Hake Brush Hairs

Luana · #1 11-30-2003, 02:44 PM

I have a question about hake brush hairs. Does anyone else have a problem with them becoming stuck in the wet acrylic paint? Sometimes I spend more time removing them than painting! Any ideas?

Rose Queen · #2 11-30-2003, 02:52 PM

This has been a problem with every hake I've ever used, which is why I don't use them anymore. They're basically cheaply made and, as with so much in life, you get what you pay for.

Luana · #3 11-30-2003, 02:56 PM

But they are so wonderful for filling in large areas quickly, I really use them on my wall art and have the same problem. But people do not look as closely at that as they do canvas art. Any suggestions on what might work better for large canvas areas?

baquitania · #4 11-30-2003, 03:01 PM

Well it's a delicate brush used primarily for watercolor or ink. Being made from sheep's wool or goat hair, yer not exactly looking at a strong synthetic like sabeline or some other fiber for a heavy medium like acrylic. It's a "trick" brush lets face it...

Check out an american manufacturer named Pro Arte, made by Ron Ranson. Hope that helps, otherwise I would keep some tweezers handy

Bobby

**Alan Cross** · #5 11-30-2003, 05:52 PM

Well I can tell you I bought a hake at cheap joe's about 12 years ago and almost got rid of it the first while as it keep losing hair....12 years later I use it all the time and it never drops a hair...I think you just need to break it in....mine was not the cheap one so spend a bit of money you can have this brush for a long time...
Alan

Eugene Veszely · #6 12-01-2003, 03:56 AM

I would think it is predominantly a watercolour/ink brush as has been said.... I wouldn't use it with acrylic...

Mine is still unused.....it will be used one day !!!

kunoichi · #7 12-01-2003, 10:00 AM

I personally wouldn't use a hake brush for anything other than watercolors and sumi...i've read somewhere that putting a little bit of clear nail polish at the base of the brush may help avoid shedding

deLYNNEation · #8 12-01-2003, 12:07 PM

I used my hake (cheapest!) every time I painted, until recently. I just ignored the hairs it left behind on my watercolors - the skies I can achieve with the hake made me overlook the hairs. Recently I bought a large 'Golden Fleece' by cheapjoe's that's a huge wash brush & I'm now using both the hake & the huge wash brush about the same amount.

For acrylics I use a large (3") cheap sponge brush for applying gesso & big washes of acrylic to canvas to get an even application. Works rather well, but count on the sponge brush to break down & disentegrate after a few weeks of steady use.

I think I'll always use the hake, it's an old friend now!

lyn lynch · #9 12-01-2003, 11:45 PM

For these cheap ones, I wet them under the faucet and then briskly whisk it back and forth on a bar of brush cleaning soap [it's the green bar], or use Dove bar. This will release some of the very loose bristles before you begin to paint. Actually, with a new one, I do this a few times, letting it dry in between scrubs. I detest a loose hair in my painting, so I'm willing to go this extra step. I do this w/the chip brushes I use to basecoat my walls, too.

Andrew · #10 12-02-2003, 09:12 AM

But so can any natural hair brush. I have a few goat hair hakes(or would the plural be Haki?) that I use for inking. I wash mine several times with a gentle soap to remove any loose hairs. Some will still break off over time, but removing the loose ones before use relieves a lot of headaches.

Unless you are applying very thin washes of acrylic, the hake isn't the best choice. It is a fairly delicate brush, and not designed to move heavy paint about. If you like the broad application, go down to your local hardware store or home improvement center. If you go to the brush aisle of the paint section you can find a plethora of hake-like brushes with natural and synthetic bristles (an probably blends as well), from 1/2 " to 6" or more, for house painting and faux finishes. Our True value has a brand that is 18" wide. To be honest, any traditional house brush, of good quality, will have a hake-esque stroke.

Andrew

baquitania · #11 12-02-2003, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Andrew
... I have a few goat hair hakes(or would the plural be Haki?) that I use for inking...

Andrew

The english plural would be hake brushes, unless you spoke that way about say a common ball. Not how many balls, but how many soccers...

The Japanese plural would still be hake. As they don't distinguish plural in the western format. The answer for how many would determine what was being spoken about. For example...

How many books are there?

Nan-satsu arimasu ka

There are three books.

San-satsu arimasu

Sorry to be an uptight stickler, it just gets my goat when foreign languages (and by inclusion foreign cultures) are treated incorrectly. The joke was amusing at best to me...

B

bby

Andrew · #12 12-02-2003, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by baquitania

The english plural would be hake brushes, unless you spoke that way about say a common ball. Not how many balls, but how many soccers...

The Japanese plural would still be hake. As they don't distinguish plural in the western format. [snip]

Sorry to be an uptight stickler, it just gets my goat when foreign languages (and by inclusion foreign cultures) are treated incorrectly. The joke was amusing at best to me...

Bbby

Thats okay Bobby. I knew the singular and plural was hake, but I thought a little humor might lighten the mood a bit. English, especially American english tends to mutilate foreign languages. I remember a Texan we had in our US Army German language class. No matter how he tried, whenever he said Danke Schon, it sounded closer to Donkey ****s. Go figure.

Andrew

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