Is there a way I can repair this brush ?

[Hex]

I started this restore with a brush that had a lot of nicks and cuts in it.

After I got them all smoothed out, this part of the handle had changed colors quite a bit on some of the parts. To be expected, I might add, given how much it was banged up.

My question is. is there a coating of some kind I can put on this to bring it back to a somewhat uniform, and hopefully originally color/finish ?

Thanks

 

[Gamma]

Its hard to see but it looks like it's banded yellowed on top and bottom?
Wow. I'd leave it like that - it's kinda cool.

If it's bakelite - the parts you sanded will oxidize/yellow/bronze on their own.
But - it unless you sand the whole piece until the color is uniform, you'll probably always see the bands. But that's only for Bakelite.

With other types of plastic - I usually paint that part if I don't like the coloring.

 

[bbarton713]

It's really hard to see so it is hard to give an opinion. In the dim light it looks pretty cool but in the bright light of day it might be scary, but some people like scary...

 

[Hex]

My photography skills suck, and so does my camera.

It's not bakelite and the dark and light shades are a result of sanding. The banding is not uniform, more in spots.

If I elect to to paint it, what kind of paint would I use ?

 

[luvmysuper]

..

 

[Gamma]

Thanks - I had pulled it and tweaked it in PS .. it's just not sharp enough, and the brush-head doesn't occupy enough real estate to get a good look.
I could run a stair-step interpolation action on it but I don't think it would help much here. My guess is that it was shot hand-held / too slow and not stopped down enough.

 

[Hex]

Let me try with my camera some more.

The best I have been able to do is the macro mode but, when I get close, the darn picture is out of focus.

I'll try again and include the base.

These show it better though it is more apparent in real life.

And did I remember to say thank you very much ?

 

[Gamma]

Ahh.. you're welcome.

Those pix are better - macro is tough with a p/s. Especially when you're holding the thing you're photographing in your hand.

Anyway - just to be upfront - I'm no expert on brushes. I've refurbed a bunch and built several from scratch, but a more qualified/experienced person might have better advice.
Also - I haven't had this exact situation to deal with so I can only guess what I might do if that was my brush. Please consider this post to be more of a friendly discussion type of thing.

Having said that -

I like to experiment - so if the brush is essentially a disposable (not valuable and without sentimental attachment) I would put it through the wringer just to see what happens. I bought a few disposable brushes with cracks in them just to find out what it was like to take them apart, paint, sand, heat, boil, etc.

Anyhoo..

That yellowing on yours might go all the way through to the inside. Old plastic stuff gets weird like that from heat humidity, oils, soaps, etc. I see the yellowing is almost swirled - I think if that was my project I would probably leave it alone and just go forward with a re-knot.

Or - I would go crazy with it and do something totally off the wall with it.


Anything you do will be an experiment - if I had to guess, the yellowing/swirling you have there is probably well-set into the plastic and evening it out perfectly might not be possible.
I tried to bleach out some funky old yellowed radio knobs once - they sort of melted. I don't recommend trying anything like that unless you are feeling really lucky.

My feeling is that with gentle sanding you might even out the yellowing some but if you sand too much you'll take off too much surface and it'll look weird.
Also - sanding means you have to figure out how to bring the surface back to a gloss. I've used clear Krylon to do that.

Sometimes I just leave stuff like that on the corner of my bench until a better idea comes along.

 

[Blue58]

if you are looking for a white or off white color I think I would paint it with a good quality enamel paint, probably an oil based paint. do several thin coats and then do a clear coat for the final coat. Also remember to use a primer for your first coat.