Dude, you videolibrary is the most complete library available about painting miniatures, and is all for free. This should be added to the vault where they put thing for protect from apocalypse type scenarios. Talking seriously I considering saving it all up somewhere just in case, in such a case do I have your permission? Cheers!
Well thank you on both cases, and of course, please save or share the videos however. As long as UA-cam allows me to keep making my video, I am going to keep making videos. :)
Crap. I've been fairly "generous" with the "Drop" of dish soap in my water...perhaps THAT'S why I'm getting paint up into my "ferrel" and ruining my brushes (but they're GREAT for semi-dry, semi-wet brushing on fur and spiky tips now, lol).
The brush cleaner/ preserver is an absolute must if you're going to spend the money for fine sable brushes. The stuff is cheap. Works great and smells good. It will probably more than double the life of the brush. I use it at the end of every session.
I bought an 8404, and with your tips, 3 months later the brush is like new with a very sharp tip still. It’s a good idea to start off with cheaper brushes to familiarize yourself with wAys the tips get ruined.
I did not realize you should be working your brush into the soap itself! I've been trying to scrape a lil wad of my Jen's out and lather it up and just do it by hand. Game changer for me lol
Excellent video, I’d like to share my method if may. I keep a small well pallet on my desk, one well contains OMS the next two contain window cleaning spray (i.e. Mr muscle in UK). When working with oils I swish and wipe in each of these in turn, then in water. If using acrylics I swish in just the window cleaners, then water. Does a great job and in two years I’ve never had to use brush soap. With natural brushes, keep a dropper bottle filled with jojoba oil to hand and put some in your brushes at the end of a session. It’s a non drying oil that will keep any paint in the brush from drying and causing splay, will replenish the oils in the bristles and help keep a good point on your brushes. Make sure you clean the brush at the start of your session using the oms and window cleaner sequence above. I’ve been doing these for two years and in that time have kept my brushes in perfect shape (I paint every single day). Hope some of that’s useful :-)
@@nicabedoshvili4225Hi, For oils I do this between colours since water alone wouldn't work. For acrylics it depends, if I'm using a lot of paint (washing, base coating etc) then I will periodically use this method. If doing fine detail with with paint just on the tip then it's not really necessary.
I also use "The Masters" brush cleaner. However recently I have experimented with scrapping some "brush cleaner bits" and mix them with distilled water in a small jar. The idea is to make a liquidy version of the brush cleaner, with the goal of reducing strain on sable brush hairs. I find it especially useful to reshape the brush points between sessions. If you put a thick soap coat to keep your brush points it put more strain on the hairs to remove the protective coat at the start of your next session.
Great video, to give my brushes that deep clean I use pēbēo brush cleaner, and I find this is great. First time I stuck my brush in the bottle and it stripped the paint of the handle, never did that a6 lol. Now I leave a little in a container and soak the bristles for a little while and rinse then soap like you said, great tips as usual, my go to stuff to keep me going forward thanks for your hard work.
I have one of those brush cleaning tubs from my time in art school that I fill with cold water and liquid pink soap that I will rinse out my brush while working. It has little ridges on the bottom to run the bristles against and shake loose junk. Just don't wanna grind the brush into the ridges obviously lol
I have had that Masters cleaner for years and didn't realize you had to wet the brush a little first! I've also probably ground the brush tip into it too hard and that's why my brushes never look new. I need to sit down for a few hours and watch your vids to figure out what I'm doing wrong.
Any chance you can add this to your beginner's playlist? Walking a friend through getting started and linking all of your "beginner" videos and I feel like this is vital to not initially destroy and burn through all your brushes :)
If you're trying to restore an old brush that you've let pigment go into the ferrule, can you dip the brush into the Winsor Brush Restorer all the way to the ferrule to let it break up any pigment there, or will that cause the brush to further splay by damaging glue in holding the bristles together? I'm not sure if I should be letting the cleaner into the ferrule or keep it to the bristles only. Great video, thank you.
I know this is a 3-year old video but I will try. I have two questions: 1. Would something like Vallejo’s Flow Improver work as a surfactant in the water cup? I can’t find that specific one on Amazon and would like something made for the task (but can resolve to dish soap of course) 2. Should I keep the protective tip cap on? I see very different opinions on whether to keep it for protection or remove it to avoid mold. Thank you in advance, hoping you see this!
Regarding the splaying: I STRONGLY believe that there are W&N brushes out there from a defective production. I caved and got one, when I had money issues and it came, I unpacked it, filled it with water, dipped it in paint and did 1 brush stroke with the paint being not even at the half mark and it was already splayed. Can't even get it working with the repair gel. I posted on the subreddit and everyone was like "paint in the ferrule", but again, this was the first ever brush stroke. Then throughout the following weeks I found several other people writing about it splaying in their first paint session. Sure, some might also be at fault, but the amount of first session splays and my own experience makes me very vary of those brushes now. I since used some rather unknown natural sable brushes from a german store and am happy and have no issues. I'm not saying W&N brushes are bad, since there are a ton of people recommending and loving them, but I think there might be a batch where something just went bad.
I can attest to this as well. About a year ago I ordered a size #1 W&N from Amazon, and for some reason it came with 3 instead of 1. That was exciting at first, but 2 of those were junk right out of the gate. The "good" one of the batch still gets some use but I feel like I need to fix and reshape it more often than any other brush I own.
Yeah, you are absolutely correct. As these are assembled by hand, it can be the case that they don't settle perfectly and you get a split from the glue forming wrong. When that happens, there isn't much you can do unfortunately.
I was wondering about this, too. Didn’t get anything fancy, but picked up some brushes from Reaper labeled as Sable, and both splayed almost immediately. I was taking extreme care with them with regards to paint migration and rinsing/cleaning because they were supposedly sables. I don’t know if I just got really unlucky, or if Reaper brushes are just inferior? Anyways, they’re mixing brushes now.
