...dope brushes..

[Bootlegger]

 Mornin Guy's, I am lookin for some non bristle sheddin brushes, where do you get yours.
 I am wantin something that is about 1/2"-3/4" wide.
 
 Thanks, Gil

[Norm Furutani]

I'm happy with the Loew Cornell Taklon series. Readily available at the chain craft stores and online. If interested, I'll get the model number.

Norm

[Bill Little]

Hi Gil,

A good thing to remember is that even the $25 camel hair brushes will sometimes shed a bristle...............

BIG Bear
RNMM/AMM

[Dick Pacini]

I remember using brushes that shed so much my plane looked like it had panel lines.

[Randy Cuberly]

Most of the regular dope brushes can be cured of shedding by simply crimping the metal portion that holds the bristles in place.  I use a large pair of pliers with flat gripping surfaces (I actually use a large pair of Linemans pliers) and flatten the metal where it contacts the bristles.  Then take hold of the bristles with fingers and pull out any wayward bristles before using.  This works pretty well.  It isn't perfect but you will lose very few bristles after this treatment.  I keep a small dry  paper towel handy to quickly remove any bristles that might come out but after this treatment there usually aren't any.

Randy Cuberly

[James_Mynes]

I got a couple of orange Taklon brushes at Wal-Mart in the artsy-craftsy department. They work better than any others I've found lately. I remember the camel hair brushes shedding a hair or two way back, no matter what I tried to stop it.
The Taklon brush lost a few bristles at first, but that seems to have stopped.
I tried some white bristle and black bristle, I think they might be hog hair. They seem coarse, and lose little bits, not full bristles. It's almost like 1/8" of bristle breaks off for no apparent reason.
By the way, foam brushes don't work. They swell up like a tick in just a minute or two.

[Randy Ryan]

Even the best natural hair brushes will lose bristles, they fatigue at the ferrule from normal use. I use Randy's trick but be very careful if you do this, crimp too heavily and you will actually cut bristles. I finally took a piece of 3/32 music wire and bent it in a tight "u" shape. I put this in the vice then slide the ferrule between the legs and crimp it. The round wires don't squeeze the edge of the metal against the bristles that way minimizing the cutting.

[George]

You can also resort to the sponge brushes...no hair to shed.

Whatever you use, keep it WET and move fast. Don't keep brushing the same area multiple times, a couple of swipes then move on.

Probably all of us have created hairy finishes at one time or another.

BTW, camel hair brushes are usually made from squirrel or ox hair...ever see a naked camel?   

George

[Randy Cuberly]

You can also resort to the sponge brushes...no hair to shed.

Whatever you use, keep it WET and move fast. Don't keep brushing the same area multiple times, a couple of swipes then move on.

Probably all of us have created hairy finishes at one time or another.

BTW, camel hair brushes are usually made from squirrel or ox hair...ever see a naked camel?   

George

Hmmmm...Well I saw a couple of naked Camel Drivers washing their Camels in the Camel market in Tripoli in the early 1960's does that count.  It's not a pretty sight. 
You're right of course camel hair is not used in brushes...usually squirrel hair.

Randy Cuberly
Did you know that camels can spit about 20 feet!!!  Don't ask how I know that!   

[Jim Kraft]

Since I do my whole finishes with a brush most times, I have found cheap camel hair brushes still work the best for me. I only use a new brush for the first few base coats as they will loose a few bristles for a while. I use a well worn brush for the final coats of clear and rarely loose any. I do thin all dope at least 60% for brushing, and sometimes quite a bit more. Always have the brush loaded with dope and only brush as far as it will go with still having dope in the brush. I use a 3 stroke where I brush in the same spot back and forth 3 times fairly quick to keep the brush from sticking and pulling hair.

I have tried some of the synthetic brushes with the fine bristles, and they work OK except for leaving a bristle mark every time you touch the brush to the surface. If you do get a bristle in the finish, let it dry, and touch it with 320 grit paper and it will come right off. then you can go over that spot with more dope.

[James C. Johnson]

Maybe a better question is not which brush, but to deal with the thing we are trying to avoid...

So, what do you do when there is a hair on your plane? I recently had to deal with this... if it is clear you might be able to use the tip of an xacto to get it off if you are quick enough.. most of the time I just let it hang there until the next day and lightly sand it off.. when I paint I watch the tip of my brush, hairs that are ready to come loose will stick out of the end of the brush. I pull them off as I go.. sometimes I get lucky and get a "clean run"... Also prepping the brush before using it works to get loose hairs off.. I dip it in clear and wipe it clean with a paper towel. I have dedicated brushes for white and black dope... I have brushes with plier marks, you have to be careful doing this, it will rescue a brush. Some of my brushes are over 30 yrs old.

Jim 

[Bootlegger]

  Wow, guy's as usual this site is a wealth of information.  I sure do thank all of y'all for the advice/info/help.

  It sure is goooood doin business with y'all...

[Randy Ryan]

Lets see, 2 things here, first, removing a hair form wet dope; I just pick it back up with the edge hair of the brush, pull it off the brush and dope back over the area.

I have taken new brushes and drop a bit of CYA in the ferrule but it will stiffen the bristles as the exit. it sorta works,

[Don Jenkins]

I purchased a few high quality brushes (around 20 plus dollars, but at the time they had a 50% off sale) from Michael's, an arts and craft store.  I have used these brushes for about two years and 5 builds and not one bristle has come loose.

[Phil Krankowski]

I use short bristle artist brushes, pretty cheap and probably sable.  One per color and *I DON'T CLEAN THEM*  When I need to use one I put a splash of thinner into a narrow cup, stand the brush up and it becomes soft, then I move to the paint.  Wipe the brush out on some paper and let it dry when done.

This is the same way my Dad used dope for brushes, and after drying *years* the brushes still come right back to life. 

Just don't try to flex the hardened brush or it will shed like nobody's business for the next couple uses, if the bristles don't pull out of the metal completely.

Phil

[George]

Lets see, 2 things here, first, removing a hair form wet dope; I just pick it back up with the edge hair of the brush, pull it off the brush and dope back over the area.

I have taken new brushes and drop a bit of CYA in the ferrule but it will stiffen the bristles as the exit. it sorta works,

That's the way I do it also...by holding the brush 90 degrees to the hair and pushing it loose. If the dope is already too tacky or is already dry you can wait until it is completely dry, then sand lightly through the dope and pick off the hair as someone suggested, with the tip of a #11 blade (VERY carefully), then continue sanding until the surface is smooth.

On the CA, I tried that once and the CA "wicked" up the bristles and left me with half/length bristles. I would suggest doing this one brush at a time and keep some nitro or other de-bonding agent handy to recover any bristles lost by wicking.

George

[Avaiojet]

No photos, well here's some of my dope brush buddies. They work great!

Here's what they have done.

Charles