Need to choose the right paint brush for the job?

A brief guide to selecting a brush

SREAL can help

Cleaning your brush

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Picking a paint brush

Good paint brushes, when properly cared for, can be used over and over again. Skip the cheap brushes if you want to get multiple uses and high quality results.

It may be tempting to save money on a cheap brush, but a good high-quality brush is almost as important as quality paint. A good brush will hold more paint and apply it evenly.

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The following paintbrushes are helpful to keep around

1-inch angled sash brush: Choose one with a stubby handle to paint edges and trim.

2-inch angled sash brush: This brush is used for cutting in corners and edges, and painting narrow window sashes and sills.

3-inch flat bristle sash brush: We recommend the regular handle; use it for wide trim and sashes.

Small chip brush: Use this brush to get paint into tight corners and spaces.

5-inch wall brush: Use this one for floors, walls, and ceilings.

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To pick the right brush for the job, you need to know the paint you will be working with

Paint Choice: If you’re using latex paint you’ll need synthetic bristles, but if you’re using oil-based paint or a varnish, spend the extra money to get a good quality natural bristle brush. The better the quality of natural bristles the smoother and glossier the finish you’ll achieve.

What Does the Term "Alkyd " mean?

Alkyd is the manufacturing term meaning a synthetic resin.  In other words, it is a made-made oil and is not derived from plants or petroleum.

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Brush Material

Bristles are made natural hair, SREAL uses Chinese hog hair, one of the most popular bristles.

Synthetic filaments are made of polyester, nylon, or other man made materials. SREAL synthetic brushes use SRT (Solid Round Tapered) style filaments. This is a solid filament that has a larger diameter at the ferrule end and narrows to a smaller diameter at the opposite end to produce a smooth, flawless finish. SRT filaments can also be machine roughed to allow them to hold more paint. In addition to SRT SREAL offers a few brushes with hollow synthetic filament as well.

SREAL synthetic brushes have different combinations of the material that make up the polyester synthetic filaments. These are PBT（polybutylene terephthalate）and PET (polyethylene terephthalate). For the best combination of rigid and soft SREAL uses 30% PBT and 70%PET.

SREAL offers many brushes with a combination of natural and synthetic fibers together in one brush with ratios including 50/50, 30/70, and 20/80, to provide the best brush for use with all paints.

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Synthetic filament

Bristle and filament blend- characteristics of natural and synthetic that can represent good value. Blends of this type are well suited for general purpose painting across water and oil based paints, and wood treatments.

PET filament- or (polyethylene terephthalate) is a common form of polyester synthetic fiber which does not absorb moisture but can absorb oil. As such PET is not ideally suited for oil based paints.

PBT filament- or (polybutylene terephthalate) a form of polyester synthetic fibre that has many of the desirable performance characteristics of Nylon. The most notable difference being that PBT absorbs less water which results in improved rigidity in wet and dry conditions. PBT is a premium filament with excellent all-around performance, great bend recovery and solvent resistance.

Synthetic benefits

Synthetic does not swell significantly in water (depending on the synthetic material used) so tips stay fine to prevent tramlines (brush marks) in waterborne paint.

Synthetic brushes are easier to clean.

There is less chance of bristle loss with synthetics.

Synthetic drawbacks

Synthetics hold less paint meaning more loadings, but this may suit a decorator that likes to paint in smaller areas or sections.

They do not spread paint as well as bristle, so you need to work the paint more.

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