Hi guys,
I was wondering how to keep your brushes in good condition, as I have ended up with a brush where the hairs no longer stick together and are pointy, but are frayed and split apart.

How could I prevent this?

Thanks,
LordElrond

Always wash them well. You dont want any paint on the brush to stick the hairs together and spread them out.

Don't poke them onto a model straight on (always a great temptation for me when doing chainmail).
Always brush the right way

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Thanks,
Any more tips?

I can almost certainly help, but I need to know what I'm dealing with first:

First off, what kind of brush has this happened to? Synthetics are generally much more prone to hooking, fishtailing and other kinds of deforming than sable brushes.

Second, are you thinning your paints and making sure not to get paint in the ferrule of the brush? Paint clogging in the ferrule is a major cause of brush deterioration.

Third, be absolutely sure you're never painting with any kind of forward pressure - if you push the point of a brush directly into a hard surface it will deform or fray or both. This is a common mistake, especially when getting paint into recesed areas of models, but it will kill your brush faster than anything.

Fourth, and possibly most importantly, how are you cleaning your brushes? Water should be fine as long as you clean your brushes thoroughly and frequently (I have a sable brush that's still in decent condition after almost 20 years of use) but brush soap is a decent investment if you use any high-end brushes. Again, make sure paint never gets into the ferrule if possible, and if it does, wash it out immediately.

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1. GW starter brush
2. No, but I use paint quite sparingly
3. I always try not to
4. I use water and then wipe it on some kitchen roll.

I now have a box of Wilko artist brushes, which I found in a cupboard in our living room, and I don't know what these are made of, nor how good they are.

Also, sorry for maybe a dumb question, but which bit is the ferrule?

Oh, it's the metal bit.

If it's a current GW brush then it's sable, which is good, but unfortunately I've noticed they tend to vary considerably in the quality of their construction. Some of them are really well-made with a fine point and a solid binding and should last you for years, but I've seen some that aren't very well put together; uneven bristle length, poor binding, off-centre or blunted points - kind of thing that keeps me awake at night. If you're unlucky enough to have one of the sub-par ones then it may simply be self-destructing through no fault of your own. It sounds like you have a pretty good handle on brush care, so I'm inclined to suspect it may be that.

The best way I've found of attempting to fix a GW brush which is deteriorating is to thoroughly clean it and then immerse the tip in extremely hot water for a few seconds before bringing it back to a nice sharp point. You might have to do this a couple of times, but it can make a significant difference in my experience.

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Nauru-ir agh kragoru nûrsu grishûrz
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Mordor-ob bot-tuk

I'll try that when I get time (probably at the weekend)

Hey there since you know stuff and stuff I have a question for you:
My major problem with brushes is that after one point of use they split in two or three pointy edges how do you fix that and restore them to one point

As Raukov said already, put it in extremely hot water and then bring the bristles together

I always find this works well for my best brushes: clean regularly whilst painting with that colour (i.e. thorough rinsing in your clean brush pot) and then always bring the tip back to a nice point with your lips, prior to immersing in the paint and carrying on. Repeat this quite often during the painting process and I'm sure the longevity will increase.

<Mungo>

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Like I say, try dipping the tip into boiling water. Be sure not to get any in the ferrule, though, this might dissolve the glue holding the bristles together.

Unfortunately, if your brushes are synthetic, the deformation may be unfixable.

_________________
Talaan-u rûk-ir tor Urûk
Nauru-ir agh kragoru nûrsu grishûrz
Nork-ulu furtun agh goð
Mordor-ob bot-tuk

What are GW brushed made of?

Sable, these days. They used to be sable way back in the day (like 15+ years ago) and they switched to synthetics which was really disappointing. The current range is very well priced for being made of sable, although you have to be careful when selecting them as like I meantioned before the quality varies quite a lot.

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Talaan-u rûk-ir tor Urûk
Nauru-ir agh kragoru nûrsu grishûrz
Nork-ulu furtun agh goð
Mordor-ob bot-tuk

Ok Thanks for your help.
No I use sable brushes from either GW range or other from artists stores

Get some of "The Masters" brush cleaner. It's the greatest brush cleaning soap I've ever used. It will revive old brushes to their original bristle color (may take a few washings). This stuff is a miracle worker.

Here's an an amazon link but just google it to find a local source:
http://www.amazon.com/General-Pencil-Co ... B001TNR7VM

Here's a you tube video showing how to use it.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9vC5j4mdlDM

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There and Blog Again ...

If I only knew that earlier I had an awesome brush once it had a perfect rubber grip and a very high quality of sable hair but it withered very quick and I threw it away that day really broke my heart