paint brushes

[ray316]

What paint brushes do you think are the best.Someone said to me purdy brushes are.

 

[gcol]

I have some Purdy Monarch Elites, which are highly thought of. However, I don't like them cause I don't think they hold enough paint. I use a contractor brush set bought from Leyland Paints. I get them in sets of 5 brushes. They're all synthetic and I reckon that they're superior to the Purdy Monarchs. The brushes are actually distributed by Purdy though (according to the address on the back of the pack).
If anyone is interested, I can post a pic of a boxed set. Basically, they're the same brush as a Purdy, but they're a little thicker and hold paint better.

 

[ray316]

gco can you show a photo of these leyland brushes.

 

[gcol]

ok gimme a minute. I'll go and get em from the garage. Damn you

 

[gcol]

Ok. These are the ones I use.

 

[ray316]

Nice one gcol, at least it was'nt a cold night outside . One more question for a pack of three like these, how much will they cost and where can l get them.

 

[gcol]

If you look closely at the box you'll see it's a pack of 5. 2 x 2", 2 x 1.5", and 1 x 3".
My mate get's a decent discount and get's them for me - cost about £16.50. Probably nearer the £20 mark for the public.
Trust me though - they're good.
Oh and you should be able to get them from your local Leyland / Johnstones paint centre.

 

[ray316]

Thanks gcol, l will try them out.

 

[Zampa]

Does the plastic box come free with the brushes or vice versa...

I have just 'aquired' some monarch elites...cant say im impressed either, feels likeyour trying to paint with a wet kipper....and as Gcol says they dont hold much paint

The pro extra is sposed to be better brush..but im still not sold on synthetic brushes, Hamiltion brought a new range out and if thats the best that the leading brush maker in the uk can do...well...we they have got a long way to go.

One thing no synthetic brush is good for..gates and railings..or anything that requires a lot of 'jabbing' when cutting in, they end up looking like bog brushes!

Those Leyland ones look good though

 

[ray316]

what is the difference between synthetic , do they hold more paint, are they better for cutting in leaving no paint marks. l would like your opinions, are they good for emulsion painting or solvent painting or both.

 

[Third_Eye]

Zampa talks alot of sense on previous answer HOWEVER i have lost count how many salesmen have acted as if the synthetic brushes are better than non-synthetic and asked me to buy them. Well every time i attempt to use one i put it in the bin within 5 minutes. They are RUBBISH.

 

[ray316]

ok Third Eye you say they are rubbish, fair enough.But like l asked, please state you reasons why.

 

[Zampa]

what is the difference between synthetic , do they hold more paint, are they better for cutting in leaving no paint marks. l would like your opinions, are they good for emulsion painting or solvent painting or both.

I dont think they hold more paint, they dont have the same texture as pure bristle.

As for cutting in...yes some are very good for cutting in, you do get a good straight line with them..I used a purdy 4" in emulsion and it cut in really nice...but at 28 pieces of silver a pop...I was expecting them to!

But they aint all the same...theres a few different profiles for synthetic bristle, and a few different types of synthetic fibres itself

I think the thing is..us pro painters have been doing it a long time, we can use bristle brushes very well...so why do we need to change to another type of brush? our cutitng in isnt going to be any straighter. We were looking at the synthetic brushes if if they were going to make us paint twice as well twice as quickly...they dont....lets be honest chaps...we dont really need em do we.

But we had better get used to them....like waterbased gloss etc, they aint going to go away.
One of the reason being...changes in the faming industry in china where 95+% of the bristle comes from...they used to bread wild pigs (boars) virtually for bristle and slaughter them when they were older...and after they had yeilded a good crop of bristle...now they bread them for food primarily and slaughter them much younger..so the bristle doesnt get time to mature.

Most painters will agree...the quality of the bristle in a lot of brushes is falling, certainly in Hamiltons (they will admit it themselves) so now they are looking to find an alternative.

Mind you, they aint foound it in their latest series of synthetics

 

[Third_Eye]

1/ Synthetic brushes when used in oil based basically slips when trying to apply paint on top of already painted surfaces. 2/ Synthetic brushes when used in oil based basically DO NOT cover aswell as bristle resulting in needing more coats i.e double time etc.... 3/ Synthetic brushes when used in emulsion can split at the ends of the brush resulting in a nightmare for trying to cut in. 4/ Synthetic brushes for some reason when using with Acrylic Eggshell for cutting in walls whilst using with roller in a kitchen and bathroom then water penetrates the Synthetic brush texture that is left with cutting in and results in the cutting in ONLY splitting over time..................................................

 

[gcol]

1/ Synthetic brushes when used in oil based basically slips when trying to apply paint on top of already painted surfaces. 2/ Synthetic brushes when used in oil based basically DO NOT cover aswell as bristle resulting in needing more coats i.e double time etc.... 3/ Synthetic brushes when used in emulsion can split at the ends of the brush resulting in a nightmare for trying to cut in. 4/ Synthetic brushes for some reason when using with Acrylic Eggshell for cutting in walls whilst using with roller in a kitchen and bathroom then water penetrates the Synthetic brush texture that is left with cutting in and results in the cutting in ONLY splitting over time..................................................

Crikey, what brushes have you been using?