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I just treated myself to a bunch of new brushes,some grey flats They're nice and springy,brand new!! Problem is,the largest one is a 2" and quite heavy and they shift aroud in the box on their way here and the hairs get bent on the corners.I 'm on brush number 5 now,I don't think I'll get too many more replacements and I really want one of these 2 inchers. There was a post a while back on this but I didn't read very carefully.I remember someone said something about laying in hot oil? Could someone reply a second time to this question for a sufferer of early stages of CRS?
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Hi Mike...I'm experimenting with new ways of storing my brushes in the signkit as well. Joey Madden suggested storing my brushes sandwiched between 2 layers of foam. I've had some probs locating the thickness of foam I need. Today we hit the carpet people hoping their underpad would work, but it was not a consistant density. I'll keep you posted when I find the answer. Hoping Hassle will post some of his ideas below this post.
Not long before Joey mentioned this brilliant (I'm serious!) idea, I had bought a small, (roughly 5"X10") 'nuts and bolts' compartment box at Meijer and lined it with foam, (cut from a big 'carwash' sponge'), but I lined it to the top. Thus, closing the lid sandwiched the brushes against the foam. I have since gone and trimmed the foam down and added a top layer to do what Joey suggested. The box holds all my brushes and is small enough to fit in any briefcase or carry-on and only cost about $6. This is the one that went to India last August.
I also do what Joey suggested and clean my brushes with an ultrasonic and store them dry. I know, I know, everyone but the Bible says they need to be oiled, but I have found, like Joey, that a clean dry brush will last AND behave.
Yet just another case in which Joey is right!
Hope this helps,
Lee
------------------ Lee 'Vance' Hulick New Carlisle, Ohio (near Dayton) Webmaster of the Pinheads Central web site - pinhead.cjb.net
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Michael in the past I had to travel quite a bit so my brushes would often get bounced around in my kit quite abit,thus getting bent out of shape.The best cure for this I have found is to "iron" out the curls somewhat similar to the way the ladies of the 60's would iron out their hair when long straight hair was fashionable.the first step in the process is to clean the brush in solvents as clean as possible & then oil the brushes liberally in mineral oil.Then I would take a piece of bare scrap sheet(0.20) metal & clamp it horizontally to a vise or with a "c" clamp to the edge of the work bench in a fashion that permits a puddle of mineral oil to be poured on top about 1.5" in diameter & still have a couple of inches margin around the edge.This sheet metal needs to be clamped in such a manner that it may be heated from underneath with a candle or lighter & level enough to keep the oil from dripping over the edges into the flame of the heat source.At this point I would take a candle & heat the metal from underneath until I would see the oil react(it will separate slightly) being careful not to over heat the oil to the boiling point.Then taking a liberally oiled clean brush I would gently comb the hair of the brush on the hot metal(in the oil puddle)with a brass toothed brush a little larger than a toothbrush.The oil protects the hair from the heat & the hot metal acts as an "iron" to straighten the hair.You need to use some common sense here as if the metal is too hot it will fry the brush hair & the flame will ignite the oil(nothing smells as bad as burnt hair & it's kinda hard to letter with a burnt brush), so use some caution.Usually I have to repeat this process a couple of times until the aflicted brush will keep it's shape when cleaned & dipped in thinner.If at this point the hair remains curled re-oil the brush good & repeat the above process until the desired straightness of hair is achieved.I have often considered using an old metal faced iron for this process but never had one handy to try it with. As for storing brushes in my kit to prevent this I cut a strip of coroplast in half to expose the flutes & insert a 1/2' strip to act as slots to hold the brush handles in place while in transit.
hope this helps ya!
------------------ fly low...timi/NC is,.....Tim Barrow Barrow Art Signs Winston-Salem,NC members.xoom.com/Signz
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Here's my two cents that I had added the last time this came up...
I got some foam used for packing pull-tabs free from the local bar. It's about 1 - 1 1/2" thick. I cut it slightly longer than the tray in my kit is wide. Then I sliced (not all the way thru) across the foam for slits for my brush handle tips to lay in.
I have a piece of showcard on bottom of tray. I dip the brush in oil, then lay the end tip of the handle in the slit in the foam. The brush hairs lay flat on the showcard and I can make sure they are shaped right.
So far, so good... but I am sure some of you old timers out there have coffee older than my brushes!
------------------ Dana Aaron Sign-A-Saurus Nevis, MN ICQ# 37949659 It's a dog-eat-dog world... and I'm wearing milk bone underwear.
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i dont have the problem of bent hairs...all my quills set in a drawer with a 1/8 to 1/4 inch of 10w non-detergent motor oil...little messy when you get em out but the oil keeps em soft...and it dont disapear... old paint.. joe
------------------ joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 6050 mobile hwy pensacola, fl 32526 850-944-5060
Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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Thanks all for response.I liked Timi's idea about the hot oil,but since the brush was still new and unoiled,I didn't want to oil er up if I wasn't gonna be satisfied or if I burned it.The dealer had had some luck in the past with hot water on fine arts brushes where people would come into his store and pull the cap off a small sable or the like and then just jam it back on leaving hairs sticking out all over the place!Pretty rude,huh?Anyway he told me to put the brush in HOT water and shape it,let it dry and see what happened.Let it dry overnite,Presto!A brand new 2" grey flash. The only other time I ever got some heat around a brush was years ago,in my Camel usin' days.Had a camel in one corner of my mouth and a lettering quill,dripping with thinner in the other corner.Talk about 2 bad habits?Standing on the end of a dock at the marina on a windy day.Let's light up this ciggie...Oh No,the lighter flame catches in the wind,and sure enough...Poof.I kept the brush all these years.It looks like a miniature version of Dorothy's Broom from Oz..one of those old yellow handled jumbos,who made them????
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