Storing My Badger Brushes

[evansjw44]

I have a set of Badger varnish brushes I use and have kept for more than 20 year. I have kept them hanging in pine oil and they are as good as new. But now I can't buy pine oil any more and I've finally run out of the stuff. I need some input on how everybody else keeps thier brushes clean and ready.

I've heard some just hang them in mineral spirits. I think I did that a long time ago before I started using the pine oil and remember being pleases with how the pine oil was so much better. I've also heard of using kerosene and fuel oil. I have to wonder what happens to varnish if some of that stuff is left in the brush when you use it.

I have an experiment going now with an old brush and K-4 kerosene and I'm not sure what will happen when I wash them out and use them. Unlike the pine oil, the kerosene is remaining clear and that makes me suspect thy are not getting the deep cleaning pine oils gives.

So let me hear your thoughts. I just can't seem to gwt the hang of foam brushes so I only use them for build coats.

[Al Benton]

I had some good quality badger brushes that I used for quite a few years. I would store them dry after cleaning them with mineral spirits, then soap (dish washing liquid) and a thorough rinsing with water. I hung them on a nail to air dry. That seamed to work great until my wife got hold of them. The last one became land fill last month after a Classroom Paint Party at her school.

Now days I buy cheap disposable bristol brushes and don't bother cleaning them. Probably not good for the environment but better for keeping peace in the family.

Al

[Bill Basler]

James (evansjw44), where do you buy pine oil? I have an old painter friend who works a liberal amount of 3 in 1 oil into his brushes before he stores them away. He has done this for decades.

I do think that there's a huge difference between house painting and fine varnish. I too would be concerned with getting the oils out before the next coat of varnish.

Do you rinse the brushes out with something prior to use?

[evansjw44]

When I get ready to use my badger brush I take it out of the pine and and wash it thoroughly. The first two washes I use filtered used mineral spirits then clean MS for the final wash. I shake out the solvent after each wash. When I'm done with the brush I was out the varnish with used MS first, the clean for the last wash and then back in the pine oil.

I hang my brushes in the pine oil up to the heel in a big coffee can. Every year or two I replace the pine oil. Since I can't seem to buy the stuff anymore I'm down to filtering the oil and putting it back in a new can.

I've heard some painters do then same thing and some cut the pine oil with MS. I'm probably going to have to start cutting the pine oil too.

[yzer]

Hanging brushes in a can is probably the best way to go, but I like to use several brushes of different sizes while I work and don't have the room or patience to this.

I varnish at the workbench in the garage or at the boat, so I want to be ready to do either on short notice.

After I've used the brushes and before clean-up the brushes go into a quart mixing container with mineral spirits to cover the bristles. They may hold there for an hour before I get time to clean them with at least three passes with mineral spirits. Used MS is funneled into a 1 gallon container and eventually taken to the recycling center. I go through two or three gallons of Ace Hardware MS a year.

The cleaned and preened brushes are barely moist and individually wrapped with paper towel. Brushes are then stacked and stored flat in a shoebox-sized open cardboard box.

The box with all of my brushes is ready to grab and go at a moment's notice.

Just before I begin the next job, I'll pick my brushes and prep them for use. Each brush gets wetted with Pettit Brushing Thinner and the bristles are worked to flip out any lint or loose bristles. The brushes are barely damp prior to use.

I use Pettit varnish and sealer, so the Pettit brushing thinner is the only thing that should be on those brushes before using. To avoid chemical incompatibilities, use the brushing thinner recommended for your varnish: not MS or anything else.

[Al Benton]

Well, I used to take a lot of pride in taking care of those expensive brushes. I guess it was part of the enjoyment of the hobby at the time. I would spend as much time cleaning and storing them as I would using them. The finishes would always turn out great and the brushes would be ready for the next project. Then I began thinking that all this time cleaning the things was just a necessary evil and didn't really enjoy doing it, especially at the boat where it was difficult to deal with. I still did an adequate job but just didn't like doing it.

I tried using inexpensive (throw-away) china bristle brushes in my shop one day and found that the finishes were turning out as good as with the ones I felt obligated to clean and re-use. Good finishing products these days are pretty forgiving and have excellent self leveling qualities. They don't finish out any smoother using an expensive badger brush than they do with a cheap bristle brush that ends up in the trash can. The brush cleaning hobby is history for me.

Al

P.S. Please don't misunderstand this. I used to enjoy caring for those brushes and realize that other people still do. I'm just trying to simplify life in my retirement days. I must admit. The cheap ones shed a lot but banging it on the edge of the work bench and pulling and flexing it for a minute or two gets rid of most of that. It takes a lot less time than cleaning it afterwards.

[yzer]

I got away from the badger brushes. That may be because my first set of brushes were badger and I didn't know how to care for them. They didn't last very long. The badger brushes tend to have a thick bristle pack and hold the most varnish. I don't like the thin handles that get tiring after a little use. I like to force the varnish into expansion cracks and I like a stout handle. There is nothing dainty about the way I varnish.

Varnish fast, forcefully and hang the varnish just short of where it will sag or puddle. Working fast maintains the "wet edge" and allows surface tension to give you the best gloss.

Now I use the natural black bristle (ox hair brushes) sold at Ace Hardware. They have comfortable plastic handles. Ace used to call them varnish brushes, but now they call them "paint and varnish" brushes. I've been using them for eight or nine years now for varnish and paint. Three or four inch brushes are great for large areas like the transom or cockpit deck. One to three inch brushes work well for the tighter areas you will find on cruisers. The Ace Ox hair brushes hold up very well to repeated cleaning cycles, they have a fairly thick bristle pack so I can load them with a lot of varnish and the edge is fine for coverage along blue tape or getting into tight-angled places. Added benefit: if a black ox hair bristle comes loose and gets dried into the varnish, it will be practically invisible until I can get it out with the next varnishing. A little more stiff than china bristle, ox hair seems about the right bristle for me.

I also use "chipping brushes." These are another harware store item. Chipping brushes are disposable, having unfinished wood handles and light-colored natural bristles (china bristle). They can be cleaned and re-used a couple of times or just tossed. I use the 1/4 to 1/2" sizes for touch-ups or to fix damaged areas. The bristle pack on these brushes is much too thin to hold a lot of varnish and the china bristles are too delicate to hold up to repeated use and many cleanings.