How to Make Your Brushes Last Longer in Miniature Painting

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This week, we talk how to make your (sometimes frustratingly expensive) brushes last longer. We'll talk best practices and maintenance as well as offer some tips and tricks for common problems.

So grab your scraggly Kolinsky and your hook-tipped synthetic brush and let's get to it.

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GEAR MENTIONED:
This video was not paid for by outside persons or manufacturers and no gear was supplied to us for this video. We are Amazon Associates however and get commissions for purchases made from any “PAID LINK” affiliate tag, which helps support the channel.

Brush Soap: Masters

Kolinsky Brush Cleaner and Restorer I Use: Winsor & Newton

OTHER GEAR I USE/LIKE
GEAR I LIKE / USE:
This video was not paid for by outside persons or manufacturers and no gear was supplied to us for this video. We are Amazon Associates however and get commissions for purchases made from any “PAID LINK” affiliate tag, which helps support the channel.

PAINT:
Acylicos Vallejo Fantasy Game Colors -- Great for Beginners

Monument Pro Acryl

Inks: Liquitex -- Especially love the white for Zenithal

Vallejo Black Primer

AK Interactive Ultra Matte Varnish

BRUSHES:
The Army Painter Dry Brush Set -- Good Cheap Set

Brushes: DaVinci

Brushes: Raphael

BASING:
Vallejo Earth Texture

Tufts of Static Grass: The Army Painter

WET PALETTE
Wet Palette: Redgrass

The Army Painter Wet Palette

MISC:
Cement Glue: Tamaya

Hobby Clippers: Tamaya

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VIDEO CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction
0:59 Painting Tips to Preserve Brushes
4:39 How to Clean your Brushes Properly
10:48 Restoring Kolinsky Brushes
13:20 Restoring Hook-Tipped Synthetic Brushes
14:45 Conclusion

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The following music was used for this media project:

Spacey Intro by Alexander Nakarada

Spacey Outro by Alexander Nakarada

Music: Secret Garden by Alexander Nakarada

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#wrathofminis #miniaturepainting #feathering #warhammer #warhammer40k #warhammerpainting #gamesworkshop #paintingminiatures #paintingminis #tabletopgaming #tabletopminiatures #warcry #ageofsigmar #40k #terrain

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DISCLAIMERS

The content of this video and our opinions were not reviewed or paid for by any outside persons.

[Trazynn]

The only problem is that this video wasn't titled 'Tips about tips'.

[PortageeJoe]

This man's videos are essential for any beginner, like myself. And I'm very impressed with his lack of edits and production quality! Thank you, sir!

[PerfectionHunter]

Underrated channel for sure. Everything you said in this video is true.
But as i've sad to other, similar, small channels: "Some of the best mini-hobby channels i've found rarely have over 10K subs. They are the hidden gold veins for those who know where to dig".

[spencerdevane]

I cannot understate how valuable of a resource this channel is. Fantastic as always, thank you for the in depth, no-nonsense explanation.

[JohnSim-vu]

Going through the process to use the soap and that it requires 3-4 passes helped. I didn’t realize it needed to be done at the end of each painting session - I was only doing it every 3 or 4 sessions. Also the tip for restoring synthetic brushes was very helpful!

[the_hybred]

Just found your channel. About to binge watch all of your videos . 😅

[darkhighwayman]

I experimented using isopropyl to melt paint in the ferrule. Mostly all natural fibers on brushes that seemed pretty messed up. Then used the Masters in them after. It pulled a surprising amount out. Some stayed messed up but some did revive

[pimstevens]

Good tips, I need to make cleaning the brushes with running water a habit after painting. For the older ruined brushes I Have, I need to get my self some cleaner and brush restorer instead of buying new brushes. You convinced me to try that, thanks

[JeffAndresWilliams]

I really needed to hear this. I've been doing proper maintenance on brushes that will never have a fine tip, so I'm finally ready to move on to new brushes and try to keep them in good shape.

[krzysztofmathews]

This is clear, well presented and very helpful. I appreciate that, and so I am now subscribed. Thank you.

[Baltazar]

Thank you for this video. This was extremely helpful for my brush cleaning. I've been cleaning them but not well enough and it was becoming frustrating. This will help me keep them longer.

[tien]

this is a great video, i was quite confuse on how to use the masters to clean the brush and how it can restore it. now i know what to do. thank you for it

[danncozey]

Thanks for the vid bud! Love your channel ❤

[edsa]

Soap changes the surface tension of the water, and that mechanism makes watter attract loose-ish particles more than your brush hair surface, so an important step of cleaning your brushes is to wash out the soapy liquid.
Another unwanted effect of soaps is that they tend to wash out the oils that condition natural hair, so be careful storing them with the soap still in the bristles, if you are thinking about drying the brush with a sharp tip - you are better doing it with clean water. Hair without the oils in them tend to dry out and curl due to the imperfections and you eventually will lose that sharp tip.
Brush conditioners exist and they do a really good job restoring the hair.
For the same reason a shampoo and hair conditioner are sold as two separate items for us people.
Another good advice that I heard from art students who cant afford new brushes but tend to paint a lot is to store your brush clipped to the wall with the tip pointing down, that draws some of the the residue down with the gravity and capillary effect. Some people also recommend to clip the brush suspended in the water after a painting session for a while for the same reason.
But washing brushes with soap and forming the tip before storing them is the best advice to prolong the life of the brush!

[fretsoffury]

Great tips! I’ve always just used my brush cleaner on my synthetic brushes. I bought a Kolinsky, but it’s still in the packaging, too afraid to mess it up as I’m still learning haha.
Off topic, but why does Khan have an American tattoo on his arm?

[markbakerii]

Where did you go?! You're answering questions that I didn't know I had.

[geoffreyporter]

I’m having trouble with brush maintenance, and I think a lot of it is coming down to brush control (albeit indirectly). I think that I’m naturally tending to use much smaller brushes for basing and layering than most painters would use, which is leading to issues with brushes deforming and the paint in them drying out much more quickly. I just feel like I need to use the smaller brushes because, even with stable positioning, I’m finding that my hands shake so much that it’s really hard to avoid accidentally painting things I don’t want to paint as, for example, I’m trying to maneuver my brush into tight positions, so it feels like a smaller brushes deforming just gives me more forgiveness. I’m working through my first army now, and am learning a lot (DEFINITELY going to be painting in sub assemblies from now on), but I’m still finding it tough to control the amount of paint that I’m getting into such small brushes, especially bleeding up into the ferrule, which I feel like is contributing to the rapid degradation of those brushes. So my question is this: does anyone have any tips on best practices to avoid getting paint in the ferrule, particularly with small (<size 1) brushes?

[danyloboiko]

do i have to clean the brush every time i change of color? using the soap after every change? or can i just clean it with water, change colors and then use the soap when i finish the "session"

[thingamarobYT]

I assume, the cleaning process as you described is for both Kolinsky and Synthetic, the steps don't change if you're using one versus the other?

[scarchie]

Do you wash the brushes a bit in the soap before their first use?