If you want to create the perfect stripe designs on any vehicle, you need to make sure the brushes you use are well cared for. In this article we offer some tips on how to care for pinstriping brushes so they don’t have to be replaced any time soon.
1. The glue used to attach the bristles of the Streak Brushes to the handle is water soluble and will soften if exposed to too much water. Because of this, the hairs will eventually become loose and begin to fall out, so avoid cleaning them with water if you can.
To clean the brush, it’s much better if you use mineral spirits instead. It is best to initially rinse the brushes with the mineral spirits you have been using to clean the deck while stripping. Although the glass that the liqueurs are in may seem useless, remember that you are using it to remove most of the paint from the brush.
After you’ve rinsed with the alcohol used now to further remove the paint, wipe the brush clean with a paper towel. Then, after you pour some fresh mineral spirits into another cup or jar, you’ll be able to wash off the rest of the paint. Remember not only to wash the hairs of the brushes with the alcohol but also the comb.
You will know that your brush is completely clean because no more paint will show up on the paper towel you used. Once you are satisfied that the pinstriping brushes have been thoroughly cleaned, squeeze out a small amount of the 3-in-1 Oil, then shape it with your fingers. The use of oil prevents the remains of oil from hardening and ending up ruining the brush.
2. Even if you find the brushes difficult to handle at first, you should never be tempted to trim them. Sometimes, however, it may be necessary to remove a small amount from the tip of the brush, but b before doing so, you should first take a close look at the pinstriping brush. If you later decide to trim any of the hairs, do so very carefully.
When trimming, it’s crucial that you first oil your brush, as this will help it take on its natural shape, and then place your brush on a piece of paper or some other white surface. By doing this you will see exactly what needs to be trimmed and very carefully, using a sharp razor blade, trim only the smallest amounts of hair from the brushes you need from the tip. If you remove too much hair, the tip of the brush will become dull and you won’t be able to create those streaks that are perfect for you.
3. If you find that your brushes start to develop kinks or waves in them then you should find this problem relatively easy to fix. To remove these kinks or waves, you should first rinse the Streak Brushes thoroughly with mineral spirits and then rinse them very carefully in water. Of course, you must make sure that the weather stripping that the hairs are placed in does not get wet and then rub the brushes on a paper towel to help remove as much water as possible.
After removing as much of the excess water as possible, you can now add some dish soap to the bristles, then shape the brush with your fingers. If the problem isn’t too bad then lay the stripe brushes flat, but if it is then place it between the pages of a book which will help it lay flat. You need to leave the brushes like this for about a week, after this time rinse the soap off with mineral spirits and hopefully it will have returned to its original shape.