jimmyzimms wrote:
Yeah I hear these stories about people with 10 year old brushes and I don't get it. I go through them as well. Its not a quality of brush thing either. $5 or $30 brush, it makes no difference so obviously the issue is with me, though damned if i know what I'm doing with it. I've personally standardized on Tamiya HF 6 brushes (by the bucket full) as they have the intersection of price and quality of tip that works for me. Anyways, we're getting off topic.
discussing metal and resin, how often do you all take your whole workshop apart and deep clean and organize everything?
No, no. To a large extent, it is the brush. I've been painting minis for 25 years now, and I have yet to discover why some brushes degrade so quickly and others seem to last forever. Over the years, however, I have found that my brushes last longer. I don't know, however, if that's because I have become more skilled at choosing good brushes, or because I take better care of them. Probably both. I definitely know which brands and which materials to avoid at this point.
I spend quite a lot of time selecting brushes when I do buy them. Even brushes made of the same material in the same size by the same manufacturer seem to vary a great deal in terms of durability. While at the store, I play with the points a little bit, check for frayed hairs, etc., and select the one that seems best.
I'd say my average utility brush (of which I have four or five in different sizes) lasts for about two years at this point, although I've had one or two for five or maybe more.
I should add that I stick to synthetics as I prefer their action (or better put, I'm so used to them after 3 decades that I've developed techniques that work with them, hooks and all).
