Bristling With Enthusiasm

In order to apply paint onto the molten (or plastic) toy soldiers one must use a paint brush.  But, what type of brush should you use?  This depends on the type of paint being used.

Most of my brushes are purchased from the local craft shop, A.C. Moore in my case, where there’s many to choose.  Brushes with small and thin points are a necessity.  Comfort grips on the handles eases the burden on the hand.  Believe me that makes painting unit after unit almost painless.

Cost is also a factor.  Do you buy the high end Kolinsky sable brush or a more affordable economy brush?  There’s no right or wrong answer because it is a matter of taste.  A trip to The Whiz in Westborough resulted in my purchasing an economy Testors brush for the first time.

No matter what I do my brushes quickly wear out.  Most reliable sources will tell you to avoid getting paint in the ferrule (the part where the handle meets the bristles).  That will cause the brush to lose its point.  Brushes should also be stored with the bristles up.
What brushes do you buy and what do you use them for?  Do you have any brush care tips?  We’d love to hear them.

5 Comments on “Bristling With Enthusiasm”

  1. Adrian

    I buy whatever happens to be in stock at Battleground, most often brushes from Citadel or the Army Painter line, they’re pretty good. I don’t buy high end brushes for 2 reasons. One is that my skills don’t rate them and two, no matter what I do, my brushes never last more than a few units.

    No one seems to make the exact brush I want. One with a very fine point, short bristled and stiff. All the fine detail brushes seem to be long bristled and wispy. They suck. IMHO.

    1. Jonathan J. Reinhart Post author

      Last night I bought two Citadel brushes and they were over ten dollars. That’s expensive. Usually, I can buy half a dozen brushes at AC Moore for $15-20 or roughly $2.5 per brush compared to the roughly $5 per brush from Citadel.

      Have you tried the Testors?

      Previously I bought a scroll work brush intending it for detail. You hit the nail on the head. It was very long bristled and wispy.

  2. Cort Naegelin

    I use what ever is at Michaels. I used to use good Samble brushes when the paints where enamel and oils. The acrylics are water base so the natural oils get leached out of the bristels. Oils and Enamels do not do that. Hence the dreaded hook!

    For paints, I preferr Winsor Newton Artist grade and thin them down with water. They have good pigment density which helps when watering them down.

    I also use a sheet of glass for a pallete. I Clean it with a simple window scrapper.

    Cort N

    1. Cort Naegelin

      Oh! for brush sizes. I use the following:

      Sizes 0, 1, 2, 4, 6 12

      I used to use all the 000000 etcs in hte past, but my eyes have not up to that fine a work.

      Cort N

  3. Jonathan J. Reinhart Post author

    Today I purchased a Cotman #1 and #2 plus an 18/0, 5/0, and 3/0 from AC Moore. With tax it was $14.62. That’s a far cry from the $10 I paid for two Citadel brushes.

    A trip to The Whiz yielded a Testor’s detail brush for $1.29 and an Army Painter base coating brush for $3.99.

    Anything larger than a #2 seems almost too big for painting 28mm (or smaller) figures.