Another timely and helpful video Vince … I literally ordered the W&N Brush Cleaner *yesterday* to add to the Masterson's I have for a complete cleaning solution. Will look to the surfactant additive - Thanks!
Sadly that Master Brush is impossible to get here for a decent price (with shipping and such), same with the W&N liquid, but I got the unicorn puke or whatever the creature caster one is called and on top of that the greenstuffworld clean and repair gels.
Question: How often /wouldshould you rinse the brush even when not changing colors? I tend to rinse only when switching to another color, which means if a paint a lot with the same color, it stays in the brush for quite some time...
The answer is, probably more than you are, this is one of those things we often do early that can actually cause long term damage. My real answer is every few minutes. You don't want to let the brush get completely dry paint on it.
Im learning so much with these videos Vince, thank you! I have a question, should I fully avoid washes and contrast paints on sable hair brushes and just go for chepaer synthetics with those types of paints?
My little story about just how strong the W&N restorer is, I accidentally spilled a bit inside my airbrush booth (the standard ubiquitous portable). I cleaned it up quickly. A bit was hiding around the bottom of my rinse cup. A few days later I came back and picked up the cup and the restorer had spread along the bottom edge and softened the plastic of the air brush booth into a gummy consistency. There’s now a very deep ring in my airbrush booth from where the gum was removed. I did wait a bit to see if it would harden/cure but after two or three days I just decided to clean it out. Now I keep the bottle of brush restorer by the cleanup sink in the basement and far away from my hobby desk.
It's more of a guideline thing, I do it all the time to be fair, but I should really say - be careful with them, avoid getting too much ink in there, and clean regularly.
What's your current choice of brush for working with oils? Do you reach for something specific from your normal model painting range of symthetics/sables? After that, is there anything specific you do for washing/conditioning them differently than acrylics besides obviously cleaning them in the oil paint thinner and then hitting them with one or more of the Big Three mentioned here?
So I use synthetics for most of my work, and then I have a few dry synthetics and few sables reserved specifically for oils that I use for smoothing. As to cleaning, the white spirits will get them very clean, then I just use the soap you see here to final clean and shape.
It's hard. It means you have dried paint in the ferrule of the brush. You can try a more abrasive brush cleaner like Winsor and Newton makes where it can melt that paint down. You run the risk of damaging the glue at the same time you are melting that paint in the ferrule. THis happens because you are getting too much liquid into your brush and down into the ferrule, you want to avoid using those brushes with large amounts of wash, ink or similar where it's going to get down deep in the ferrule.
Thank you Vince! I've had that brush cleaner for ages but I never really got it to do much of anything for me, will give it another try now that I've seen an expert use it. And the surfactant thing sounds interesting, trying the dish soap approach now :)
Thanks so much Vince! These videos really are brilliant, especially for a new painter like myself. If you come to Melbourne Australia one day, ill be there for sure.
Really helpful, Vince, thank you! I'd love to see a video on how you transport/store your miniatures. I know you use cases in your workspace, but when you go play with friends, how do you transport a 2000 pt army (especially with large or heavily converted models)? Thanks for considering!
I can add it to the list, but I have a very simply method I can explain here. I went and bought some plastic tubs cheap from a big box store, then bought some cheap cookie sheets. Then I just magnetize all my bases and done. Easy peasey.
Should you avoid thinning products (acrylic thinner, white spirits, etc) when using sable brushes? (I feel like the answer to this is going to be a resounding "yes", but just looking for confirmation)
Acrylic stuff like thinner is generally fine for your sable brushes. It's always good to give them a clean. In general more abrasive stuff like white spirits should generally stay away from your sable brushes. THAT being said, you can do some good stuff smoothing oil paints with sable brushes, but you generally want a few that are JUST used for that.
I believe the other reason you want to be careful putting natural hair brushes into stuff like ISO is that it can break down the glue holding the hairs in too
Hey there Vince. I don't paint very much but I play a lot... I feel like it's high time to break my gray plastic paint scheme for my armies now and was hoping to get some advice. I guess I can put out stuff at tabletop level but I would like to get it to the next level. Do you have any general advice for what makes a mini look good that a beginner could use? My current process is that I prime -> base coat -> wash -> highlight. Most of the time the highlights look either too big or too sharp and sometimes it just works out lol. My minis generally look pretty boring... I'm currently working on a KO army converted into goblins.
So there is a lot ot unpack there, getting smooth contrast is really something I have spent a lot of videos on. Here is a short answer. It looks good when you are using largely transparent colors that have a low opacity and don't show the transition so bluntly (warm colors like red, orange, yellow, flesh tones, etc.). The colors that will show tend to be cold, light blues, greens, purples, and very pale flesh tones. My recommendation is to watch the videos I have in the playlist around Achieving Smooth Blends and Glazing. Those two techniques will be your first steps.
Hi Vince, thanks for this video. i am notorious for destroying nice brushes, either W&N S7 or the new Artis Opus brushes, so i am going to go through these tips. In the comments below you mentioned Synthetic brushes for metallics. can you reccomend a good brand? i have not used synthetics in years.
buy em cheap. I pick up a set of 12 in a variety of sizes for 10 bucks. When they hook or go bad, they go towards basing and dry brushing. Once they are too gummed up they get chucked. At less than a buck a brush, i couldn't care less.
@@VinceVenturella Cool, good to know. i will have a look online. Amazon is not much fun for down here in NZ, but between Wish and Ali Express its not so bad.
Great video as always. Didnt think about a drop of dish soap yet, Will defenitely do that from now on. Could you maybe do a: how to treat a brand new brush? (ie get rid of a bad hair, do you soap it for a day before use,...)
