I've been oil painting for about 2 years. I primarily use 2 sets of brushes -- one from Rosemary (expensive) and one from Fine Touch (cheap). My Rosemary brushes are synthetic; my Fine Touch brushes are nylon. Both are supposedly good for oil painting, but both sets are fraying / splaying. The wider brushes fray in the middle. The thinner brushes fray all around. What is causing this? And, is it possible to restore them?
For the "why", I'm very diligent about not damaging the bristles. If it matters, I use refined linseed oil (by Gamblin) for my medium, liquin original (by Winsor and Newton) for some of my underpainting, and turpenoid natural for cleaning my brushes. I sometimes get paint near the ferrule, but I always thoroughly clean my brushes (first wipe with a paper towel, then use a "dirty wash" in turp., and finally a "clean wash" in turp). Could one of these materials be causing the fraying?
For the "restoration", I have tried using brush shaper (by Speedball), dish soap, running the bristles under hot water, and "clamping" my bristles when drying. Nothing works.
For the "why", I'm very diligent about not damaging the bristles. If it matters, I use refined linseed oil (by Gamblin) for my medium, liquin original (by Winsor and Newton) for some of my underpainting, and turpenoid natural for cleaning my brushes. I sometimes get paint near the ferrule, but I always thoroughly clean my brushes (first wipe with a paper towel, then use a "dirty wash" in turp., and finally a "clean wash" in turp). Could one of these materials be causing the fraying?
For the "restoration", I have tried using brush shaper (by Speedball), dish soap, running the bristles under hot water, and "clamping" my bristles when drying. Nothing works.