Brush Maintenance and Varnish

[Seb]

Hey guys,

I just bought a rather expensive kolinsky sable brush and I would like to ask you about maintenance.
When painting, how do you properly clean the brush of paint and dry it? Do you use any thinner when cleaning the brush? Furthermore how do you wipe it when you are going switch paint, do you wipe it with tissue paper? To me it seems like wiping with paper kind of weakens the tip of the brush.

Any advice would be helpful.

Also, I bought some varnish, I bought some clear glossy varnish and flat surface varnish, mr. hobby i think.
The flat surface varnish after drying up turned out into a white layer and completely destroyed my model, luckily a test model, and the glossy one ended up well.. glossy.

What should I buy to get a good layer of flat varnish that doesn't ruin my model?

[Spevna]

Wait for M_I_J to reply. That man has an unhealthy love for his brushes and takes AMAZINGLY good care of them. He may actually have borderling COD when it comes to brush maintenance.

[me_in_japan]

allo this is me on my new-fangled PS3. Possibly, entering text via a control pad rather than a keyboard will reduce the waffle content of my posts. possibly....

anyway - brush care.

the most important thing is to wash your brush all the frickin time. using well thinned paint will reduce the likelihood ofit drying on the brush, but nonetheless its vital to wash your brush between every single dip in the pot.

when blotting water or paint from the brush , i find that lightly pressing the side of the brush / bristles against a tissue does the job. put a point on it with your mouth. do this every time you rinse it.

only ever put paint on the tip of the brush. keep it clear of the ferrule.

i dont use thinner or special cleaner when i paint, but about once a week i clean my brushes with 'The Master's Brush Cleaner and Preserver'. i dunno whats in it, but it looks like soap to me. gets the wee stubborn bits out from the ferrule like nobodys business. though.

i only use th WnN for painting - not mixing paint or owt.

hope that helps

[me_in_japan]

COD - cash on delivery? crazy ol' dave?

[Seb]

Thanks MiJ!
Where do you get the The Master's Brush Cleaner and Preserver? I have been wanting to buy that.

Anyone have any ideas about the varnish?

[me_in_japan]

It was really tricky to find the brush cleaner, even on the net. You can get it in most american webstores, but the shipping will kill ya. Unfortunately (gomen) I cant find the japanese site i got it from. It was about 2000yen, as I recall, which is about double what youll pay in the US, but it worked out a wee bit cheaper if you factored in shipping (altho only a wee bit.)

With regards to varnish, I have the same problem. I think matt varnishes have a tendency to turn whiteish, and the only solution is to put them on veeeeery thinly. Ive read that a good technique is to use gloss varnish as the protective layer, then spray (either by spray can or airbrush) just a wee thin layer of matt on top. Not enough to protect the mini - just enough to put a molecule or so over the gloss finish. Ive never tried tho, so I dont know if it works.

I believe Army Painter matt varnish has a good reputation, as does Testor's Dullcote. The former can be found at fullmetalplanet, the latter cant be found anywhere, so far as I can tell...

[Admiral-Badruck]

I could not find the Vanish any where... on your link...

[Primarch]

I could not find the Vanish any where... on your link...

Click Colour Primers, 3rd entry down.
[TAP-CP3003] アンチシャイン・マットバーニッシュ（無色）￥1,500

[Admiral-Badruck]

thanks man.. I never would have gotten that... I am really glad to see army painter in Japan...

[Seb]

Thanks for your help! I will try to get hold of that varnish.

By the way do all of you use varnish on your metal models?