I use SO many brushes for polymer clay in my work!
Powders, paints, pouncing, cleaning, etc. So much. But there’s no need to buy expensive or premium artist’s brushes. I get the inexpensive craft store brush sets that are for acrylic paints. I find that the fluffier ones work the best.
A few tips:
- Don’t leave them sitting in water. That swells the handle and cracks the paint off it.
- There’s no need to clean brushes that you use with powders. Just have a lot of brushes and use the same one within color families.
- When you do clean your brushes, use soap and water. Blot, then reshape bristles, then lay down to dry. Don’t dry them bristle-end up!
- If you need to change powder colors, rub your brush on an old piece of carpet to clean the bristles.
- Remove dried paint/sealer by soaking in isopropyl alcohol. With diligence, you can usually work out years worth of dried paint. However, never use acetone with brushes!
- I have dedicated brushes for use with liquid clay and UV resin. I keep the ends covered with a bit of plastic wrap and then just set them aside til I need them again. No need to clean them. But if you want to, alcohol works fine.
- Brush handles make excellent polymer clay tools. (click over here for some more tools you may have laying around the house already)
Which one of these tips surprised you the most?
Pigments, mica, and powders are magical
Don’t be intimidated by those little jars and packets of colorful powders. Learn to use them effectively in your projects.
