is the sort of thing I'm sure some has actually tested and done a youtube video about since it get argued often enough. Anyone have a link?

[ManvsMini 13369]

1 hour ago, cmorse said:

3 hours ago, Cranky Dog said:

I was thinking the same thing.

 

Capillary effects like to ignore the laws of gravity and do their own thing. Pointed up or down won't make much of a difference with the brush sizes we tend to use.

 

This is the sort of thing I'm sure some has actually tested and done a youtube video about since it get argued often enough. Anyone have a link?

 

No youtube link, and I never bothered to see if anyone has tested this. However, science principles come into play here:

• Capillary action works better on narrower tubes/fibers (look at different diameter straws sitting in water, eventually the water will go higher in the narrower straw over the same time period).
• This is all due to two important properties of water: adhesion (how water sticks to other things) and cohesion (how water sticks to other water molecules). The narrower the fiber, the stronger the cohesive force of water, and the adhesive forces must be strong on the "tube", ergo it can resist the force of gravity (science soap box: law of gravity is never ignored, simply overcome due to Newton's 2nd Law).

So, since capillary action works better on narrower fibers/hair/diameter, any water in it would actually travel further up the bristles towards the ferrule. Now, regular water generally isn't going to ruin your ferrule or the glue; it'll evaporate long before it does any damage, so no harm really in how you store it. But if you don't clean it well (i.e. leave paint or soap in the water) anything in the water will travel past the belly of the brush (where we want water when we paint) to the ferrule and dry there. If paint dries there, it takes up space from the tightly packed bristles, and forces them apart inside the ferrule (dried soap there will do it too); enough paint accumulation really splays the bristles out, ruining the brush's ability to hold a point, and decreasing it's lifetime.

 

Bottom line: clean the brush and store it so nothing but plain water gets up in the ferrule.

 

Edit: worth noting that the diameter I am referring to is of the actual bristle in the brush, not of the actual size of the brush (i.e. size 0 vs size 2, not that). Fiber/hair diameter and water adhesion properties varies in animals, which is why some hair is better than others for brushes (i.e. hog hair vs sable).

Edited November 13, 2020 by ManvsMini
dang typos

[Glitterwolf 202439]

Here is my solution with pics this time.

Works great.

I store it lying down.

 

 

[MoonglowMinis 2348]

I really need to get into some better brush cleaning habits.  I paint in such sporadic bursts with so many starts and stops that sometimes I go over a month without cleaning my brushes :x

 

It just feels like it's not worth it to pull out the cleaners when I only use the brush for an hour.  But those hours add up... 

[TGP 74401]

23 hours ago, Auberon said:

If you search Blick you should be able to find some solutions for vertical storage.  Like this, except you would likely find it harder to clamp the brush hanger to a mini.  I've also seen spring versions.

 

If you want to reuse the plastic sleeves, just keep in mind that you can actually damage the bristles if you aren't paying attention.

I could not see the picture @Auberon linked. I decided to go hunting. I think [?] it was this:

 

https://images.ctfassets.net/f1fikihmjtrp/15Rn9mvkaXkTnKjxqUqnm5/1baabe019b3a95a37d943c79bab5b8f9/03377-1002-2-4ww.jpg

 

Edited November 13, 2020 by TGP

[Auberon 15295]

Indeed.  If someone went this route they'd obviously want the table mount, but it is likely more than a hobby accessory level expenditure for some. 

[TGP 74401]

Now that I have seen the picture, a DIY version, using only materials I already have on hand, is starting to coalesce in my head. 
 

I am seeing it as an exploded drawing...

 

 

 

 

(...wondering if I should switch houses from Tabletop to Frogwarts.)