Brushes are a painters staple tool. They come in a wide range of sizes, bristle types and prices. Of course each has an intended purpose but all with good care should last through many many projects. Here are some of my favorites and some things I have learned using them. They are all my own opinions and all links are just that, a link to a helpful site for more details. They in no way benefiting me ;)
My favorite brush has been an 2" angled synthetic with a short handle bought at our local hardware store. I like it because it fits in small areas, leaves a smooth paint surface and has good accuracy when lines and edges are needed to be cut in. This picture is my brush after probably 50 projects!
Another favorite is the cheap chip brush. I use it for projects that I want a more rustic paint job on as they will leave more brush strokes. They are perfect to apply soft wax with as well. And being in the "cheap" price range they eventually wear down and get tossed but this takes quite awhile.
Recently I won a highly trendy "
Cling On" brush and have to say it is fantastic. It leaves an super smooth finish, holds a ton of paint (hence the name) and cleans up easily. The crazy fact I learned reading the pamphlet and confirmed with the
kind sponsor of the giveaway, this brush likes to be stored suspended in water!
I also just tried
Country Chic Paint's large oval synthetic brush and found it worked lovely for large surfaces not requiring any distinct cut in lines or edges. It held allot of paint and sped the project along and cleaned up easily.
Fusion Mineral Paint has a new series of natural bristle brushes so I chose to buy the smaller oval one. I have only used it so far with a clear poly coat and it left a beautiful finish. I do need to highlight, natural bristle brushes need to be washed after using and should not be left wrapped in plastic between coats. Ask me how I know ;)
With my new brush I ordered
Fusion brush cleaner and I cannot say enough about how amazing this cleaner is. It saved my learning lesson on the above brush bringing it back to soft smooth bristles!! It conditions your brushes bristles as well as cleans them. I had a hardened wax brush and by working this cleaner in well and massaging with water, it too was like new again. This is a must have.
photo: Fusion website
Speaking of wax brushes, for larger projects I find an actual wax brush so handy. I actually have two of these from
Country Chic Paint; one for clear and one for dark waxes.
I like to store my brushes hanging from a magnetic bar (from IKEA intended for knives in the kitchen). It is perfect to keep bristles straight and aids the drying process too. I do have many more brushes laying flat in a drawer, with those silica packages to keep them dry and rust free, but plan to get another magnetic bar as so easy to grab and see all at a quick glance ;)
In
another giveaway I won a brush storage case I have yet to try. Usually I wrap my synthetic brushes in plastic between coats which saves time cleaning in between each as well as saves paint but DO NOT do this for natural bristles ;) On a hand cleaning side note, the
orange Scrubby soap in this prize package is AWESOME for hands!! (the coffee cup is getting good use too and the super headband is hand crocheted from
Crafty Crochet <3)
So I hope this gives you a quick overview of my brush thoughts, I would love to hear any tips or favorites below!!
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Great insider info on furniture painting brushes Lee Ann, thanks for sharing at Fridays Furniture Fix!
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