Our Favorite Paint, Wax & Buffing Brushes + One of Our Professional Buffing Tips Kept Secret until Now
I have a THING for brushes!
Paint brushes, wax brushes, buffing brushes, foam brushes, artist brushes ~ you name it, I have a thing for them and have become a wee bit finicky over the years in what I choose to paint furniture. I’ve learned through my own experiences that using the right brush makes all the difference in a quality finish. Below I’ve listed my absolute favorite brushes that I couldn’t do without.
Fine Quality Full-Oval Paint Brushes Vintiquities brushes don’t just look incredible, they are! They distribute chalk and clay paints beautifully. The tapered bristles yield a smooth finish, eliminating many of the stop and start marks you may get with straight-edged and angled brushes. These full Oval Paint Brushes are not only awesome for paint, they work well with the clear coat finishes and are fantastic for glazes.
Shizzle Tip:Dampen brushes with water prior to each use. I gently squeeze out the excess water, wrap with paper towel then set aside while I get everything else ready for my project. Actually, Cathy and I both do this with all our brushes. We’ve done it so long, it’s become 2nd nature. Dampening the bristles primes the brush. It won’t suck up as much product and makes it easier to wash out when finished.
Vintiquities Oval Paint Brushes also hold more paint which saves time because there’s not a constant need to reload. They’re also great for cramming paint into corners and deep, detailed areas. It ceases to amaze me how many different ways I can utilize this one brush. We offer Vintiquities Paint Brushes in four sizes and two colors: yellow=original and red=Frenchic.
Fun Fact: Our Vintiquities Paint Brushes can also be used to create texture! This can be done by gently pouncing the brush or randomly cross-hatching your brush strokes. For this effect, the thicker the paint, the better. To thicken our paint, leave it uncovered. To thin our paint, dilute with a bit of water.
I use all my high end brushes in combination with other random paint brushes such as angled brushes, chipper brushes, artist brushes, sponges and numerous other applicators depending on the piece and look I want to achieve. I also use my fingertips ~ all the time, lol.
A quality two inch angled, soft bristle, paint brush is also an essential here at Shizzle. The one that we carry here at Shizzle has a sharp, smooth angle plus a nice oval arc to it. It’s been designed to hold more paint yet washes out easier than it’s knock-off competitors due to it’s unique design. It’s not nearly as full or tapered as our Vintiquities Paint brushes but is still a fantastic all around general brush and a must have in our workshop. Grab one from on of our West Michigan locations or have one delivered to your door here.
I prefer to apply my Finishing Coat with our yellow sponges. Cathy prefers the blue ones. Our 2″ angled cut-in brush is also a great brush to apply clear coats. I usually use one in combination with our yellow sponges. Watch the video of Cath’s granddaughter. She applied the Finishing Coat without ANY prior instruction. She had NO idea what I was going to ask her when I handed her the sponge and bottle. If a little girl can do it, so can you ~ it’s easy!
Watch the video of how to apply Finishing Coat by clicking on the video below.
ARTIST BRUSHES and FINGERTIPS
I use artist brushes and/or my fingers for most of the itty bitty detailing type of work such as the detail on the above gray and white dresser.
These quality wax brushes are the best brush you’ll ever use for applying soft wax. I love the handles on these brushes; they are rounded and flair out which is so comfortable to use, even with my arthritic hands. For a video demo on how I wax furniture, check out my video tutorial on our Portfolio button above.
I also love how dense the bristles are on these wax brushes, they hold and distribute our wax beautifully and don’t have a lot of initial shed like many other wax brushes.
Like all our Vintiquities brushes, they are well constructed with the finest materials and sure to be a favorite. Vintiquities Fine Italian Wax Brushes are offered in two sizes: Small 1-1/2″ or Large 1-3/4″. Both sizes are great but I use the large brush 99% of the time.
This buffing brush is an essential tool for waxing furniture. Simply attach it to your drill and let it do the work for you. With all the arthritis in my hand along with the removal of part of my humerus and secondary shoulder surgery, I seriously couldn’t do without it. Even before all that, I was spoiled by my drill brush. It simply yields a much nicer, professional finish. I have videos of myself demonstrating how to use this buffing brush on our Portfolio.
We have a stash of very special rags we use for our final buffing of waxed pieces. This simple step, really takes your pieces to the next level of professionalism. We’ve held out on sharing this tip, until now. Why you ask? Because we have about 10,000 of them! No, I’m not joking. We use them for everything from cleaning our homes to prepping/washing our furniture prior to painting but they’re exceptionally awesome for the final buff. Because it will be a while before we’re back on our feet again, we’re offering them to you at a special rate. Enter Coupon Code: BuffingRags20 to Save here.
CLEANING PAINT, WAX AND BUFFING BRUSHES
So how do I clean all these brushes? Basically, I go through the same process with slight variations depending on the type of brush I’m cleaning. For all brushes, I start by shampooing APC’s Organic and All Natural Brush Cleaner by American Paint Company into the bristles.
I then shampoo the brush, working the cleaner into the bristles with my fingers. I add a bit of hot water to it then really lather it up before I start rinsing it with hot water. Our paint washes out very easily. If you’ve never used our paints before, you’ll be surprised at how easy the clean up is compared to other paints.
PAINT DRIED ON YOUR BRUSH? NEVER FEAR!
Your favorite brushes won’t get ruined when covered in dried paints if you’re using one of our paints. Simply let it soak in hot water for 15-20 minutes, then use a wire paint brush cleaner to brush it out, works like a charm!
The wax brushes wash out quite easily too. If I’m going to use it the next day, I just wrap in in Saran Wrap. If not, I apply the cleaner then swirl it around on the palm of my other hand. It actually feels good on my hands after a hard day’s work. I let the wax brushes set with the cleaner on them for 30 minutes or so which gives them time to dissolve the wax. Run hot water over them, squeezing the wax from the ferrule down to the tips until it’s clean. If our wax has hardened on your brush, you may have to repeat this a few times before it’s completely out.
I use wire paint brush cleaning brushes for paint brushes and pet combs on my wax and buffing brushes.
For the drill buffing brush, I also use the palm of my hand to scrub the cleaner into the bristles without adding water. I let the cleaner set on it overnight before I rinse it with hot water. It will look like new when you’re finished with it. This cleaner is amazing! Tip: Use a different drill brush for Clear, White and Rustic Wax. We actually like a little wax on the tips of our drill brushes and only wash our drill brushes on rare occasions.
With all our brushes, we squeeze out the excess water and wrap in a paper towel
Let it dry overnight wherever it’s warm and dry. In the summer, I rest it on the window sill and this time of year, I set them near our floor registers.
The next day, they’re good to go!
Want some?Our favorite brushes are available seven days a week at our West Michigan locationshere– OR –Have paint supplies delivered right to your front door via our Online Shizzle Shop –here. We offer fast, reliable 2-3 day shipping 6 days a week nationwide. International shipping takes longer.
I prefer to apply my Finishing Coat with our yellow sponges. Cathy prefers the blue ones. Our 2″ angled cut-in brush is also a great brush to apply clear coats. I usually use one in combination with our yellow sponges. Watch the video of Cath’s granddaughter. She applied the Finishing Coat without ANY prior instruction. She had NO idea what I was going to ask her when I handed her the sponge and bottle. If a little girl can do it, so can you ~ it’s easy!
