First restorations - mixed results

**paules** · 11-20-2010, 03:32 PM

I have just completed my first brush restorations.

In the Ever Ready C40 (red & white) I put in a 22mm TGN Silvertip Grade A set at 50mm.

In the Ever Ready F40 (blue & white) I put in a 22mm TGN Finest set at 45mm.

The Silvertip has bloomed nicely and works really well with both soaps and creams.

However the Finest has hardly bloomed at all. Is this normal? While I was expecting a smaller bloom as it is set lower I thought it would bloom more than it has.

**weenerdog3443** · 11-20-2010, 07:15 PM

Might take it a lil bit but it will go. They look good

**spindlecone** · 11-20-2010, 07:26 PM

perhaps to much epoxy,seeped up into the knot maybe.

**Luc** · 11-20-2010, 07:30 PM

Use it a few times, nice work BTW...

**roughneck** · 11-20-2010, 07:32 PM

I don't know why it hasn't bloomed much but I really like that handle

**Gamma** · 11-20-2010, 07:41 PM

Nice restos!
F40 brush - 45mm is low for the 22mm TGN finest - so the bloom will be slower to develop and it probably won't ever develop that full mushroom effect. The bristles will have more backbone though.
As stated above - too much glue can do that too...

**Loric** · 11-20-2010, 07:48 PM

TGN Finest hair has some good backbone and tends not to bloom as much as their silvertip grades, especially with a low loft. If you left the knot bed tight that in itself will keep the bloom minimal. The hair is to stiff to dramatically change direction after it has all been crammed into a very tight hole. I recently set a couple 24mm TGN Extra Stuffed knots at ~50mm and one of them is shaped almost exactly like yours after several weeks of use.

See the butterscotch on the far left. Also the 22mm Super silvertip in the middle did not bloom much at all, and it too is set at a tight 44mm.

**paules** · 11-20-2010, 08:27 PM

Thanks for the comments. The advice here is always good.

I was pretty careful not to use too much epoxy so I don't think that it the issue.

However, I have just measured the loft and it is 44mm rather than 45mm. Also, while I expanded the opening to fit the 22mm it was still pretty tight.

Based on the comments I think the combination of a deep setting, a tight opening and the Finest knot means that I have a brush that will either take a long time to bloom or won't really bloom at all.

That said I used the brush this morning on my most difficult to lather soap and it worked like a dream. Until this morning I have never really been able to lather this particular soap. So while the brush might look a little odd I think it's going to get the job done really well.

All in all I am pretty happy. These two brushes look quite different and will serve different purposes. Now to plan for my next restore.

**grump** · 11-20-2010, 10:43 PM

They look very nice and should provide many years of use, good job!

**vitaman** · 11-20-2010, 10:46 PM

Nice restorations! Enjoy! BTW, I have a finest restore set at 45 and it bloomed about the same as yours.

**Scrom** · 11-25-2010, 06:04 PM

Very nice restores. They look great.

**john parker** · 11-25-2010, 06:21 PM

Very nice! To me, not much bloom is a very good thing.

**Schwert** · 11-25-2010, 07:18 PM

Excellent work. The short loft is really the way to go....excessive bloom is just flop.

**paules** · 11-26-2010, 04:55 PM

Having used the brush consistently over the past week the relative lack of bloom does not bother me at all now. The brush works brilliantly, particularly on soaps and feels great on my face.