Step-by-step Ever-Ready brush restoration

[Vinny Bobo]

I am posting a step-by-step pictorial brush restoration.

1.) cut the bristles down
2.) drill out old bristles
3.) file scratches (I use my wife's fingernail file.)
4.) polish with Flitz
5.) set new knot in marine epoxy mix (photo forthcoming)

[Vinny Bobo]

continued>>

[Mike R]

That's a neat idea. Where did you get the knot?

Mike

[Vinny Bobo]

I get my knots from www.thegoldennib.com, they are also available at www.blankity-blanks.com. This one will take a 22mm silvertip badger.

[Mike R]

Thanks. Looks like a new AD. Brush Acquisition & Restoration Disorder.

BARD.

I'll be scouring the antique stores soon.

Mike

That's a neat idea. Where did you get the knot?

Mike

[eastomjac]

Thanks. Looks like a new AD. Brush Acquisition & Restoration Disorder.

BARD.

I'll be scouring the antique stores soon.

Mike

i'm hooked already too

[nrdoty]

Has anyone ever used automotive paint rubbing compound on a brush handle? I can buy some Flitz if I need to but I had some No.7 laying around and was wondering if it would work.

I was wondering that very thing, and for the same reasons.

I got the brush in a whole bag of stuff for a dollar garage sale so my investment thus-far is maybe 10 cents. I'm gonna have to buy the new knot for it anyway so it would be cool to be able to make the handle look nice just using what I had.

Also, has anybody ever reknotted a VDH handle? I know, that kinda seems silly. But I was given and old one that belonged to my wifes grandpa. I hate that it sits on the shelf and gets no use. It has lost quite a few bristles and sheds like crazy, otherwise I might just use it as-is once in a while. If I did reknot it I would go with boar to keep it original looking.

[brothers]

Hello. I like tools, and I like working on stuff, and fixing almost anything. I want to take an old brush and put new badger in it, for my own use. The part of the process that really puzzles me is the photo of a brush with a huge drill bit sticking down into it. That's not realilstic. Exactly what is happening in that photo? "Drilling out" the old bristles with a great big old drill bit is not practical is it? Drills are for making holes in places where there aren't any holes. If you had a way to hold onto the old brush without being dumb enough to hold onto it with a bare hand, then you'd just drill right through the brushy part, with no resistance at all, then your drill would just keep on drilling, and I see no reason you'd want to do that. What am I missing here? Why would anyone want to drill a big hole down into a nice old brush? I think there must be a lot of undisclosed details. Please help me out, because I want to do it, and I want to do it right, and not destroy a perfectly good old brush. Thanks!

[sol92258]

when the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail....
whatever method you can use to get the old knot out, use it. some have mentioned a hot water soak to soften the glue holding the knot in, I tried that and it didn't work well. I tried the drill, ended up blowing through the "knot shelf", as I call it, the part of the handle that the knot rests on inside the handle. then I broke out my trusty Black & Decker RTX (like a Dremel), with a cutting bit, looks kinda like a gear, and cut the old knot out of the brush you see in post #35, then used a sanding wheel for the rotary tool to clean it up a bit.
Heck, before I tried the drill bit, I was using a screwdriver to try and pick and pry the old knot out...not really recommended.
what is recommended though, by me at least, is if you decide to use a power tool of some sort, do it outside if possible, those chewed up hairs form a mighty fine dust cloud EVERYWHERE in the vicinity
good luck, post pics!

[ECOSSE]

I had an old Herban Cowboy brush I decided to 'upgrade' with a knot from Tony @ Golden Nib. I used a Makita version of a rotozip to clean out the area from the old knot. Worked like a charm and would have overdone it if I wasn't paying attention. Also wanted to sink in the new knot a little farther as the knot from Golden Nib was quite long, atleast longer than I'm used to, a 22mmx67mm finest that I got down to about 58mm loft. This thing is amazingly floppy compared to what I'm used to, but it still needs to be broken in a bit.

[brothers]

Great info guys. That is kind of what I was thinking about. I'll give it a whirl and hopefully, if it isn't a total mess afterwards, I'll post something. It'll probably take a little while to think my way through it. Do you think a little dab of JB Weld would work to fix the new brush in place, or is there something better?

[Vinny Bobo]

Hello. I like tools, and I like working on stuff, and fixing almost anything. I want to take an old brush and put new badger in it, for my own use. The part of the process that really puzzles me is the photo of a brush with a huge drill bit sticking down into it. That's not realilstic. Exactly what is happening in that photo? "Drilling out" the old bristles with a great big old drill bit is not practical is it? Drills are for making holes in places where there aren't any holes. If you had a way to hold onto the old brush without being dumb enough to hold onto it with a bare hand, then you'd just drill right through the brushy part, with no resistance at all, then your drill would just keep on drilling, and I see no reason you'd want to do that. What am I missing here? Why would anyone want to drill a big hole down into a nice old brush? I think there must be a lot of undisclosed details. Please help me out, because I want to do it, and I want to do it right, and not destroy a perfectly good old brush. Thanks!

I've been doing this for some time and I use the biggest drill bit that will fit in my drill initially to grab large clumps of bristles and yank them out, beginning in the center. A small bit doesn't catch nearly as many bristles as the big bit. I use a smaller bit around the edge because it give me more control and you do not want the bitgrinding the edge of the brush. ( and I hold the brush in my bare hand. No problem. )

[brothers]

OK, that makes sense. After the initial removal, do you switch over to smaller more precise tools or instruments, like a dremel?

[Vinny Bobo]

OK, that makes sense. After the initial removal, do you switch over to smaller more precise tools or instruments, like a dremel?

I have a Dremel but I have gotten good with a regular drill and small bit, so I just continue wiith the drill. The Dremel would probably be easier to manipulate though.

[Umault]

Do the knots fit most or all brush handles

[Vinny Bobo]

Do the knots fit most or all brush handles

There are standardized sizes but each brush is different. 17mm to 28mm. most of my Ever-Ready's use 22mm to 24mm.

[alabamalawyer]

Neat post! I look forward to the last set of pictures and the finished product.

[tvphotog]

Remarkable transformation, especially with the polish. Very nice.

[sol92258]

very timely advice; however, I have the first steps down, already done with one old brush, just needing the info on gluing the knot into a hollow handle

[blade08]

Very nice!