Have you ever used Pink Soap from Speedball Vince? It’s pretty great too. Glazing was killing my brushes and that stuff help a lot. Awesome video Vince. Thank you for sharing and all you do for the hobby community.
If metallics are used with sable, can any of the above be used to remove the metallics? Seems like the metallics get really stuck in the natural hairs.
The things I mention here would all pull the metallics out of the brush, but the real concern is generally you would want to avoid metallics in sable brushes because it will damage the natural hairs. I favor synthetics whenever possible as they are more duable.
I saw your video concerning sables/metallics, but already had some sables “ruined”. I tried again after seeing this one, but it’s almost like the metallic paint is stuck in the pores. Will keep at it...thanks!
Awesome video! When I am painting I am always making sure to not get paint to high up the ferrule and wash out the brush regularly. Afterwards I use the brush soap. However I noticed even with new brushes I noticed that right at the root of the ferrule are tiny tiny chunks of paint which are just so hard to get out with brush soap( i always try to get it off with my fingernails). Should i change my painting water more often? I am worried that it will work itself in deeper into the ferrule over time. My size four brush which I used the most already lost its nice sharp point, even though it's not too bad it's noticeable. I used it for less than a year.
the only brush product i've ever used is GSW's brush repair gel. It seems to work fine but it would be great if someone could compare it to these other ones. I've also tried (human) hair conditioner and i like that a lot - i believe i got this tip from Sam Lenz
Yeah, the nice stuff to condition human hair is actually pretty great for sable brushes. I haven't tried the brush repair gel, i'll have to give the repair gel a try.
Very useful video. Thanks! Any advice if the tips of my brushes start to curl? I’ve been using synthetics more recently because I can use and abuse them and buy new ones, but I still find the tip starts to get a little “hook” at the end after a while
Yep, so the curl is happening because they are wet and when the water evaporates it causes the tip to slowly curl. It's also what can happen from them being wet and pressed fairly hard or against something. My best advice is a few things. First, make sure after you clean the brushes, you also dry them off. Make sure you never leave them brush down in a jar or anything. If you still find a little curling, then you can also use something like brush shaper/restorer from Green Stuff World.
Vince Venturella thanks for the suggestions. I definitely don’t leave the brushes pointing down and I’m careful about pressing them against the wall of my water cup. I will try drying them when I’m done and keep them lilting on their side. I do have a tendency to leave them in my cup pointing upward.
Tip: If you buy a dry and chalky tub of Masters brush cleaner. Don't throw it out!. Microwave it for 20seconds then add a teaspoon of hair conditioner and a teaspoon of water. Mix it in and let it set. I tried this and it fixed it!
Perfectly fine, dish soap and hair soap will clean most brushes without issue, though you want to be careful with some of the dish soaps, using a little masterson's at the end can be good, as the hairs have some natural oil they can disturb.
Great video! I like the brush goop. P.S. I need that video on removing the case around Loctite Super Glue, I tried it last night and accidentally cut a hole in the tube.
Thanks for the video. i always feel like I'm not cleaning them right despite following all the videos about it :D I've noticed that the title cards have been zoomed in lately btw!
Hey Vince! I love your videos. Could you do one about painting eyes? Powered armor eyes, human eyes, all of it. Thanks for your time, and keep kicking @$$!
There are a couple of things you can do with synthetics. it's happening because the brush is synthetic, getting wet and then drying. As it dries, it causes the tip to curl during the evaporation. You can help by making sure you physically dry the brush more regularly, never let it sit tip down, and you can use stuff like brush reshaper from green stuff world and you can reshape it.
These are videos you only come across after donating 5 bucks to patreon. Thanks vince, these videos are worth its weight in gold...so nothing, but still valuable to me 😂👌😀
I used the original versions, they had a very short belly which wasn't to my liking, but actually, I have been using them to soften and smooth oil paints and they are perfect for that, but this was the original generation, the new ones are very different.
Interesting that the first thing Brent does with his sable brushes on his brush restoration video was dunk them in IPA… admittedly they were manky brushes, but they came out all right.
Would you recommend using a different brush for your metallic paints or do these brush cleaners make it so you can use your nice brushes painting metallics? I've had trouble with them ruining my brushes before. Thanks and great video!
Again a great Video, thanks! I bought a set of Army Painter Brushes some time ago and some of them split out while painting (which can be quite annoying) from the first use on. I already tried to use soap to shape the Tip of the brush and used Brush-Restorer. Do you have any other advice?
I found army painter brushes to be hit or miss. I have two regiment brushes for 2 plus years and still good but the others split after one session. I tried isopropyl to clean ( they are synthetic) but didn't work
It's been miss for me with AP and GW. My biggest issue with them was tip curling. Rosemary Co, Game Envy and Creature Caster never presented that issue.
@@AvatarOfNateP it depends on price point and what it's for. I do about 75% with AP and finish with Sable brush for fine details. Raphael is good for price in my area
If there is in fact paint stuck in the ferrule, then the brush restorer from Winsor and Newton is the type of thing you need, that will melt out that paint.
If you run out of beer while painting, you probably shouldn't drink the denatured alcohol, right?! Since you said it's alcohol with all the water removed, I'm thinking you could get a heady buzz...but I guess going blind probably wouldn't help my painting ability ...
Just out of professional curiousity I looked up the MSDS for the Winsor&Newton Brush Cleaner & Restorer. www.winsornewton.com/assets/HealthandSafetyDataSheets/OIL%20COLOUR/Solvents/2011/Brush-Cleaner/04413169.pdf It doesn’t say anything about contents which I find weird. At least toxicity is pretty low with an LD50 of 13 g/kg bodyweight (rat). So assuming the average 75 kg male he’d have to drink some 750 mL of the stuff.
