Who Makes The Best Paint Brushes In Your Opinion?

[Metal Head]

Hi,

I know having the best brush doesn't necessarily mean the best job because it also depends on the skill of the beholder. However the result should still be better than the worst brush in the hand(s) of the least skilled operator.

So which make of brush(es) do you feel has given you the best results from your paint jobs?.

As usual thanking those in advance for their replies.

Cheers
David

[drummelars]

ill check what mine are i got a pack of 3 brushes for $19 at bunnies. The pack was a great deal because the larger brush in the pack sold by it self was $15 alone. And the pack had 3 different brushes so it was a good deal.

The brushes were good horse hair brushes and were premium and they hold up real well.

Ill find out the brand name and let you know!

Cheers

Jace

[Harry72]

Which paint are you talking about?

Gimme a spraygun anyday!

[scooter]

Purdee are supposed to be the ducks guts, bit dear though.

Spirit range by Rokset (I think) are apparently quite good for the $


Cheers................Sean

[durwood]

A good brush for top quality work (say finishing a piece of furniture in varnish) would usually be done by a profesional painter with a PURE BRISTLE brush.

The bristle is pigs (NOT horse hair) Horse hair is used to cheapen down the cost of a brush. Pure bristle brushes are usually marked as such, if it doesn't say pure bristle it is probably a mixture of bristle and hair.

A brush with only horse hair is used as a duster brush.

The best bristle comes from China from pigs specially bred to grow the hair.

The longer the hair the more the brush costs, obviously the wider the brush the more hair so the price goes by size of brush and length of bristle. Also the amount of hair in the brush counts, if it only had say 10,000 hairs it would be a lot cheaper than one with 100,000 hairs. Often brushes have wedges put inside the Ferrule (metal band holding hair to handle) instead of being chocker block with hair.

That being said pure bristle brushes are too expensive to be used on ordinary work such as water based house paint. You will ruin a great (and expensive ) brush in one go.

Pigs bristle is used because of its unique qualities.

* It is tapered, so the tip of the brush is soft
* the ends of the hair are also split (called flagged ends) this means they hold more paint and are finer also.
* The hair has on it little spikes which hold paint. (most hair is smooth)

Because of the cost artificial hair is worth making. Its only been in the last few years its been possible to get a cheap brush with nice soft hair which will paint well, old ones usually were pretty scratchy.

The ones being sold now, which work really well come from China and have hair which are yellow with white tips. They not only brush more than well enough to paint general house hold jobs but are a lot easier to clean out (especially water based paint) I think these are the ones Jace is talking about.

A good pure bristle brush long hair copper ferrule ( prevents rust for long use) would only be worth while getting if you wanted to produce a top class finish on something (say a motor vehicle or anything requiring a mirror finish.) Even then a painter would use this brush on lesser work to break it in. ( getting rid of any loose hairs) never use a new brush on something that is getting its final coat as you don't know if or how many hairs will fall out of the brush. The big minus is that it takes heaps of solvent to wash out a good brush properly which adds to the cost but makes it necessary if you don't want to wreck the expensive brush, thats why most of us buy a cheap brush give it a quick wash or soak it overnight before using it again or toss it when finished and save the water or turps and the washing up.

[Termite]

Oldfields.

[floobyduster]

If you're not trying to be a purist, check out the brushes with the nylon bristles - the ones where the ends are tapered off. You can get them in various sizes and in packs which are really cheap. Because of the conformity of the bristles etc they can give a good job, and at the price you can afford to chuckem if they don't clean up too well or you're lazy

[Cliff Rogers]

pigs & camels

[ernknot]

durwood,
Thanks for the informative description of brushes.

[Bluegum]

I'm using monarch after getting a pakage deal from bunnies about 18 months ago. I find them to be a good brush after painting the outside of chez bluegum. I bought a 100mm oldfields a couple of weeks back and it seems to be a better brush with softer bristles. Either way I have to paint so they will do the job.

[The Apprentice]

My own opinion...

Purdy brushes are the best on the market .... they dont get any better... they are expensive.... but they keep there shape, if you look after them

You pay for what you get... go to a trade paint store and see what they sell... not bunnies.... they really cater for DIY market (not that there is anything wrong with that)

Regards, and happy painting..