Best brushes for oil varnish application?

[polkat]

The title says it; what are the best brushes to use for oil varnishes? I had a badger hair brush that suddenly seems to be lost. It worked fairly well. Is boar hair better, or perhaps something else without getting rediculous about cost? Thanks!

[Bernhard Ritschard]

The title says it; what are the best brushes to use for oil varnishes? I had a badger hair brush that suddenly seems to be lost. It worked fairly well. Is boar hair better, or perhaps something else without getting rediculous about cost? Thanks!

I like these synthetic brushes for oil varnish:

http://www.utrechtart.com/dsp_view_product.cfm?item=68185

I am using some of these brushes for more than 10 years now, they still work fine and are easy to clean.

But if f you are using a very thick oil varnish, you might need a stiffer brush.

Bernhard

[Matthias Lange]

I am using synthetic "da Vinci" brand brushes. They work well with my varnish, are easy to clean, don't loose hairs and waste less varnish than natural hair.

Matthias

[Bernhard Ritschard]

I am using synthetic "da Vinci" brand brushes. They work well with my varnish, are easy to clean, don't loose hairs and waste less varnish than natural hair.

Matthias

Do you mean these ones: ?

http://www.dickblick.com/products/da-vinci...ries-18/#photos

I have one of these too, and it is as good as the Winsor&Newton.

DaVinci is slightly thicker.

[Matthias Lange]

No, I have the 5080 series 30mm brush and a smaller one (not of the 5080 series) for the scroll.

da vinci brushes

[Bernhard Ritschard]

No, I have the 5080 series 30mm brush and a smaller one (not of the 5080 series) for the scroll.

da vinci brushes

Never tried this one...

[Matthias Lange]

I only tried this one and some brushes of natural hair.

I stopped looking for other brushes because it works well.

But my varnish is very easy to work with. Maybe other varnishes need better brushes.

Matthias

[Bernhard Ritschard]

Above: Winsor&Newton

Below: DaVinci

These brushes are both 24mm wide and are the only ones I use, except for the scroll.

Both are more than 10 years old and work still fine, but I slightly prefer the Winsor and Newton because it's thinner at the tip.

Bernhard

[Oded Kishony]

This looks like a very good brush, anyone tried it?

http://www.dickblick.com/products/princeto...-series-6250fw/

This one also looks promising

http://www.dickblick.com/products/winsor-a...sh/#description

I use a 'martora' brush that i bought in Italy- Bruce, do they still those brushes there?

( does 'martora' refers to the martin hair but is also a brnad name?)

Oded

[Janito]

Jerry's Artaramma occasionally have fantastic sales and you can pick up $100 brushes for a song.

http://www.jerrysartarama.com/

As a result, I have a very large selection of synthetic and natural brushes. The synthetic ones work very well with oil varnishes, clean easily and the hairs do not distort with use.

ps - I use terpenoid to clean (it also removes grime and rosin from varnish when used carefully).

pps - Now I prefer good synthetic brushes to natural hair ones (and that goes for badger, sable, hog etc). Good for the critters.

[Michael Richwine]

We just use cheap, disposable foam brushes. Buy them 100 at a time. They work great if your varnish is thin enough, and they do a great job. Our dry varnish film is very, very thin, though, even with several layers of color and clear.

[Atomino]

does 'martora' refers to the martin hair but is also a brnad name?

Hi Oded.

Martora brushes called so because of the marten hair are made of. No such a brand in Italy.

[Oded Kishony]

I have a red and gold colored brush with 'martora' in raised letters on the ferrule. Have you seen such brushes in Italy lately?

Attached are pictures of two brushes on the left is the one I bought in 1987 on the right is the same brush only newer. Got a lot of mileage on that onld brush, it still works great.

Oded

[MANFIO]

Oded, the brushes you have mentioned are very popular in Cremona, I think Morassi sells them, I have some of them too.

My preferred brush is a Japanese one, PRINCETON, artificial hair.

[fiddlecollector]

One of the most useful brushes i have has Whistler stamped on one side and is supposedly made in Italy, if i remember it was very cheap.But its excellent for applying larger areas of varnish , blending in varnish strokes and used dry its great for removing brush marks without removing too much varnish.Its quite long bristles but also quite stiff and thin .

[Bernhard Ritschard]

I have a red and gold colored brush with 'martora' in raised letters on the ferrule. Have you seen such brushes in Italy lately?

Attached are pictures of two brushes on the left is the one I bought in 1987 on the right is the same brush only newer. Got a lot of mileage on that onld brush, it still works great.

Oded

Ha! These are the brushes we used at school in Cremona, they all had this craquelée on the handle after a while... If you use them for oil varnish, your varnish is very liquid, right?

As Manfio stated, GiùBàt Morassi sells them...

Bernhard

[Oded Kishony]

Yes, I b ought these in Cremona. They have worked very well for me. The one with the worn bristles is good for applying an oil varnish that is a bit thicker.

Oded

[Michael_Molnar]

I like the one Darnton uses. I forget what it is, but search the posts.

Mike

[Nicolas Temino]

We just use cheap, disposable foam brushes. Buy them 100 at a time. They work great if your varnish is thin enough, and they do a great job. Our dry varnish film is very, very thin, though, even with several layers of color and clear.

Do you mean this?

I've been thinking of using them for my first violin.

[Michael Richwine]

Do you mean this?

I've been thinking of using them for my first violin.

Exactly. I don't know whether brand makes much difference, but the ones we use work very well. I've done finishing of all sorts all my life, used just about every brush available, so I was kind of shocked to see our varnish guys using them when I came to work here, but it's hard to argue with the results. You can put down very thin, very even coats with no brush marks.

[joerobson]

The best brush is the one that completes the triangle: the skill of the maker + the viscosity of the varnish + the proper brush.

I use two brush styles: Loew-Cornell Maxine's Mop and de Vinci 110 Stencil brush. Different sizes for differing applications.

The viscosity of my varnishes vary from cold maple syrup to warm honey. Basically I like to varnish with thick but slightly greasy varnish.

on we go,

Joe

[Don Noon]

Does anyone else use just fingers for varnishing? (except for a small brush for the scroll)

I hate cleaning brushes.

[joerobson]

Does anyone else use just fingers for varnishing? (except for a small brush for the scroll)

I hate cleaning brushes.

Don,

I get a lot of mileage from the meaty section just below my thumbs...it is the only place I am ambidextrous.

Not much for fingers....I use the Maxine's Mop for small places. The stencil brush is to get the varnish on, spread it out and work it into the surface. Correction on the da Vinci brushes: the series is 113.

Joe

[Arsalan]

On 5/16/2010 at 5:56 AM, Janito said:

Jerry's Artaramma occasionally have fantastic sales and you can pick up $100 brushes for a song.

http://www.jerrysartarama.com/

As a result, I have a very large selection of synthetic and natural brushes. The synthetic ones work very well with oil varnishes, clean easily and the hairs do not distort with use.

ps - I use terpenoid to clean (it also removes grime and rosin from varnish when used carefully).

pps - Now I prefer good synthetic brushes to natural hair ones (and that goes for badger, sable, hog etc). Good for the critters.

Hi there 

would you please send me a few brush you would recommend for medium or thin varnish ... thank you 

[Michael_Molnar]

I have no use for hog hair bristles unless you insist on using something authentic from classical makers. They leave too many broken bristles IMHO.

I like Da Vinci impasto or acrylic brushes. They have the right stiffness for my needs for working stain and varnish into wood features. They leave no bristles behind.