Plasti-sleeve is a plastic sleeve fitted tightly to the ferral(sp?)(it's the metal thing that holds the bristles) that slides partially onto the bristles.
When you paint and the paint collects in the bristles around the sleeve and becomes impossible to clean out. Simply slide the sleeve up which loosens the bristles and frees the paint making it easier to clean and keep clean your brushes.
It's an art thing.-- waxingpoetic, Mar 06 2003 Great idea. I can't believe it hasn't been baked.-- Worldgineer, Mar 06 2003 If you handed them out gratis at the hardware store, you could have a free ferral.-- bungston, Mar 06 2003 A friend of mine just wraps a piece of masking tape around the bristles. He says it works well.
It seems like it would be difficult to get a plastic sleeve on if it was tight enough to do the job.-- scad mientist, Mar 06 2003 How do you stop more fluid paints (ie. watercolours and oil washes) from being drawn up the bristles by capillary action?-- Cedar Park, Mar 06 2003 I helped my friend paint and wallpaper Gloria Vanderbilt's apartment last year (no lie!) and I didn't detect a problem. You just put the brush under hot running water and it becomes clean after a while.-- snarfyguy, Mar 06 2003 If it's oil paint - turpentine does the job. Proper care sees to it that there's not caking. Given the wide range of brush sizes/types - their varying densities - how is one to not damage/alter the bristles and their intended shape?-- thumbwax, Mar 07 2003 after cleaning the brush I usually smear a glob of washing up liquid into the bristles. mind you they are so cheap these days, its hardly worth the bother.
I like the masking tape idea as well.-- po, Mar 07 2003 You're dipping the brush too far into the paint.-- angel, Mar 07 2003 This is getting to be Hints from the HalfBakery.-- pluterday, Mar 07 2003 Three points from an artistic point of view:
1. If you are going to put a plastic ferrule over your bristles which inhibits their flexibility and ability to make distinctive marks, then you might just as well limit yourself to painting with a palette knife, which will never become clogged with paint. Or popsicle sticks, for that matter.
2. Quality paint brushes ( whether they are intended for oils, acrylics, watercolors, or even house paints) are anything but cheap. I frequentlly pay US$20 or more for a decent #8 flat sable artist brush, and more for a good housepainter's sash and trim brush. Brushes are an artist's tools and deserve the same respect that a competent mechanic would give his Snap-on or Proto socket set, or a chef would give his Wusthof knives and All-Clad cookware.
3. There are appropriate mediums and lots of cleaners on the market today (not only at art stores) that eliminate the paint in the ferrule problem, for those that care to take the time.-- jurist, Mar 07 2003 [jurist] are we doing the sistine chapel here or my bedroom ceiling? :)-- po, Mar 07 2003 I'm reassured that a palette knife will never become clogged with popsicle sticks.-- waugsqueke, Mar 07 2003 [po]: Waxingpoetic said that it was an "art thing" in the original idea. But I've personally painted several hundred thousand square feet of commercial and residential space over the years, and I prize my sash and trim brushes nearly as much as I prize my artist brushes. A high-quality 3-inch sash brush for oil-based paints will easily cost $20 to $25, and it's a shame to see it abused in the hands of a novice. It will, however, last for years and provide beautiful results if properly cared for.
If we're just doing your bedroom ceiling, then by all means call in "Trading Spaces" and watch them do it any old way.-- jurist, Mar 07 2003 oh well <sigh> thats me for you. cheap, and cheerful and disposable apparently.-- po, Mar 07 2003 Hey, why don't we do the Sistine chapel ON your ceiling? Painting party at po's!-- RayfordSteele, Mar 07 2003 I'll bring the popsicle sticks!-- snarfyguy, Mar 07 2003 random, halfbakery