@@VinceVenturella see? This is why we love you, dude. You are always generous with your time, energy, and knowledge. It's not only that. You also take time to interact with your viewers, and even put up with all of the ridiculous attempts at humour. Glad you realize that its only an effort to share a smile. 🙂👍 Thanks for all of your content, Vince!
I’m not messing with you or anything, I seriously love, languages, and regional differences. So question who says surfactant like ‘surfing-tent’ ? I’m only asking because i’ve started hearing local people pronouncing it this way. I’ve worked with people around the world. No matter where they’re from, they almost always pronounce it exactly the same, ‘sur-fact-tant’
OMG: Your explanation of HOW/WHY glazes and contrast paints with "Flow Aid" get into down into the base of your base brush...PRICELESS!!!! I didn't understand how/why they can ruin your brush if you're not careful...Holy Crap, Vince...INFORMATION LIKE THIS, LIKE YOUR "VARNISHES" VIDEO....things people easily overlook. But BEYOND HELPFUL!!!💖💖💖💖💖💖 Doggone it, I'm SO BROKE at the moment...but as soon as I'm gainfully employed again, and save a couple bucks, I'M COMING TO YOUR CLASS OR WORKSHOP. You ARE the GOAT!!!😁💖🌟💥🌟💥💖😁
@@VinceVenturella You have no idea. I skipped over this video at first; this one and your 5 uses for varnishes: seriously, pulled me out of out my problems. I can't wait to save a bit of $$ and come up to visit for a workshop or class. You F'ing ROCK!!💥💥💥💥💥
"i know we all love these pots from GW because theyre so convenient" speak for yourself i despise GW pots, if it werent for Averland Sunset being the literal BEST yellow basecoat i would never touch that lousy line of paints. The pot likes to dry out the paint since its a pain to get it out without wasting a ton of it. With a basecoat color its not tha tbig a deal but the details that you barely use you will find half the pot goes bad, even if you put thinner in there once in awhile.
@@VinceVenturella dont be like me and pour some in a plastic cup that was on top of plastic movement trays... all of it melted into the desk surface like in Alien 4 when they escaped!
Dude, you videolibrary is the most complete library available about painting miniatures, and is all for free.
This should be added to the vault where they put thing for protect from apocalypse type scenarios.
Talking seriously I considering saving it all up somewhere just in case, in such a case do I have your permission?
Cheers!
Well thank you on both cases, and of course, please save or share the videos however. As long as UA-cam allows me to keep making my video, I am going to keep making videos. :)
Crap. I've been fairly "generous" with the "Drop" of dish soap in my water...perhaps THAT'S why I'm getting paint up into my "ferrel" and ruining my brushes (but they're GREAT for semi-dry, semi-wet brushing on fur and spiky tips now, lol).
The brush cleaner/ preserver is an absolute must if you're going to spend the money for fine sable brushes. The stuff is cheap. Works great and smells good. It will probably more than double the life of the brush. I use it at the end of every session.
Yep,best if it's just part of your hobby routine.
Going to use that surfactant / dish soap now. Might also try and restore some old brushes I thought were too far gone. Thanks for sharing!
Glad to help
I bought an 8404, and with your tips, 3 months later the brush is like new with a very sharp tip still. It’s a good idea to start off with cheaper brushes to familiarize yourself with wAys the tips get ruined.
Great to hear! :)
'work work, rinse your brush', someone needs to songify that.
Didn't know you lurk Vince videos too. Great work on your channel man.
Finally, my real path to success has been discovered Kujo. ;)
@@jpf338 Where'd you think I get all my ideas from? ;-)
All I hear is Rihanna now. Thanks.
Thanks. Been watching almost all your beginner videos and I really appreciate them V.
Glad you like them!
I did not realize you should be working your brush into the soap itself! I've been trying to scrape a lil wad of my Jen's out and lather it up and just do it by hand. Game changer for me lol
Happy to help!
Excellent video, I’d like to share my method if may.
I keep a small well pallet on my desk, one well contains OMS the next two contain window cleaning spray (i.e. Mr muscle in UK). When working with oils I swish and wipe in each of these in turn, then in water. If using acrylics I swish in just the window cleaners, then water. Does a great job and in two years I’ve never had to use brush soap.
With natural brushes, keep a dropper bottle filled with jojoba oil to hand and put some in your brushes at the end of a session. It’s a non drying oil that will keep any paint in the brush from drying and causing splay, will replenish the oils in the bristles and help keep a good point on your brushes. Make sure you clean the brush at the start of your session using the oms and window cleaner sequence above.
I’ve been doing these for two years and in that time have kept my brushes in perfect shape (I paint every single day).
Hope some of that’s useful
:-)
This sounds like some pretty good advice, do you use the in between cleaners during painting as well or only at the start/end of the session?
@@nicabedoshvili4225Hi, For oils I do this between colours since water alone wouldn't work. For acrylics it depends, if I'm using a lot of paint (washing, base coating etc) then I will periodically use this method. If doing fine detail with with paint just on the tip then it's not really necessary.
This is a great system, awesome. Thanks you for sharing sir.
@@surfacetension4471 thank you I'll give this a try!
Great tips, i cannot work out what OMS stands for, can you enlighten this idiot :) also is there any particular kind of jojoba oil?
I also use "The Masters" brush cleaner. However recently I have experimented with scrapping some "brush cleaner bits" and mix them with distilled water in a small jar. The idea is to make a liquidy version of the brush cleaner, with the goal of reducing strain on sable brush hairs. I find it especially useful to reshape the brush points between sessions. If you put a thick soap coat to keep your brush points it put more strain on the hairs to remove the protective coat at the start of your next session.
Interesting, I will have to give that a try.
Great video, to give my brushes that deep clean I use pēbēo brush cleaner, and I find this is great. First time I stuck my brush in the bottle and it stripped the paint of the handle, never did that a6 lol. Now I leave a little in a container and soak the bristles for a little while and rinse then soap like you said, great tips as usual, my go to stuff to keep me going forward thanks for your hard work.
