Dry brushing is a great technique for weathering and wall painting but it kills your brushes. What then?
Dry brushing, applying almost dry paint with a short stiff bristles to just the raised areas of a train or building surface and is commonly used for highlighting and to achieve a weathered look, is a vital skill for model builders.
It’s also hellish on brushes. Damaging them each time, quickly wrecking them beyond use.
For this reason experienced modellers recommend using old brushes.
But if you do a lot of dry brushing your pipeline of old brushes waiting to be used will be quickly exhausted. What then?
This is a problem I face frequently and buying new sable brushes only to abuse them with dry brushing is bad for both my bank account and peace of mind. It feels awful to take a lovely new brush and cutting it short and roughly drag it over surfaces destroying the soft bristles in the process.
To solve this quandary I’ve recently been testing and experimenting with cheap brushes I could buy and use up without too feeling too bad about or denting my bank account too much. And after a few trials I’ve found these brushes (pictured above).
They fit the bill perfectly. They’re relatively in expensive yet reasonable quality and work well for dry brushing.
I’ve now got several packs of them for when my current stock of old brushes where out and am looking forward to using them.
> Looking for more? Read Dry Brushing Tips for advice on how to master this technique.
> A final, personal, note: I spend a huge amount of time testing, photographing, writing and researching techniques for these articles and pay for all the running costs of MRE out of my own pocket. If you found this article useful you can support me by making a donation on my fund-raising page. Thanks and happy modelling, Andy.
Andy is a lifelong modeler, writer, and founder of modelrailwayengineer.com. He has been building model railways, dioramas, and miniatures for over 20 years. His passion for model making and railways began when he was a child, building his first layout at the age of seven.
Andy’s particular passion is making scenery and structures in 4mm scale, which he sells commercially. He is particularly interested in modelling the railways of South West England during the late Victorian/early Edwardian era, although he also enjoys making sci-fi and fantasy figures and dioramas. His website has won several awards, and he is a member of MERG (Model Railway Electronics Group) and the 009 Society.
When not making models, Andy lives in Surrey with his wife and teenage son. Other interests include history, science fiction, photography, and programming. Read more about Andy.