# Best brush for spar varnish



## TERRY365PAINTER (Jul 26, 2009)

Just checking to see what other painters use for spars and poly . Tried woosters 
Brushes . White china brushes ? Etc


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

TERRY365PAINTER said:


> Just checking to see what other painters use for spars and poly . Tried woosters
> Brushes . White china brushes ? Etc


I hand make mine and got a beaver tail supplier from the Ukon that supplies my bristles, then I fly down to the Amazon for my Rosewood handles. Those Indians on the river give me a great deal. 

I have the best oil brushes this side of the milkyway.


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

White china is great, but I've used top quality black china too with perfect results (back when Purdy made good brushes).

The tool does make a difference, but I find the method of application more important. The correct amount of mineral spirits added and the weather always seemed to me to of great importance. And obviously the brand of varnish is critical.

(BTW, don't ask about the time I used turpentine to thin)


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## ReNt A PaInTeR (Dec 28, 2008)

I do pretty much everything with this kind of paint brush. Except for stain


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## AbsolutePainting (Feb 9, 2011)

Wooster, ultra/pro, firm, lindbeck


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## TERRY365PAINTER (Jul 26, 2009)

I tend to like the white china , been using man of war spar . I thin a bit ,but not always depends on the temp.


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## mpminter (Mar 21, 2011)

I like a purdy syntox for clear finishes, although you might try a corona chinex. I like those more all the time


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

We use badgers.


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

vermontpainter said:


> We use badgers.


Are they harder to train than oxen?


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

vermontpainter said:


> We use badgers.


Hogs taste better than the badgers. Badgers are tough and gamy.


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## Wolfgang (Nov 16, 2008)

I just buy the cheaper Purdy 3" Swans, (with the copper ferrule). They lay the product out nicely and once they are used for it, that's all they stay in - no using for anything else.


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## malarz (Aug 1, 2011)

I use Omega. Expensive but worth it.


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## StevenH (Sep 7, 2009)

I have at least 10 white china brushes for specific use. two for glaze, 3 for oil based varnish. 2 for oil based stain. One for shellac.


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## OraarO (Oct 19, 2007)

vermontpainter said:


> We use badgers.


We don't need no stinking badgers.:thumbup:

I like the Chinex brushes for just about everything these days.


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## DHlll (Dec 22, 2010)

*any old road kill will do*

been making my finish brushes out of road kill squirrel lately. dam they are good brushes. Brush loads up nice and lays out like pudding. I sent some out to Jack Paul to do a demo and waiting for his synopsis.


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## IHATE_HOMEDEPOT (May 27, 2008)

*Purdy Ox-O-Thin*


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## jennifertemple (Oct 30, 2011)

I have been refinishing fine furniture for some years now, almost any good quality brush works for me. As it happens, I prefer a well crafted synthetic. The most important factors are the quality of the product, the weather but most important is the skill of the applicator. I have found a light and steady hand over long strokes gives the best result but I must confess, it took a LOT of practice. Because I grind and re-coat several times before giving the final polish, it is essential that a urethane or varnish finish be applied as evenly as possible or risk breaking through an earlier layer. If I do that and I have to strip it down and start again. The indents of the brush marks indicate where I have come to firmly in contact with the wood.


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