Finally , competently made video that shows instead of just telling.
Thanks! That's always the goal. :)
I have one of those brush cleaning tubs from my time in art school that I fill with cold water and liquid pink soap that I will rinse out my brush while working. It has little ridges on the bottom to run the bristles against and shake loose junk. Just don't wanna grind the brush into the ridges obviously lol
Yep, you have to be gentle, but those can be a great cleaning tool for sure.
I have had that Masters cleaner for years and didn't realize you had to wet the brush a little first! I've also probably ground the brush tip into it too hard and that's why my brushes never look new. I need to sit down for a few hours and watch your vids to figure out what I'm doing wrong.
Always glad to help. Yeah, it's best to think of it like soap, wouldn't wash your hands dry, same with your brushes. ;)
Vince you missed out the liquid blue stuff i.e. Vallejo brush restorer for sable brushes. That is my brush saviour.
Never used it, I am going to have to give it a try.
Perfect video Vince. We don’t talk enough about the importance of cleaning brushes.
Thanks buddy, it's very important to keep your tools in shape. :)
Any chance you can add this to your beginner's playlist?
Walking a friend through getting started and linking all of your "beginner" videos and I feel like this is vital to not initially destroy and burn through all your brushes :)
Sure, I will add it to the list.
If you're trying to restore an old brush that you've let pigment go into the ferrule, can you dip the brush into the Winsor Brush Restorer all the way to the ferrule to let it break up any pigment there, or will that cause the brush to further splay by damaging glue in holding the bristles together? I'm not sure if I should be letting the cleaner into the ferrule or keep it to the bristles only. Great video, thank you.
Great and concise video
Very informative
Thank you, happy to help as always. :)
I know this is a 3-year old video but I will try.
I have two questions:
1. Would something like Vallejo’s Flow Improver work as a surfactant in the water cup? I can’t find that specific one on Amazon and would like something made for the task (but can resolve to dish soap of course)
2. Should I keep the protective tip cap on? I see very different opinions on whether to keep it for protection or remove it to avoid mold.
Thank you in advance, hoping you see this!
1) Yes, in general. 2) On your brushes? Until you use them, yes, once you do, no real need to do so.
@@VinceVenturella thank you!
Wow, wow, wow....that brush restorer is like watching a Biore Blackhead Zit commercial....
It's great stuff. :)
Regarding the splaying: I STRONGLY believe that there are W&N brushes out there from a defective production. I caved and got one, when I had money issues and it came, I unpacked it, filled it with water, dipped it in paint and did 1 brush stroke with the paint being not even at the half mark and it was already splayed. Can't even get it working with the repair gel.
I posted on the subreddit and everyone was like "paint in the ferrule", but again, this was the first ever brush stroke.
Then throughout the following weeks I found several other people writing about it splaying in their first paint session. Sure, some might also be at fault, but the amount of first session splays and my own experience makes me very vary of those brushes now. I since used some rather unknown natural sable brushes from a german store and am happy and have no issues.
I'm not saying W&N brushes are bad, since there are a ton of people recommending and loving them, but I think there might be a batch where something just went bad.
I can attest to this as well. About a year ago I ordered a size #1 W&N from Amazon, and for some reason it came with 3 instead of 1. That was exciting at first, but 2 of those were junk right out of the gate. The "good" one of the batch still gets some use but I feel like I need to fix and reshape it more often than any other brush I own.
Yeah, you are absolutely correct. As these are assembled by hand, it can be the case that they don't settle perfectly and you get a split from the glue forming wrong. When that happens, there isn't much you can do unfortunately.
I was wondering about this, too. Didn’t get anything fancy, but picked up some brushes from Reaper labeled as Sable, and both splayed almost immediately. I was taking extreme care with them with regards to paint migration and rinsing/cleaning because they were supposedly sables. I don’t know if I just got really unlucky, or if Reaper brushes are just inferior? Anyways, they’re mixing brushes now.
Thanks so much for this video. I've never had anyone to show me how to take care of my brushes. My 8404's look damn near new now. Thank you again.
That's awesome, happy to help. :)
Another timely and helpful video Vince … I literally ordered the W&N Brush Cleaner *yesterday* to add to the Masterson's I have for a complete cleaning solution. Will look to the surfactant additive - Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Great video! I use the overpriced citadel shade brushes for their washes. To me they work well but need to be cleaned a lot
Yeah, this can make it easier.
Sadly that Master Brush is impossible to get here for a decent price (with shipping and such), same with the W&N liquid, but I got the unicorn puke or whatever the creature caster one is called and on top of that the greenstuffworld clean and repair gels.
Yeah, the brush goop is just as good and very useful, so no issue there.
And another great video! I'd not realised there was so much I didn't know about this hobby 😂
Going hunting for some brush cleaner and preserver...
Excellent, always happy to help.
Question: How often /wouldshould you rinse the brush even when not changing colors? I tend to rinse only when switching to another color, which means if a paint a lot with the same color, it stays in the brush for quite some time...
The answer is, probably more than you are, this is one of those things we often do early that can actually cause long term damage. My real answer is every few minutes. You don't want to let the brush get completely dry paint on it.
Im learning so much with these videos Vince, thank you! I have a question, should I fully avoid washes and contrast paints on sable hair brushes and just go for chepaer synthetics with those types of paints?
That would be my recommendation unless you are working with very, very, very little paint.
@@VinceVenturellagreat, thanks for answering!
My little story about just how strong the W&N restorer is, I accidentally spilled a bit inside my airbrush booth (the standard ubiquitous portable). I cleaned it up quickly. A bit was hiding around the bottom of my rinse cup. A few days later I came back and picked up the cup and the restorer had spread along the bottom edge and softened the plastic of the air brush booth into a gummy consistency. There’s now a very deep ring in my airbrush booth from where the gum was removed. I did wait a bit to see if it would harden/cure but after two or three days I just decided to clean it out. Now I keep the bottle of brush restorer by the cleanup sink in the basement and far away from my hobby desk.
