Your brushes are so important to your ceramic hobby so you need to make sure you care for them properly to ensure that they will give you many years of good service.
A ceramist's best friends are his/her brushes. If you give them good care they will serve you well for many years.
The old saying goes that "Dime store brushes will give you Dime store results" and this is so very true when it comes to your brushes for your ceramic project.
I have put together some hints that you might like to try to help you keep your brushes in top quality condition and I hope this will help.
Your brush is like a fountain pen - the bristles of the brush seem to mold in to the way you use your brush just as a fountain pen nib does so keep your brushes for your own use.
Wet your brush before applying glaze or underglazes. Never wet your brush before applying metallics, translucent stains, lustres or mother of pearl.
Nail Polish remover works like a charm to release dried acrylic paint from your brushes. Apply a small amount on the palm of your hand then gently work your brush back and forth. Wash your brush thoroughly in soap and water. Reshape your brush and let it dry. When you are ready to paint again rinse your brush thoroughly in clear water.
Never NEVER NEVER let your brushes stand in water or other cleaner - even if you are going to use them straight away. This will tend to bend the bristles and may cause them to stay that way permanently.
Never NEVER NEVER push the bristles of your brush on the bottom of your water tub when you are cleaning the colour from your brush. This is a sure way of damaging the hairs in your brush.
Never store your brushes so that bristles are bent or out of shape.
If you do need to soak the bristles of the brush you can just push the brush on to the side of the water container with a little dab of Blu Tac. This will keep the brush bristles safely away from the bottom of the container where they will bend and break.
Sometimes you can rejuvenate a brush which has badly bent and wayward brush hairs. Dip the brush in Clag Glue right up to the ferrule. Smooth the brush back in to shape and allow to dry over night. Next day carefully rinse with warm water, continuing to smooth the bristles the right way. Unless your brush is badly damages this usually works wonders.
Use a piece of styrofoam to stick the end of your brushes (handles end of course) in - leaving the tips up to store.
Brushes may be washed in soap and water as long as they are rinsed clean before use.
Brush hairs will fire out of any piece to be fired, however you may see where the brush hair was on a non moving product.
Did you know that having a camel hair brush does not mean that your brush is made from the hair of a camel? It actually refers to a type of soft hair used in making the brush with squirrel hair being the finest.
A liner brush is a long bristled brush used for design work.
"Double load" is the term that applies to loading your brush with more than one colour. The load can be increased to three or even four colours.
As with any tool the better quality you buy the better and easier the job becomes. This is certainly true with brushes.
Stain brushes made of stiff white bristles will become stained when used in a variety of colours. This does not mean there is still paint in them.
When cleaning your brushes never push the bristles against the bottom of the container
Practice makes perfect. Experiment with your brushes.
When loading a liner brush emerse the bristles entirely in your colour. Pull the brush through the colour turning the brush at the same time so the bristles form a nice point. A brush acts like a fountain pen - it allows colour to flow down the body of the brush to the tip as you work.
Always clean your brush thoroughly after use with whichever medium is suitable to the product you have been using. Most products used in ceramics are water based so the brushes wash out in water. If you are unsure - READ THE LABEL.
To fully clean your brushes when you use Glitter paints use a liquid fabric softener. This helps “float” the glitter out of the brush
Ever wonder why brushes can be expensive?? Think of all the little hairs that have to go in to one brush and the price of high quality fur which they come from. In addition most quality brushes are hand made.
Did you know that a sabeline is a specially prepared ox hair that is used in brushes
Please care for your brushes well...they are not a cheap item but if properly cared for they will last you a very long time. You can not expect to paint perfect lines, or comma strokes with a brush of very poor quality.