richeson brush ferule rusting?

boyooso · Nov 3, 2008

Hi,

Has anyone had problems with their richeson brush rusting up?

I have...

I am curious of experiences.

Thanks!

Corey

sly · Nov 4, 2008

I have just bought a new one because of the rust on the old one. Any ideas on how to prevent rust?

scootermm · Nov 4, 2008

go to home-depot (or somewhere similar) and buy some Plasti-dip and dip the handle/ferrule in it.

done and done, works everytime.

http://www.plastidip.com/

boyooso · Nov 4, 2008

Thanks Matt,

That is an interesting idea. I used my 1st brush for perhaps 6 coating sessions and started seeing black spots and then found RUST inbetween the bristles and the ferrule. I thought of squirting silicone aquarim sealing compound inbetween the ferrule & bristles.

Are you clearing your brush with something or just rinsing in water?

I ask becasue I spoke with a painter today and they thought it should not be rusting, they thought it was an inferior product. Dana Sullivan tells me that he just rinses his brush in water. I wonder if just water would not cause rust, or if it is the sodium sulfite and sodium bisulfite that is helping the rust along...

Anyways, thanks for your experiences.

Corey

Akki14 · Nov 4, 2008

Are you drying the brushes after you rinse too? Just gently dab them on clean paper towel or a clean rag, reshape the damp bristles with your fingertips/whole finger if it's quite wide.

sanking · Nov 4, 2008

I have not had any problem of rust with the Richeson brush. I simply rinse the brush in distilled water, shake it a few times to get rid of excess water, and then place handle side down in a jar.

The coating has a strong tendency to flake off. What I do is sand off the original coating and then spray paint with black epoxy paint. This should last for a very long long. You can also dip in the plastic coating as suggested, but I found this to not last very long.

Sandy King

Frank Szabo · Nov 4, 2008

scootermm said:
go to home-depot (or somewhere similar) and buy some Plasti-dip and dip the handle/ferrule in it.

done and done, works everytime.

http://www.plastidip.com/

This stuff also works wonders repairing a bellows with the infamous pinholes in the corner points. It's pliable and will flex.

Hang the bellows so it will extend and stay put, then paint away - quite a few different colors available too.

I use it at work to seal electrolyte solution out of moving parts in EDM fixturing - that's an extremely harsh environment. It lasts about a year in the electrolyte and should last a lifetime with the typical care a LF camera receives.

Shmoo · Nov 4, 2008

I can't remember where I heard it, but someone said/wrote that you can use either Super Glue or epoxy glue at the base of the brush and in the brush hairs where the meet the ferrule...sorta' sealing off the non-business end of the brush. Haven't tried it though.

boyooso · Nov 4, 2008

Suddenly, the 'magic' brush isn't feeling quite so magical to me anymore.

Sandy, How do you get the epoxy paint on the inside of the ferrule next to the bristles? other than carefully that is?

Thanks!

Corey

scootermm · Nov 4, 2008

I used the plastidip on a 2" richeson brush. I have yet to use it on the 4" richeson I use more regularly as of late.
When the paint started flaking I just wrapped it in strong black electrical tape to keep chips from flaking off.

I do get some rusting on both the 2" and 4" but with a little care during coating... no issues thus far.

I do soak my brush in distilled water, then shake excess off the brush before coating (just as sandy mentioned). After I've coated a sheet of paper, I rinse it under warm water in the sink and then put it directly back in the cup of distilled water. Repeat for the next sheet of paper.

I've used loads of different brushes over the years (not photography related, but for actual painting) and ALL of them rust and flake paint. The benefit I've seen of the richeson is in the smoothness of coating and minimal amount of solution needed (on par with a coating rod in my experience)...
they are expensive as all get out... but I've likely coated a few hundred big sheets of paper and love it for its consistency and mentioned benefits, makes the price fully worth it.

Nicholas Lindan · Nov 4, 2008

boyooso said:
Has anyone had problems with their richeson brush rusting up?

I now use disposable foam brushes. About $0.25 each, I think, when bought by the case over the 'net. Cheezy as they are they seem to be capable of very smooth coats and very low brush absorption. They also wring out pretty thoroughly. They are the best brush to use for varnish, which is the use I got them for originally.

I use Windsor & Newton brushes for other purposes and have never had a rusted ferule. I don't know how they would hold up with photochemicals, though.