Yep, sounds about right, the stuff is super strong.
So when you say not to use the nicer brushes with inks, does that also include when you mix say Gray Ink with a color to get a shadow
It's more of a guideline thing, I do it all the time to be fair, but I should really say - be careful with them, avoid getting too much ink in there, and clean regularly.
Best video on the topic yet
Thanks!
What's your current choice of brush for working with oils? Do you reach for something specific from your normal model painting range of symthetics/sables? After that, is there anything specific you do for washing/conditioning them differently than acrylics besides obviously cleaning them in the oil paint thinner and then hitting them with one or more of the Big Three mentioned here?
So I use synthetics for most of my work, and then I have a few dry synthetics and few sables reserved specifically for oils that I use for smoothing. As to cleaning, the white spirits will get them very clean, then I just use the soap you see here to final clean and shape.
Vince do you have any videos on bringing a sable back if it has splayed?
It's hard. It means you have dried paint in the ferrule of the brush. You can try a more abrasive brush cleaner like Winsor and Newton makes where it can melt that paint down. You run the risk of damaging the glue at the same time you are melting that paint in the ferrule. THis happens because you are getting too much liquid into your brush and down into the ferrule, you want to avoid using those brushes with large amounts of wash, ink or similar where it's going to get down deep in the ferrule.
I finally found the Masters soap on the german amazon store, but still need to find that strong stuff
It's harder to find, but worth it if you can find.
So i notice no mention of ultrasonic cleaner baths - could they be jerry-rigged to do a clean, or would they destroy the brush ?
I would be afriad being completely submerged it might damage the glue as well.
Wow, great tip about surfactant. Instead of dish soap, can Liquitex Professional Flow Aid be used?
Yes, absolutely
Thank you Vince! I've had that brush cleaner for ages but I never really got it to do much of anything for me, will give it another try now that I've seen an expert use it. And the surfactant thing sounds interesting, trying the dish soap approach now :)
Happy to help!
Thanks so much Vince! These videos really are brilliant, especially for a new painter like myself.
If you come to Melbourne Australia one day, ill be there for sure.
I'd love to come back to Aus next year for sure.
How do you store/organize your brushes between painting sessions?
I have a rack that holds them sideways for the nice brushes, and then a simple glass they are all in for the non-expensive ones.
Really helpful, Vince, thank you! I'd love to see a video on how you transport/store your miniatures. I know you use cases in your workspace, but when you go play with friends, how do you transport a 2000 pt army (especially with large or heavily converted models)? Thanks for considering!
I can add it to the list, but I have a very simply method I can explain here. I went and bought some plastic tubs cheap from a big box store, then bought some cheap cookie sheets. Then I just magnetize all my bases and done. Easy peasey.
@@VinceVenturella "Keep it simple". Timeless advice that's easy to forget. Thanks!
Great info!
Glad it was helpful!
This was really clear and helpful. Thank you!
Thank you, always happy to help. :)
Should you avoid thinning products (acrylic thinner, white spirits, etc) when using sable brushes?
(I feel like the answer to this is going to be a resounding "yes", but just looking for confirmation)
Acrylic stuff like thinner is generally fine for your sable brushes. It's always good to give them a clean. In general more abrasive stuff like white spirits should generally stay away from your sable brushes. THAT being said, you can do some good stuff smoothing oil paints with sable brushes, but you generally want a few that are JUST used for that.
Thanks for clarifying and differentiating the uses, Vince.
Excellent advise, thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Dish soap, awesome trick!
Thanks bud. :)
I just bought some new brushes so this was perfect timing, thanks Vince!
Happy to help!
Thank you for the video!!!
Always happy to help.
@@VinceVenturella I try the dish soap in the water. Don't know yet if it work welle, but as an evil brush licker, I found it not tasty ^^
I believe the other reason you want to be careful putting natural hair brushes into stuff like ISO is that it can break down the glue holding the hairs in too
You are exactly correct.
Hi Vince, what is the brand for the surfactant?
I use warcolurs, but you can use any surfactant from an art store as well.
Hey there Vince. I don't paint very much but I play a lot... I feel like it's high time to break my gray plastic paint scheme for my armies now and was hoping to get some advice. I guess I can put out stuff at tabletop level but I would like to get it to the next level. Do you have any general advice for what makes a mini look good that a beginner could use? My current process is that I prime -> base coat -> wash -> highlight. Most of the time the highlights look either too big or too sharp and sometimes it just works out lol. My minis generally look pretty boring... I'm currently working on a KO army converted into goblins.
So there is a lot ot unpack there, getting smooth contrast is really something I have spent a lot of videos on. Here is a short answer. It looks good when you are using largely transparent colors that have a low opacity and don't show the transition so bluntly (warm colors like red, orange, yellow, flesh tones, etc.). The colors that will show tend to be cold, light blues, greens, purples, and very pale flesh tones.
My recommendation is to watch the videos I have in the playlist around Achieving Smooth Blends and Glazing. Those two techniques will be your first steps.
Very useful, thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Hi Vince, thanks for this video. i am notorious for destroying nice brushes, either W&N S7 or the new Artis Opus brushes, so i am going to go through these tips. In the comments below you mentioned Synthetic brushes for metallics. can you reccomend a good brand? i have not used synthetics in years.
buy em cheap. I pick up a set of 12 in a variety of sizes for 10 bucks. When they hook or go bad, they go towards basing and dry brushing. Once they are too gummed up they get chucked. At less than a buck a brush, i couldn't care less.
