Paintbrush Shelf Life?

[Bravo Six]

I find I go trough my W&N Cotman brushes pretty quickly. I clean them after each use with cold water and dish soap (I made the mistake of using warm water once and they flayed like CRAZY) but they still have a short shelf life. Tried several brush cleaner and conditioners, but they're not worth the money IMHO.

I don't seem to remember going through brushes quite this quickly when I was at my painting zenith years back. I'm maybe getting 3 sessions out of them before they start to go all squirrely. Not sure what I'm doing wrong, but at $6 a brush, I'm going to have to re-think things.

[Orctrader]

I'm not familiar with that particular brush so can't comment.

I mostly use Rosemary Brushes - series 33

LINK

Nothing larger than size 1.  Not sure how that compares price-wise?

(I think many figure painters use these; several on this forum.    )

[Mindenbrush]

Synthetic brushes do tend to curl at the tip even with moderate use, I have used similar synthetic brushes in the past and nothing I did made a difference.
Even bought a couple recently to see if they had changed but tips still curl.

As Orctrader said, Rosemary Brush’s Series 33 short handle Kolinsky sable give excellent value and long life.

[Bravo Six]

Thanks for the input guys! I appreciate that.

[Bravo Six]

Seems like these are only available from the UK. I was hoping that Amazon.ca carried them so I'd get them overnight to my door, but no such luck.

The only seller on Evilbay is also a UK seller.

[Mr.J]

I used synthetic brushes for a long time (not really knowing the difference) and without exception each one ended up with a curled end. I moved to sable brushes, and not particularly expensive ones, and they last so much longer.

[Mindenbrush]

Seems like these are only available from the UK. I was hoping that Amazon.ca carried them so I'd get them overnight to my door, but no such luck.

The only seller on Evilbay is also a UK seller.

Best to get the Rosemary brushes direct from the manufacturer, they are reasonably quick dispatching them.

[Orctrader]

Best to get the Rosemary brushes direct from the manufacturer, they are reasonably quick dispatching them.

I agree.  They ship worldwide so no need for middle-men.  They are excellent to deal with.

https://blog.rosemaryandco.com/delivery-returns/

[Bravo Six]

Thanks guys, I did just that. It was funny to see that postage was the same price as 2-4 day FedEx. Seems like a no brainer. 

[Atheling]

It's a difficult one to answer......

I've had some of my W&N Series 7 for over a decade. Some. I've also had problems with the ferrule's on some of their brushes from the same range within a year.....  It makes me wonder if all the brushes are still made in the same factory and to the same quality standards.

BTW, I never give my brushes any 'hammer' by pure sable brushes for heavy coverage and always use something sturdier... something synthetic.

Raphael 8404 size 0 and Rosemary Series 33 are both very good choices too.

It's worth trying all three and seeing what you prefer- we all paint in a different manner so go for what suits you.

[Bravo Six]

It makes me wonder if all the brushes are still made in the same factory and to the same quality standards.

I think that was my thinking with my W&N Cottman Series brushes. I've been out of the hobby for so long up until the past 3 years, I figured they might have cheaped out since the early 2000's.

[Atheling]

I think that was my thinking with my W&N Cottman Series brushes. I've been out of the hobby for so long up until the past 3 years, I figured they might have cheaped out since the early 2000's.

Yep, it's definitely an oddity, at least five brushes lasting over a decade and three or four crapping out on me within a year or two