All About Brushes and Brush Care

As painters we use many tools – paints, water, mediums, palettes, etc. – but one of the most important tools is our brush. Having the right brush for the job, and taking care of our brushes, can help make the process of crafting a great paint job a little bit easier.

If you ask a dozen different painters the sizes and brands of brushes they prefer you are likely to get a dozen different answers. There is no single best brush on the market, and some brands might be easier to purchase depending on where you live, so I recommend that you try out some different brands and see what works best for you. You should also ask around online or at your local game store for recommendations so you can get a comprehensive list of the different brands that are available. I personally like Windsor & Newton Series 7 and Raphael 8404 brushes for my work. I find that Windsor & Newton Series 7 bristles are a bit stiffer and are great for fine detail work. I routinely use size 0 and 000 Windsor & Newton brushes. The Raphael 8404 brushes feel a bit softer and are great for the glazing work I do to help blend and tone painted areas and do shading work. I like size 1 and 2 brushes from Raphael.

Beginning painters often ask how much they should spend on a brush. After all, they can purchase a 12-pack of basic brushes at the craft store for $8 (or less), a single artist grade brush for $4-$6, or a professional grade brush like a Windsor & Newton for $10-$15. Amidst the other costs of getting started in the hobby, buying more expensive brushes seems like a luxury they might be able to skip. Here are some observations from my experiences painting miniatures for over 20 years.

• Avoid the cheapest brushes entirely (except potentially as a brush to paint bases or do dry brushing). The cheapest brushes will have bristles that start falling out very quickly, will lose their points almost immediately, and will tend to show other defects like loose ferules.

• Avoid synthetic bristle brushes. Every synthetic brush I’ve ever tried (nylon being a particularly common material) has lasted less than two weeks before I’ve had to toss it. Natural fibre bristles (among the best being Kolinsky sable) are real hair and are very strong and resilient, especially if you wash and condition them (just like your hair!). The tips on synthetic brushes tend to start to curl and hook very quickly, making them relatively useless for doing any kind of fine detail work.

• I spent almost 12 years using the $5-$6 sable brushes I purchased from craft stores or gaming stores. There is nothing wrong with these brushes, and they are probably a great place for most painters to start. I tended to get about 3-4 months of useful painting time with each of these brushes before I had to change them out. Considering we are in a hobby where the models we paint can easily cost $100 or more, this level of investment in your tools is really a bargain.

• For the last 8 years I have been using exclusively Kolinsky sable brushes (like Windsor & Newton). These brushes cost about 2-3 times as much as the artist grade brushes from a craft or gaming store, but I frequently get over a year’s worth of use from each one before it gets retired, especially with routine cleaning and maintenance every few weeks. That means it’s actually a bit cheaper in the long run to purchase the best brushes (assuming you take care of them). The best brushes are not a necessity, but they do make the work of creating beautifully painted models a bit easier, and with proper care can actually be cheaper for you in the long run if you’re willing to make the investment up front.

• Be kind to your “good” brushes. The quickest way to destroy a brush is to “jab” the brush into your model, which often happens when painting bases and terrain or when paint base coats as we try to get the paint into every hole and crevice. Have dedicated brushes that you use for these tasks (I usually use the most recently retired brushes that used to be my “good” brushes) to protect and prolong the working life of your best brushes. Remember that brushes are designed to pull paint with the tip being dragged behind the direction you are pulling your brush. Using this motion is best for ensuring a long, healthy life for your good brushes.

I made the following video to help you understand the anatomy of a paint brush, how to keep it going for a long time, and how to properly clean your brush. I hope you find it useful!

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