@@alcovitch sure, i have a bunch i get from Wish that i use for terrain,but curious if Vince has any reccomended nice synthetics he uses for metallics
Glad to help and yes, as said, any synthetics will work. I buy big packs on amazon that are cheap. I use them for a short time and throw them away.
@@VinceVenturella Cool, good to know. i will have a look online. Amazon is not much fun for down here in NZ, but between Wish and Ali Express its not so bad.
Vince, would using a small amount of windshield washing fluid serve the same purpose as a small amount of dish detergent?
I have to give the honest answer of I don't know, I'm not sure if it might be too toxic as it's amonia based.
Great video as always. Didnt think about a drop of dish soap yet, Will defenitely do that from now on.
Could you maybe do a: how to treat a brand new brush? (ie get rid of a bad hair, do you soap it for a day before use,...)
That's a good suggestion, I will add that to the list.
Have you ever used Pink Soap from Speedball Vince? It’s pretty great too. Glazing was killing my brushes and that stuff help a lot. Awesome video Vince. Thank you for sharing and all you do for the hobby community.
I have not used it, I will look out for it and give it a try.
If metallics are used with sable, can any of the above be used to remove the metallics? Seems like the metallics get really stuck in the natural hairs.
The things I mention here would all pull the metallics out of the brush, but the real concern is generally you would want to avoid metallics in sable brushes because it will damage the natural hairs. I favor synthetics whenever possible as they are more duable.
I saw your video concerning sables/metallics, but already had some sables “ruined”.
I tried again after seeing this one, but it’s almost like the metallic paint is stuck in the pores.
Will keep at it...thanks!
Awesome video! When I am painting I am always making sure to not get paint to high up the ferrule and wash out the brush regularly. Afterwards I use the brush soap. However I noticed even with new brushes I noticed that right at the root of the ferrule are tiny tiny chunks of paint which are just so hard to get out with brush soap( i always try to get it off with my fingernails). Should i change my painting water more often? I am worried that it will work itself in deeper into the ferrule over time. My size four brush which I used the most already lost its nice sharp point, even though it's not too bad it's noticeable. I used it for less than a year.
The Brush Restorer you see here will be something that will work for the situation you are describing.
Thank you for your reply!
the only brush product i've ever used is GSW's brush repair gel. It seems to work fine but it would be great if someone could compare it to these other ones. I've also tried (human) hair conditioner and i like that a lot - i believe i got this tip from Sam Lenz
Yeah, the nice stuff to condition human hair is actually pretty great for sable brushes. I haven't tried the brush repair gel, i'll have to give the repair gel a try.
@@VinceVenturella did you?:)
Very useful video. Thanks!
Any advice if the tips of my brushes start to curl? I’ve been using synthetics more recently because I can use and abuse them and buy new ones, but I still find the tip starts to get a little “hook” at the end after a while
Yep, so the curl is happening because they are wet and when the water evaporates it causes the tip to slowly curl. It's also what can happen from them being wet and pressed fairly hard or against something.
My best advice is a few things. First, make sure after you clean the brushes, you also dry them off. Make sure you never leave them brush down in a jar or anything. If you still find a little curling, then you can also use something like brush shaper/restorer from Green Stuff World.
Vince Venturella thanks for the suggestions. I definitely don’t leave the brushes pointing down and I’m careful about pressing them against the wall of my water cup. I will try drying them when I’m done and keep them lilting on their side. I do have a tendency to leave them in my cup pointing upward.
Tip: If you buy a dry and chalky tub of Masters brush cleaner. Don't throw it out!. Microwave it for 20seconds then add a teaspoon of hair conditioner and a teaspoon of water. Mix it in and let it set. I tried this and it fixed it!
Great tip! That is really amazing, I love this.
Tku. What is your opinion of using Dawn Dissolver to clean brushes?
Perfectly fine, dish soap and hair soap will clean most brushes without issue, though you want to be careful with some of the dish soaps, using a little masterson's at the end can be good, as the hairs have some natural oil they can disturb.
Tku Vince !
Great video! I like the brush goop.
P.S. I need that video on removing the case around Loctite Super Glue, I tried it last night and accidentally cut a hole in the tube.
Coming soon!
Good tips. Thank you very much!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the video. i always feel like I'm not cleaning them right despite following all the videos about it :D
I've noticed that the title cards have been zoomed in lately btw!
Happy to help! Yeah, the fade in screen seems to be zoomed, I have no idea why, but i'll take a look, it's strange.
Would hair wax/ pomade, or lard clean brushes?
I couldn't say, I've never tried, but I know shampoo and conditioner will work.
What exactly is surfactant? Is it just what other brands call "Flow Improver"?
It's quite similar, for most of our purposes, there really isn't a difference, but its a little more keyed to breaking up surface tension.
"Made by unicorns in Arizona". That's a complete lie, there's no such place as Arizona.
Well obviously, they can't actually tell you where the unicorns are or you would go steal them.
Hey Vince! I love your videos. Could you do one about painting eyes? Powered armor eyes, human eyes, all of it. Thanks for your time, and keep kicking @$$!
Yes, I am definitely going to do something on eyes very soon, I would split up lenses and eyes, but I need to do both.
@@VinceVenturella Awesome! I look forward to it!
My Army Painter's brush got a funky smell after using it for 1 day... Is that normal?
That is very strange, but a good scrubbing with soap like this should hopefully clear it up.
How do you stop the tip from curling?
There are a couple of things you can do with synthetics. it's happening because the brush is synthetic, getting wet and then drying. As it dries, it causes the tip to curl during the evaporation.
You can help by making sure you physically dry the brush more regularly, never let it sit tip down, and you can use stuff like brush reshaper from green stuff world and you can reshape it.
