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What's a good all-around beginner brush for 'larger' surfaces?


notflip

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I just started out, and I'm trying to paint the following surface, (see picture) https://imgur.com/a/5l4IsgN

It's only the first layer, but as you can see there's a lot of brush strokes, at the moment I'm using a (nameless) synthetic brush around 0.5cm in width.

 

 

Is there any softer all-around brush that you can recommend for acrylic painting?

Thank you

Edited by notflip
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Notflip, I'm a brush painter and would never pick up an airbrush again as I loathe the things, cleaning and faffing around with airbrushes completely destroyed my enjoyment of the hobby. Rest assured you're not alone, there's a lot of people around here who brush paint either from choice or necessity.

 

If you brush paint the two most important things are brushes and thinning the paint. In terms of brushes, buy the best you can. Go to an artist supplies shop and get sable brushes if you can or the very best quality synthetic. For large areas you want to be using a flat brush, I personally never use anything wider than about an inch.

 

With the paint you need to thin it. With acrylics that means acrylic thinner or water. How much to thin depends on the paint and brush you're using and also technique. It's one of those things which you need to learn from practice but don't worry once you start doing it, it will very quickly become apparent what works best. As a general guide for starting out I like my paint to be the consistency of skim milk or thereabouts, depending on the paint that's probably a ratio or somewhere around  70/30 or 60/40 paint to thinner. But whatever paint you are using it is imperative to thin it for painting to reduce the likelihood of brushmarks especially for large areas.

 

One of the chaps here called PlaStix is one of the most gifted brush painters you'll ever see. Here's a link to some of his stuff...

 

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235047665-plastixs-brush-painted-2018/

 

Don't worry too much about those first efforts, everyone has to start somewhere and once you get some good quality brushes and using properly thinned paint and with a little practice you'll be painting very nice smooth finishes.

 

HTH,

 

Tim

 

 

Edited by Smithy
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As above, good brushes are a must, but I just don't get that people say they don't use a airbrush because of all the flaff of cleaning it, so you never have to clean a paintbrush and condition it then.

It takes me no longer to clean the airbrush as my paintbrushes.

 

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It seems to me that the brush / airbrush discussion misses a fairly important and obvious point:  one is not a substitute for the other.

 

Neither is the perfect tool for all jobs but each has its strong points.  And each requires some work to acquire the skill to get the best result.  Different tools, different skills.  If you ignore the tool, you don't get the skill.

 

Either can be used in many situations but only one is really suitable for some.  And the other for other jobs.

 

 

Edited by RJP
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I prefer to airbrush myself. It's easy and I don't understand people who say it's a hassle to airbrush and clean it after use. If it's a hassle and a faff to use, you ain't doing it right. However, if you're painting with a brush two things. The paint you use can make a lot of difference to the end result. Some paints just don't brush nicely. Also,  have a look at the Tamiya range of brushes. I have some lovely, soft and wide ones and they are a joy to use. Everybody seems to recommend artist brushes, but I never could get on with them..

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On 4/18/2019 at 12:55 AM, Steve Noble said:

I prefer to airbrush myself. It's easy and I don't understand people who say it's a hassle to airbrush and clean it after use. If it's a hassle and a faff to use, you ain't doing it right.

 

Nope, that wasn't the case for me. I just didn't like doing it. I got lovely paint finishes but I just really, really disliked using and cleaning them compared to brush painting which I find an enjoyable process and something I can easily do outside in the garden on a warm summer's day. I know there's hordes of modellers who love using airbrushes but I wasn't one of them. Horses for courses.

 

 

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10 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

Nope, that wasn't the case for me. I just didn't like doing it. I got lovely paint finishes but I just really, really disliked using and cleaning them compared to brush painting which I find an enjoyable process and something I can easily do outside in the garden on a warm summer's day. I know there's hordes of modellers who love using airbrushes but I wasn't one of them. Horses for courses.

 

 

Yes, no problem. Each to his own. If you take enjoyment from using a brush, that's great..

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It’s all horses for courses. I’ve used various brushes and airbrushes throughout my two periods of model making and learned to get decent results from varying combinations depending on context. For large surfaces my easiest go-to if the colour was right was a Humbrol mini aerosol. Failing that a Humbrol/Revell/Badger basic airbrush (external mix) which took less time to clean than a real brush. Failing that a large sable from a proper art shop. For the latter two, paint thinned to a similar consistency as AK Mil Spec (if enamel) or Vallejo + 20% thinner (if acrylic). Generally good results all round with the sprays making for easier consistency and the brush providing greater control. Daler Rowney were my go to brushes as a youngster (and a huge leap up from my first kits where I used a discarded nail varnish brush) until W&N came along and showed me the light. I still have a basic badger airbrush which is great for priming and general zapping.

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Purely a personal recommendation...

 

https://www.scalemodelshop.co.uk/product/airbrush-0-3mm-single-action-gravity-feed-scale-model-shop

 

at less than 17 quid I use mine for basic broad colouring / varnishing / overall washes and found it to be a real bargain.

 

For more detail or a finer finish I use a HS Evo 2 in 1 - but for basic work the SMS basic is brilliant.  I've had it for a couple of years now and it is going great.

 

hope that helps - Steve

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