A guide to oil paint brushes

What are the best brushes to use with the Winsor and Newton Oil colour ranges?

There is one main benchmark for brushes that are used with thick or viscous colour; the thicker the colour, the stiffer the brush needs to be. A heavy paint like oil requires a brush with enough resilience to manipulate the colour with complete control.

However, a colour that has been thinned will need softer tuft (e.g. soft hair or filament) and a colour that has been thinned to a fluid consistency needs a brush with flow control (e.g. synthetic or natural hair brush such as sable).

What type of brush hair is best for oil?

If you’re using oil, natural hog hair brushes are a good choice. They are naturally stiff and each bristle is split into two or three at the tip. These splits are called flags and they allow the brush to hold on to more paint and apply it evenly. Remember, hog brushes come in different shades; if they are white, you need to make sure this is natural and not bleached, which will have weakened the bristle.

Hog hair comes in different in qualities:

• Best hog has the stiffest hair, plenty of flags, allowing it to carry more colour, and is extremely resilient – so the brush keeps its working edge and shape for longer. Winsor & Newton Artists’ Hog Brushes are made with the highest quality hog.
• Better hog has hair that is a little softer than best hog and will not wear quite as well.
• Good hog is even softer. This type of brush will not maintain its shape well.
• Poor quality hog is soft, weak, and tends to splay, which makes controlling the colour difficult.

If you prefer an alternative to natural hair or are on a budget, then it is worth considering synthetic brushes. Driven by innovation and our unique brush-making expertise, our synthetic brushes perform at a professional level. The stiff brushes work best with oils and acrylics. Synthetic brushes often have an excellent point and can carry colour very well. Winsor & Newton offers a wide range of synthetic brushes including Professional Oil Synthetic Hog brushes.

How to clean oil paint brushes?

If you’ve been working with oils, use a rag to wipe away as much colour as possible from your brush. Then rinse any remaining colour using Winsor & Newton Artists’ White Spirit or Brush Cleaner. Next, as you would when cleaning your hands, create a lather and rinse the brush under warm, not hot, water until the water runs clear of colour and soap. Stay away from detergent, as this will damage the individual bristles on your brush. Another thing to avoid is paint stripper. Many artists use it to resuscitate a brush with dried paint on it, but this often takes the shape away from your brush.

How to reshape, dry and store oil paint brushes?

It’s important to remove excess water, dry ferrules and handles, reshape brush heads, and rest them with the bristles facing upwards to dry off. Don’t worry if you notice a stain in your bristles – this has no effect on the performance or life of the brush. If you are storing hog brushes for any length of time, make sure they are clean and completely dry. A box with a tight-fitting lid is ideal and will prevent moth damage. Brushes that are not dry may develop mildew.