brush tip that stays pointy over time?

i am the owner of numerous #1 and #2 inexpensive brushes and several newer less inexpensive brushes. all of them have lost their pointy tips, after not a lot of use.

my newer #2's, royal and langnickel white/clear acrylic handles, looked wonderfully pointy in the store. with hardly any use, just practicing at home, they now look disgraceful -



i baby my brushes - load paint by swiping back and forth, in the direction of the bristles, don't put them brush down in rinse cup, rinse and store with brush tips upright immediately after use.

are there any brands of fine round brushes (#0, 1, 2, etc), that hold their point better over time? i'll pay more!

I adore my Loew & Cornells:

Gold Grips #3 & #4 are my work horses.
7000C #2 #4 #5 are lovely, too.

They are available at the FacePaintForum shop (the colourful rectangle at the top of this page).

Brushes wear out.
I know I am emotionally attached to my brushes. I never want to throw them away.
My brushes have been lasting a lot longer since I have wedged a surgical scrub brush into the first two tanks of my water containers. They seem to winnow the paint out of the ferrule and this seems to prevent splaying. (You can order from Shining Feather a bath basin for brushes).

Every couple of months, if there are brushes that seem to be really splayed, I will plunge them in boiling water (do not go up to the ferrule, you do not want to melt the glue holding the hairs together) for three seconds and immediately shape with my fingers.

I have brushes from the 1940s. I have replaced the hafts several times. I take care of my babies... um, I mean my brushes. In the past, I have conditioned my brushes with conditioner and left them to set with Dippity Do (a very old hair gel product). Now, my face paint brushes are mostly Taklon, they simply require cleaning and reshaping.

If my brushes are really not salvageable, I bring them to my local public school. Even without perfect points, those brushes are better than anything that the school provides.

Happy Painting!

thank you, fesspenter, i have read the comments about how everyone likes those two loew cornell series, wasn't sure if it included liking their pointy-ness

i suspect new brush bristles are stuck together with starch or some kind of soluble adhesive, as they are usually quite stiff until they are rinsed out. so you can't tell how they will really perform.

i will try your reshaping technique. that makes sense with taklon bristles, as plastics are malleable.

and in the near future, i will get a few new ones from the forum shop. (woo hoo, shopping)

When a brush stops holding a point when I load it, I just toss it in my trash under the table and grab another. Lately I've been tossing a few every job, but it is the end of the year and they've worked hard.

They don't last, and there is only so much you can do to attempt to make them work. It is just a cost of doing business - brushes need to be replaced.

thanks shannon, i haven't been sure how long they should last, i guess it's as long as they do.

i am already figuring out which brushes i use most and which kind of sit around. will invest in fewer, essential brushes going forward.

Some last longer than others. It is true that you get what you pay for. I spend well over $100 a year on brushes.

I have to say though, that the Wilton cake decorating brushes are holding up very well. (purple plastic handles)

The Duff brand do not - the handles are cheap wood, the paint cracks and peels off right away and the ferrule separates from the handle after one or two uses.

I have tried out the royal and langnickel brushes, I only like the 3/4 flat. It's thin with a nice edge. I had an issue with a dynasty brush I originally bought for face painting, but it held too much water and picked up far too much paint, the edge was too blunt and thick. I've retired it to watercolours and it works much better for that purpose.

I've had my royal and langnickel flat brush for about 8 months now, I use it at every job, and I take very good care of my brushes. It hasn't shown any wear yet.

My favourite round brushes are the La Corneille golden taklon 7000, I have a few sizes (I think a 6, a 3 or 4, and a ridiculously tiny one that I use for outlining fine characters.) They all hold their points wonderfully.

Not all of the brushes in my kit have nice tips, there are a couple I keep because of the rounded blunt tips. These are excellent brushes for double dipped flowers. I keep a snazaroo medium round brush only for double dipped flowers, I find it creates better petal shapes than my more pointy brushes.

seems a lot of people like the 7000 line, i will probably get them and/or the gold grip ones.

i know what you mean about blunt brushes being useful, too, i discovered one of my larger round brushes makes nice round dots because the plump tip smooshes down perfectly.

I like the Loew Cornell 7000C line. They have acrylic handles.
And I adore Royal soft grip brushes for one stroke painting.

rthling, some time ago it occurred to me your forum name is a play on "earthling"?

Yes! A while back, I started a thread about it, called "What does it mean?"
http://www.facepaintforum.com/t9448-what-does-it-mean

great thread on the forum names . added mine to it..

I have the gold grip and la cornielle (hope I spelled that right) and they are both good. I actually found my American Painter brush I got from Michaels arts and craft store to have the best point!! They weren't as expensive either. Unfortunately it isn't the prettiest brush because I cut it to be shorter. Love hearing how different brushes hold up

thanks, jennvenn, i'll have to see if the michaels in my town carries them

My total favorites are loew Cornell comfort brushes. I have had some for 2 years and I still love them! They are fantastic, the best brushes I've ever used! I know they are discontinued but if you look them up a few stores still carry them. I hope you find your perfect brushes!

thanks, smazyfun faces, it's a work in progress my latest hack after i rinse out my brushes, is to swipe a little white face paint on the tips and shape them to a point. the paint makes the bristles stick together and hold the shape, and when i'm ready to paint again, i just rinse quickly.