Brushes - what's good to know.
Cleaning Brushes
For cleaning brushes, rinse them in lukewarm water, rub them onto “Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver” and then rub them into a brush scrubber held in the palm of your hand, rinse and repeat until the brushes come clean. After washing rub a pea-sized drop of inexpensive hair conditioner into bristles. (This will help condition the natural fiber, it also makes them a little easier to clean next time). Do not rinse out conditioner and lay brushes flat to dry on paper towels. If you stand you brushes handle down the moisture will eventually weaken the glue.
Do not leave brushes soaking in water for more than a few minutes. Hot water will soften the glue and weaken the ferrule of the brush. Freshly used brushes are easier to wash.
Choosing Brush Size
There is a common misconception that you should use a small brush for small areas. Because we like to add shading to our stenciling, we will typically start with our base color and a large brush. By using a larger size brush you can work faster. It holds more paint, thus reducing the number of times you need to reload the brush, and by being bigger you get more coverage instantly. We will then shade our cutout areas with a medium brush and a slightly different color. Then we move onto our final shading with our darkest color and small brush.
To summarize:
Base all areas with light color and large brush.
Add first shading color with medium brush.
Add second shading color with small brush.