What happened to my brush!?

[Matthew Sherman]

I have a nice Purdy brush I use for Shellac. So far I have only used clear Shellac with it and I usually just let it dry without cleaning it. Then put it in alcohol before using it again. Yesterday I used it for some seal coat and let it dry last night. Today when I soaked it in DNA the bristles went crazy . Can you not go back and fourth with a waxed and dewaxed shellac for brushes? I did clean it yesterday before using the seal coat.

[ray hampton]

I can not answer this ? because the only brushes and rollers that I clean are used with water-based paint, oil paint brushes are hung up to dry then throw in the garbage

[Randy Goodhew]

I clean my shellac brushes by soaking the bristles in a solution of one part household ammonia and two parts soft water (I save water from the dehumidifier in my studio). Ammonia dissolves shellac.
Then I soak the brushes in clean soft water with a little Dawn dish washing detergent, followed by a rinse with soft water.
I dry the brushes with a clean cloth, then wrap the bristles with a paper towel for final drying and storage.

If I intend to reuse a shellac brush in a day or two, I'll dip the bristles in a little 1# cut shellac (diluted SealCoat(tm)) and hang the brush, bristles down, to dry.
The dried diluted shellac will help protect the bristles and keep them in shape.
When I'm ready to use the brush again, I'll soak it in DNA before using.

I generally use homemade shellac brushes made from deer tail hair, goat hair or squirrel hair.

Blessings.

[Jim Becker]

Regarding your question about going back and forth between waxed and de-waxed shellac with the same brushes...I don't do that. I have them marked and don't use the same brushes for both products. While I rarely use waxy shellac, I wouldn't want any issue with adhesion of other finishes over the de-waxed shellac I typically use as a barrier coat between water soluble dye and the water borne top coat I generally use. Brushes are not that expensive in the larger scheme of things while a finishing issue can completely derail a project in a not-nice way. I'd rather be conservative relative to contamination risk.

[Mike Monroe]

Can't help you with your question, but for shellac I use inexpensive golden taklon brush purchased from a hobby store, $5-6 for a set of three different sizes. Then again my usage of shellac is almost exclusively de-waxed concocted from flakes, used as a barrier between differing finishes, e.g. a stain/dye and a glaze.

[Edward Dyas]

Ah, the bad brush hair day. The problem you are having is letting the shellac dry on the brush. It takes too much soaking to get dried shellac solvent. The best way to keep your brushes in good condition is to clean and dry them after each use. As far as switching from conventional shellac and sealcoat with the same brush I wouldn't do it for the reasons Jim said. You can contaminate the dewaxed shellac with the conventional shellac on the brush.

[Jim Becker]

BTW, my shellac brushes are rinsed well in alcohol and then stored with their original covers on them. Yes, they are "stiff" when I break them out again, but it's just a little bit of remaining shellac and they flex up very quickly once new finish is on them. I'd never let full-strength shellac dry on the brush...it could take a very long time to get soft!

[Scott Holmes]

Here's a video from American Woodworker Magazine about brushes and brush care.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tI4y...ature=youtu.be