Little tip which was passed onto me recently for anyone with boar brushes eating lather... Soak it for no more than 30 seconds before use. It's transformed all my lather eaters into lather monsters, no idea why this isn't more widely known but if a boar is eating lather it's almost certainly been over soaked.
I do not soak any of my brushes be they boar, badger or synthetic. Just swirl the tips in water, a little shake to get rid of the excess water, a little shake over the puck to put a wee bit of water on the puck and then start loading the brush with soap. Adding water as I go the same way till I have enogh soap loaded. Build the lather on my face adding water as needed the same way.
Today's brush has been soaking for more than 30 seconds – more like 3 hours! I will try it on the next one. I does make me wonder where the idea of soaking came from in the first place.
I’ve always been under the impression that not soaking a brush could lead to damage. Mainly in the case of badger and especially boar. Whether or not this is true or just assumption, I don’t know.
I always just assumed they needed soaking, to soften them up in the case of boars but it's not the case at all... Admittedly I'm not as extreme as you but my soak time has gone down from 5-10 minutes to 30 seconds and there's not a single boar it's not improved the performance of. I doubt it would make much if any difference with synthetic or badger brushes as they only trap water between the hairs unlike boars which absorb it.
I never soaked a paint brush in paint up to the ferrule and they work just fine with no loss of bristles. With good cleaning and storage they have lasted me for decades of normal domestic house painting.
Loving these Rooney’s, I always thought they made the most elegant handles.Rooney 3/2 Faux Horn Finest (24/54)
Thanks for the post. Yes, I think so too. I think the 3/2 is my favorite.
No soaking here, just poke it with a little twist a couple of times in a small bowl of warm water.
Classy and understated, just the ticket.
