Masking the knot and the handle...and other questions...

Just picked up a knot and a handle from the exchange... I'm pretty excited and prepping up and reading about brush restoration...
Some questions I have ...
as far as masking the handle and the knot - what's the best way? I was thinking of wrapping the knot up with wax paper and securing the wax paper roll with rubber bands and just using regular painters masking tape on the handle... I'm open to other suggestions...
now the handle I'm thinking of using is a lucite handle - how hard is it to work/ or sand open to the opening for the knot? I was thinking of just using sand paper, some wood rods and lots of elbow grease or is this something I should bust out the dremel for?
thanks in advance and I look forward to reading all your tips and advice ...

tony

I can't really speak to a lucite brush handle, but I once made a pipe tamper with a piece of brass inside a piece of lucite. The lucite needed to be as clear and smooth as possible. What I found out (the hard way) is that heat is the enemy of lucite, as the material will melt and lose transparency. You probably want to avoid power tools if possible; if you've got the patience, my guess is that you'll get a better result with the dowels and sandpaper - but it'll take time). If you don't have the patience and go to the Dremel, keep to the lower RPM and keep it moving around to avoid heat buildup.

The first brush I did was a restore of an old Ever Ready, which I drilled out to 22mm to accept a silvertip knot. I wrapped the knot with Saran Wrap and taped it up, which worked OK. Since then I realized how little epoxy is really necessary to secure the knot. Now I don't usually bother to wrap the knot.

How big is the knot & how big is the hole on the handle? If there is a lot of work to do, just use a Dremel. Then, when you are almost there, just touch everything up by hand. You don't need to mask anything. Get the handle shaped and polished exactly the way you want it while dry fitting the knot to the handle until it's perfect.... Then, a (VERY) little dollop of Epoxy will give you all the strength you'll ever need without messing up the knot with glue leaking all over... EASY!!

I don't mask the handle just the knot, I put a rubber band around the hair and the 1st wrap of tape is at the line where it meets the handle socket.
I keep a bottle Isopropyl alcohol on and and a paper towel to clean up any squeeze out from setting the knot before it sets.

thanks for the advice from all... i just checked and my knot and handle is arriving today!

thanks again!

tony

i guess i should've read this before attempting the use a dremel on a lucite handle. so now it's a bit foggy and i guess the other option i have now is to apply paint inside where the knot will drop in? thanks for the advice on these

urkel said:

i guess i should've read this before attempting the use a dremel on a lucite handle. so now it's a bit foggy and i guess the other option i have now is to apply paint inside where the knot will drop in? thanks for the advice on these

Click to expand...

Depends on how foggy ... if it's just a bit, you may be able to sand it carefully with gradually finer grits and clean it up. Otherwise you'll probably just have to paint it as is.

i bought some enamel but will try and buff out the fog first. thanks for the tip