These are videos you only come across after donating 5 bucks to patreon. Thanks vince, these videos are worth its weight in gold...so nothing, but still valuable to me 😂👌😀
Happy to help :)
Thanks for another great video :) Tangentially have you used the Warcolors sable brushes? Would love to know your thoughts if you have.
I used the original versions, they had a very short belly which wasn't to my liking, but actually, I have been using them to soften and smooth oil paints and they are perfect for that, but this was the original generation, the new ones are very different.
Thanks
No problem :)
Interesting that the first thing Brent does with his sable brushes on his brush restoration video was dunk them in IPA… admittedly they were manky brushes, but they came out all right.
Do you have a preference for Masters or Jens or are they essentially the same?
Basically the same.
Would you recommend using a different brush for your metallic paints or do these brush cleaners make it so you can use your nice brushes painting metallics? I've had trouble with them ruining my brushes before.
Thanks and great video!
Yes, absolutely. I use synthetic brushes for metal paints.
@@VinceVenturella Thank you for the reply glad I asked.
@theboldbear Thank you I do have some cheap ones but I wasn't sure if it was the metallic paint making it fall apart so quick or if it was me :P
I use hair conditioner after i clean my brushes.
It's a great trick, especially with the sable brushes, they are natural hair, something like hair conditioner is perfect and keeps the brush soft.
Again a great Video, thanks!
I bought a set of Army Painter Brushes some time ago and some of them split out while painting (which can be quite annoying) from the first use on. I already tried to use soap to shape the Tip of the brush and used Brush-Restorer. Do you have any other advice?
I found army painter brushes to be hit or miss. I have two regiment brushes for 2 plus years and still good but the others split after one session. I tried isopropyl to clean ( they are synthetic) but didn't work
I heard from a lot of other painters army painter is budget options thats why they are so cheap.
It's been miss for me with AP and GW. My biggest issue with them was tip curling. Rosemary Co, Game Envy and Creature Caster never presented that issue.
@@AvatarOfNateP it depends on price point and what it's for. I do about 75% with AP and finish with Sable brush for fine details. Raphael is good for price in my area
If there is in fact paint stuck in the ferrule, then the brush restorer from Winsor and Newton is the type of thing you need, that will melt out that paint.
Is he saying surFACtent? 🤔 what's the optional surfactant?
If you run out of beer while painting, you probably shouldn't drink the denatured alcohol, right?! Since you said it's alcohol with all the water removed, I'm thinking you could get a heady buzz...but I guess going blind probably wouldn't help my painting ability
...
Yeah, definite bad idea. ;)
Thanks Vince, now I know what I’m doing today :(
Awesome, happy to help.
Just out of professional curiousity I looked up the MSDS for the Winsor&Newton Brush Cleaner & Restorer. www.winsornewton.com/assets/HealthandSafetyDataSheets/OIL%20COLOUR/Solvents/2011/Brush-Cleaner/04413169.pdf It doesn’t say anything about contents which I find weird. At least toxicity is pretty low with an LD50 of 13 g/kg bodyweight (rat). So assuming the average 75 kg male he’d have to drink some 750 mL of the stuff.
Interesting, it's powerful stuff, so I am definitely very careful with it.
3:46 "Most people have a water cup."
I keep a cup of fresh blood... (dont ask)
Seems reasonable.
@@VinceVenturella see? This is why we love you, dude.
You are always generous with your time, energy, and knowledge.
It's not only that. You also take time to interact with your viewers, and even put up with all of the ridiculous attempts at humour. Glad you realize that its only an effort to share a smile. 🙂👍
Thanks for all of your content, Vince!
Wow, wow, wow....
:)
I’m not messing with you or anything, I seriously love, languages, and regional differences. So question who says surfactant like ‘surfing-tent’ ?
I’m only asking because i’ve started hearing local people pronouncing it this way.
I’ve worked with people around the world. No matter where they’re from, they almost always pronounce it exactly the same, ‘sur-fact-tant’
Honest answer, I have no idea, my pronunciation might just be a guess. :)
Minis... you'll also need minis.
You got me on that one. :)
Was that a joke about GW paints being convenient?
yes
OMG: Your explanation of HOW/WHY glazes and contrast paints with "Flow Aid" get into down into the base of your base brush...PRICELESS!!!! I didn't understand how/why they can ruin your brush if you're not careful...Holy Crap, Vince...INFORMATION LIKE THIS, LIKE YOUR "VARNISHES" VIDEO....things people easily overlook. But BEYOND HELPFUL!!!💖💖💖💖💖💖
Doggone it, I'm SO BROKE at the moment...but as soon as I'm gainfully employed again, and save a couple bucks, I'M COMING TO YOUR CLASS OR WORKSHOP. You ARE the GOAT!!!😁💖🌟💥🌟💥💖😁
Very glad this was helpful. :)
@@VinceVenturella You have no idea. I skipped over this video at first; this one and your 5 uses for varnishes: seriously, pulled me out of out my problems. I can't wait to save a bit of $$ and come up to visit for a workshop or class. You F'ing ROCK!!💥💥💥💥💥
"i know we all love these pots from GW because theyre so convenient" speak for yourself i despise GW pots, if it werent for Averland Sunset being the literal BEST yellow basecoat i would never touch that lousy line of paints.
The pot likes to dry out the paint since its a pain to get it out without wasting a ton of it. With a basecoat color its not tha tbig a deal but the details that you barely use you will find half the pot goes bad, even if you put thinner in there once in awhile.
Oh, that was sarcasm, but that may have been delivered too straightfaced. :)
W&N Brush cleaner will EAT PLASTIC like acid!! Had to throw out my desk..
Yep, it's really powerful dangerous stuff for sure, I hope I communicated enough throughout.
@@VinceVenturella dont be like me and pour some in a plastic cup that was on top of plastic movement trays... all of it melted into the desk surface like in Alien 4 when they escaped!
Just use the tip.....pissing women off since time began