Tips for using your Staalmeester Brush

When starting off with a new or dry brush submerge into water to the ferrule briefly just to dampen the bristles. Give the bristles including the string a squeeze so that the brush is barely damp.

Dip your brush into the paint only half way up the bristles, otherwise it is too much paint on the brush, and clean up will be more work.

Should you notice any brush strokes, you have too much paint on your brush.

You don’t want to see paint dripping off your brush, you want enough that when you go to apply the brush, it doesn’t drag across, but slides nicely across without minimal effort. 

Once finished painting, submerge your brush into water and rinse for a few minutes. It is incredible how much paint has been absorbed by the paintbrush so do allow it to sit in water up to the ferrule, you can leave it for a couple of hours if you wish. Come back to change the water and if it is not clear do that again until you no longer see paint in the water.

Once the water has run clear you know that all the paint has been removed – using the hole in the handle allow paint brush to hang for drying.

Use Brush Soap to clean the bristles of the brush and work it down all the way into the ferrule, and rinse thoroughly with lukewarm to cool water until no trace of paint or suds is left. The area near the ferrule is hard to clean but it’s just as important for maintaining a brush shape as the tip!

Allow the brush to dry further at normal room temperature (do not heat up the process above a radiator) or drying by using a cloth, then restore the bristle to its original shape, for example by wrapping into a foil/film

Using the brush soap in only a tiny amount for every other brush cleaning is a nice way to condition the natural bristles. If there is still paint remaining within the paintbrush and it is allowed to dry then your bristles will become quite stiff as the paint acts like a glue. That’s why it is crucial all paint is removed from your brush before you allow it to dry.