PAB Pure Bristle Flat Varnish Brush

Pure Bristle Varnish Brush BR/08 (series INOX)

These flat brushes are excellent for priming canvas or boards. The brush hair is tightly packed into the flat ferrule but also shaped at the tip, so that with prolonged use, the tip of the brush always retains its shape and suppleness. The tips of the hair, show under the microscope as ‘flags’ - minute interlocking hairs, that form together when wet, helping to retain shape. Contrast this to most flat hair brushes, where the tips are simply cut to gain a straight edge to the brush hair. This type of brush tends to splay when used. Our Pure Bristle Varnish Brushes don’t do that. They retain their shape. As the name suggest, the primary use (in decorating terms) is for applying flat glazes or varnishes and indeed, they make excellent varnish brushes, solvent or water-based.

We recommend these brushes for all sizing and priming applications. It is normal to dilute 20-30% with water, so that the priming material runs off the brush, rather than clog the brush hairs. We offer 5mm thickness, so that not too much of the priming material gets lodged into the brush hairs. By contrast, a brush that is 10mm thick will retain too much of the primer/gesso and make for an uneven application. When priming, we always suggest multiple thinned coats, rather than one thick coating. Helps create the optimum flatness of coating, so that applied colour lays down flat too.

Size 20mm to 90mm are made with INOX Ferrules - that do not rust when left in water. Size 100mm is not resistant to water 9will rust) but we included it here, because some artists need that width. The raw wooden handle is also of note. When used a lot with water-based priming techniques, a raw wooden handle is advantageous. By comparison, lacquered handles tend to splinter and flake over time - which can be very annoying when the splinters drop off into the primer/paint during application.