The 5-for-a-dollar made-in-Malaysia hardware store brushes, now those rust.

asp.artist · Nov 4, 2008

Every flat watercolor brush that I've had, and there's been quite a few, has shown some rust. It's not affected their preformance, just their good looks. The problem with drying them with the handles down is that the water gets in the wood. That begins the wet/expand, dry/contract cycle. Paint flakes, and eventually the bristle/hair set becomes loose, and its time for a new brush. Drying them on their sides, then storing them on the handles seems to work well.
Anne

sanking · Nov 5, 2008

I don't try to put the epoxy paint on the ferrule. I just coat the wood and I have never gotten any rust just wiping the brush off and standing it on end. I have four or five brushes of different sizes and age and none of them have any rust on them. Perhaps standing the brush on end prevents this problem -- it seems to do so for me.

Sandy

boyooso said:
Suddenly, the 'magic' brush isn't feeling quite so magical to me anymore.

Sandy, How do you get the epoxy paint on the inside of the ferrule next to the bristles? other than carefully that is?

Thanks!

Corey

boyooso · Nov 6, 2008

My freaking out about the rust is that I'm experiencing some black spots on my prints. I am ASS-U-ME ing that it is the rust flaking off onto the paper when I'm coating, I MIGHT be wrong.

I DO LOVE THE RICHESON brush for how it allows me to work the coating into the 20 GSM paper I'm using. The other sheep hair brushes were HORRIBLE, they would destroy the paper.

As I said, maybe I'm wrong about the RUST flaking off into the paper... but here is how I'm doing it, please let me know if my techique is flawed.

I'm coating 8 sheets of paper at a time, I dole out my solution into 8 separate vessels. I coat a sheet of paper, it takes about 30-45 seconds to stage another piece of paper, I leave the brush in a dish until the next paper is ready. I would say it takes about 15 minutes to coat all the paper.

Anyways, Thanks.

Corey

boyooso · Nov 6, 2008

My freaking out about the rust is that I'm experiencing some black spots on my prints. I am ASS-U-ME ing that it is the rust flaking off onto the paper when I'm coating, I MIGHT be wrong.

I DO LOVE THE RICHESON brush for how it allows me to work the coating into the 20 GSM paper I'm using(it is a GREAT brush!). The other sheep hair brushes were HORRIBLE, they would destroy the paper.

As I said, maybe I'm wrong about the RUST flaking off into the paper... but here is how I'm doing it, please let me know if my techique is flawed.

I'm coating 8 sheets of paper at a time, I dole out my solution into 8 separate vessels. I coat a sheet of paper, it takes about 30-45 seconds to stage another piece of paper, I leave the brush in a dish until the next paper is ready. I would say it takes about 15 minutes to coat all the paper.

Anyways, Thanks.

Corey

sanking · Nov 6, 2008

I think you are wrong about the brush being the culprit. Black spots on pt/pd prints (or kallitype) are often caused by the paper. The theory is that during the manufacturing process itself some metal residue is deposited on the paper and this reacts with the coating to cause black spots.

Sandy King

boyooso said:
My freaking out about the rust is that I'm experiencing some black spots on my prints. I am ASS-U-ME ing that it is the rust flaking off onto the paper when I'm coating, I MIGHT be wrong.

Corey

RobertP · Nov 6, 2008

sanking said:
I think you are wrong about the brush being the culprit. Black spots on pt/pd prints (or kallitype) are often caused by the paper. The theory is that during the manufacturing process itself some metal residue is deposited on the paper and this reacts with the coating to cause black spots.

Sandy King

Otherwise known as "The Black Plague"

boyooso · Nov 6, 2008

I will investigate the paper a little bit.. but there are always other places it can come from, what about the cutter I use to cut the paper? What about the rust that is in the flaky bits of rust on the inside of the ferrule next to the bristles?

time will tell.

Corey

boyooso · Nov 6, 2008

Thank You for your advice. I should take to heart your advice, you have quite a bit of experience I should pay attention to.

Thanks,

Corey

don7x17 · Nov 6, 2008

Tips on Brush Care (from Dick Arentz....his brushes, though well used, didn't have rust, didn't have the ferrule coated, and didn't have any problems).

rinse brush in distilled water ...after every coating.
shake nearly dry
Hang with closepin on line in the darkroom with the bristles down, until dry, or until your next coating sheet(if so, rewet in distilled).

Dick felt that leaving sensitizer in the bristles led to oxiadation into ferrous iron, and then you mixed that into the next coating. Dic thought it led to spots in the print.

and this has worked for me for four years with Richeson brushes of several sizes. No rust, no fuss, no black spots.

YMMV.

richeson brush ferule rusting?

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