What paint brushes to get?

[Ed Gibbons]

Can someone recommend the type and size brushes I should get to paint with?

 

 Thanks. 

[ccoyle]

Brushes come in a wide range of quality, and their prices reflect that. Avoid packaged sets that sell for like $1.99 at Hobby Lobby. But neither do you need to lay out the dough for top-end brushes (though they are nice). I have found mid-priced white sable brushes work quite nicely for me. I use large-ish square-tipped brushes for doing large areas, like hulls. I use an assortment of medium- to small-sized round-tip brushes for detail work; I use such brushes for applying PVA glue as well.

[Bob Cleek]

Remember, best results are realized when you only use synthetic bristle brushes for water-based paint (acrylics) and natural bristle brushes for oil-based paints (enamels.)

 

For very fine detail, check out the offerings on eBay for "nail brushes" (sometimes called "dot brushes,") used by manicurists for painting fingernails. They come in a variety of small sizes and are dirt cheap. Buying fine artists' brushes in small sizes can get expensive fast. 

 

Beyond that, the size and type of brushes to buy depends on the size and type of painting you are going to do. Find a local art supply store and buy brushes as you need them. You'll soon build up a good selection. Clean and store your brushes properly and they will last a very long time. 

[glbarlow]

Don’t go cheap on brushes, but you don’t need high end artist level either. Buy good ones, take care of them with proper cleaning and they will last a long time.  Hobby Lobby has Princeton Velvet Touch and Master’s Touch brands both of which I like. I prefer shaders and spotters, I rarely, (never really) use a round brush. I also prefer a range of sizes in both types,  20/0, 18/0, 10/0, 5/0, 3/0, 2, 4, 6, 8, even ¾ for hull paint jobs. I don’t care for spray painting, I like the look of a well applied brush and use the size/type brush I want for the job.

 

Brushes are important, so is, and maybe more so, the quality of the acrylic (no oils on wood for me) paint.  There are lots of good brands and most have their favorite.  Buy small tubes/bottles of several to test and see what you like.

This is my preliminary test of colors and four different brands for my upcoming Winchelsea build as example. I may be a little over the top on this topic I admit. 

[Tim Holt]

9 minutes ago, glbarlow said:

my upcoming Winchelsea build

!

[Mercator]

Ed, I cannot afford the costly sable paint brushes but I have been happy with some of the middle range paint brushes. I look for discount at my local art supply store. One advise is that only use a specific brush for a type of paint, ex. do not use the same brush for enamel or acrylic. Also good maintenance will go a long way. I clean the brush with "The Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver" after each uses. I paint figures (new in the ship modeling arena) and use mostly the following brands. Of course much of the work I do is painting fine details. I use lacquer primer (on metal figures), a first coat of acrylic then oil for depth and shadows. Vallejo and Mig for acrylic and Windsor Newton or Rembrandt for oil. Occasionally I use Humbrol (matt enamel)

Windsor Newton serie 233 and Loen-Cornel 795 for paint brushes.

Hope it helps.

 

Presently struggling with the Artesiana Latina Botter (do not have instructions).

[Old Collingwood]

I have been  influenced  to try these as they are supposed to be brillant for the money,  oh I also use masters brush cleaner.

 

OC.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304065041535?var=603205556994

[vaddoc]

System 3 brushes. Fantastic results with acrylic and enamel.

[wefalck]

Recommending brands is always tricky as their availability depends on the continent you are on. Nevertheless, I have been using DaVinci synthetic brushes for decades. As noted by a colleague, they come in many diffrent shapes and sizes, intended for different sorts of jobs.

 

These diffrent shapes are mainly designed for use on flat surfaces. I personally found that on models with their three-dimensional surfaces the standard brushes with long hairs often do not work so well, but there are also types with shorter, stiffer hairs, e.g. so-called spotters, that work better.

 

There are also speciality brushes, such as lining-brushes with very long hairs, that are traditionally used by sign- or coach-painters to paint long, narrow lines. In more recent years they also seem to be used by so-called nail 'artists'. They are difficult to use on small, three-dimensional surfaces, unless you have a lot of practice (which I don't).

 

Having said that, I prefer to spray-paint using an air-brush whenever possible and when a uniform coat of paint is required.