Oddity in an EverReady Brush

[MrShake]

Hey Brush Folk,

I picked up a couple of brushes to restore of the bay and one of them has something odd about the clear acrylic bottom.

Anyone have any thoughts about it? Is it fixable? Desirable? Bad?

Its the brush on the right I am asking about:

What I see is bubbles under the surface of the acrylic and from the bottom, it almost looks milky... I dunno what the deal is.

 

[55dougie]

MrShake,

Hmmmmmm....... this type of brush handle is made up of 2 joined pieces....

It almost looks like soap scum got into that bottom piece, somehow, maybe?
It looks like mold inside on the bottom.

Interesting, I might drill out the knot and keep going. Break the point of the drill bit through the floor of the knot base and see if you can - flush and drain that bottom section? Or maybe get the two pieces apart and clean it out?

Well that's my 2 cents anyway... let us know what you find out.....

I'll be interested in what others have to say,

 

[MrShake]

Interesting idea... I had assumbed the bottom of that brush was solid... but that wouldnt really make much sense seeing as how the flaws are not external... hrmmm

 

[Legion]

Yeah, I'm thinking steam and moisture has gotten in and that is mold. You probably want to get it apart and give it a good clean and then fill the void with clear epoxy.

Give the two parts a firm but gentle (if that makes any sense) twist. These two sections were quite often screwed together with a thread. If it unscrews then it will be very easy to fix up.

 

[Legion]

Oh, here is a hint I heard about off my friend, for you guys using fiberglass resin as filler. If you tape the object to a fish tank pump as the resin dries, the vibration will cause the bubbles to work their way to the surface and the resin will be clearer when it sets.

 

[K.T.]

You probably want to get it apart and give it a good clean and then fill the void with clear epoxy.

Speaking of void, I think you will void the warranty if you do something like this. Proceed with caution!

 

[MrShake]

yea, don't want to void the warranty on a 20-30-40 year old brush!!

 

[MrShake]

So I cut/drilled out the knot last nite, drilled through the shelf and the bottom acrylic is one piece solid, no way to get "inside" it.