Help... my first restore project

[insomniac]

Hi,

I bought some brushes today, and I'd like to restore them to their former glory.

The first is an Ever-Ready 150. Red bottom, cream top.
The second is an Ever-Ready 1500 in what I assume is Lucite. Clear, with black at the top.
The third is a Blenzo in butterscotch.

So here are my questions:
- how difficult is it to restore these?
- should I try to find a knot that approximates the size of the original knot - not just diameter but also height?
- is there anything I should be particularly careful about?
- some look like they have no "bloom" whatsoever. What would cause this?
- EDIT: and the last question: which should I do first? i.e. which is the "least valuable" of these and there will be no mourning of its loss?

Thanks.

[spanx]

It is not all that difficult to restore brushes.equipment makes the process easier,a drill press is real handy to clean out,resize(bigger is better),sand and polish.All witch can be done with out a pressTakes longer though.

Diameter and height is up to you,also hair grade can be changed or do you keep it the same grade.The choice is yours.

The only thing to be carefull about is working hurried, go slow and watch your fingers.

Synthetics don't bloom, boars bloom little,depends on the grade of badger on how much it can bloom.Pure wiil bloom little while silvertip will bloom alot.Some of this can be controlled from the way the knot is seated.

Go with the red and cream.It is the most common and it is easy to work with.

Good luck,Dale

[fidjit]

Restoring brush is much easier than it first would appear.

You don't need any specialised tools. I have restored mine using just manual tools, scissors, pliers, corkscrew, knife, all stuff you can find around the home.

( Then again my fixit "skills" are known around the house as "McGyver" repairs and if I'm lucky will last as long as an episode of McGyver )

The only "specialized" tool I've used is a cordless drill to either help remove hard old knot settings, drill out shelves , slightly enlarge knot holes.

As long as you go slow and take your time you should be fine. You'll get a great sense of self satisfaction using a brush you've taken the time out to lovingly restore

See my wiki in my sig for some links that may help you. The best pictorial restore thread in there is the one by Kevinm .

Good luck !!!

( p.s. I'd be doing it in the order you've got listed above, the ER is pretty common and easy to work with, the lucite is a bit harder to work with and please don't stuff up the butterscotch )

[insomniac]

Thanks, everyone!

Dumb question, how do you measure the size of the knot?

[Pjotr]

It's basically the size of the hole in the top of your handle. Well, that's what you should aim for unless you want a bigger knot in which case you have to make the hole bigger. And if you want to drop it in deeper (i.e lower the loft) you have to deepen it out. Conversely if you want to have a taller loft you might have to put spacers underneath. I'm going through most of this with the restoration I'm currently doing. I'd recommend removing the old knot and cleaning out the hole and on the basis of what you've got, and what you want to aim for, order your knot. It's not really that hard to do. Just be carefull and take your time. And always tape the handle up if you're going to do something serious. Just to protect it.

[dfollett_98]

And always tape the handle up if you're going to do something serious. Just to protect it.

+1. I used a couple of layers of Duck Brand tape and was glad I followed the instructions on B&B. No matter how hard you hold your hand drill/Dremel tool they tend to "walk around" a lot. Also as stated above, take your time and go slow cleaning out and checking your progress with your handle as you go.

BTW, I am not real handy at doing these types of projects but found it fairly easy and very enjoyable. Thanks to the B&B members for sharing their expertise. Have fun and good luck!

Don