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Do-It Yourselfer's Tip of the Week 

BRUSHES

             Well, since my last “tip of the week” was about rollers, I suppose I’d better now do one on brushes.

             Off the top of my head the biggest difficulty in offering advice on brushes is this:  When I spoke about buying rollers and mentioned that there are cheap rollers and good rollers, I didn’t bother to mention that the difference in price is only a buck or two.    Not so with brushes.  The difference between a crappy brush and a good one can be $20 or more.

            Assuming many do-it-yourselfers are not going to want to buy a premium quality and expensive brush, somehow you are going to have to find a half-decent brush for a middle of the road price.  Why?   Because you simply cannot do a decent job with a too-cheap brush.  The variations of quality and detail after detail of differences would be far too much to cover in a simple “tip of the week” column, so we will go over only the basics here.

             Typically you use a synthetic brush for latex paints and a natural bristle brush for oil (alkyd).  You can use a synthetic brush for oil if you want, but you should not use a natural bristle brush with latex, because water based paints can damage the  bristles.  I have seen natural brustle brushes used for latex after they have been broken in a few times in oil paint, and cleaned, etc.  It seems to seal the bristles.  But I don’t do it, unless I’m somehow stuck with no latex brushes handy. 

            The synthetic materials are usually polyester, nylon, or a blend of both.  The decent quality ones will retain the right balance of stiffness and flexibility in the bristles once the brush becomes saturated in paint.  In other words, it won’t turn into a broom (too stiff) or a mop (too loose).  Nor will it have a “bad hair day” after one cleanup.

             The natural bristle brushes are not synthetic.  I have no idea what kind of  “natural bristles” are used though  (perhaps I should actually do some research before writing these tips??).   Basically the natural bristle brushes have the best ‘feel’ to them, and the synthetic brushes try to emulate them.

            The tips of the bristles on both brushes have ‘split ends’ on them, and as a result the brush holds the paint better, and releases it in a more consistent flow with each stroke.

             For most do-it-yourselfers I would recommend an angular brush.  This means that the ends of the bristles are not cut at a 90 degree angle, flat and square.  One side is longer, and it tapers down so the other side is shorter.    This makes for a nice, accuarate brush, easier to paint straight clean lines in those corners, around the trim and anywhere where a painted surface meets another surface that you do not want to get paint on.

            The angular brushes are very popular and are available anywhere you buy paint..  Generally I recommend a 2 ½ inch for walls and ceilings and a 2 inch for trim.    Expect to pay 10 CDN$ and up for a 2 ½ inch synthetic brush and 7 CDN$ for a 2 inch synthetic brush.  Anything much cheaper than that is probably not worth the couple of bucks you save.

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