Where to purchase brush and rod for coating paper

[jumanji]

Please give me an idea where in the state to purchase (online order) good quality brushes (in various sizes, both flat and round) and glass rod for coating paper for alternative process?

[TXFZ1]

bostick-sullivan.com/ (https://www.bostick-sullivan.com/)


David

[jumanji]

Oh yes thanks David, why did I forget them?
Though I think $29 for a rod is a bit steep :( Will have to spend quite a lot for those brushes and rods.

[koraks]

I don't use rods personally, only brushes. I buy the cheapest brushesI can find at DIY stores and art supply stores and see if they work. So far, I don't see any need for moving up to more expensive brushes. Maybe those would last longer, but the $1 soft, synthetic hair brushes and the equally low-priced foam brushes do just fine and after hundreds of carbon prints and cyanotypes, I haven't worn out a single brush yet. I can imagine that if you use more expensive processes like pt/pd, you'd want to make sure the brush is just perfect and certainly not the limiting factor, or if you want to lay down a coat with a perfectly straight and smooth edge with a brush. But I do neither of those; I'm fine with rough edges on my cyanotypes and the chemistry and paper cost next to nothing to begin with.

[jumanji]

Thanks for your suggestion Koraks. Actually I'm experimenting with cyanotype using my friend's Japanese made goat hair brush and it does a really good job. Ok, I will go to the art supply store to take some cheap brushes. Save money for the chemicals.

[Scott Davis]

I couldn't imagine using a foam brush for anything other than coating gum bichromate prints. All my experience with using foam brushes is that they shred the paper surface and waste lots of chemistry by absorbing too much. While cheaper brushes may work, also my personal experience is that the Richeson 9010 "magic" brush really does live up to its name for ease of coating, minimal absorption of chemistry, and smoothness of coating. They're worth paying the extra for. To save money on the Richeson brushes (they're NOT cheap), compare prices at Cheap Joe's (http://www.cheapjoes.com/)and Jerry's Artarama (http://www.jerrysartarama.com/). They have the best prices, are usually within a few dollars of each other, and take turns being the cheapest guy with the product. Who you buy from will depend in part on which one costs less for shipping and/or if local sales tax applies.

[jp]

Rods allow almost no chemistry waste which is important for expensive consumables like in pt/pd. I've used a rod for cyanotypes and it works fine, but brushes work fine too. With cyanotype, most $1 brushes have steel pieces that hold the bristles in. This reacts with the cyanotype chemistry; the expensive B&S brushes have a copper wire holding the bristles in. I've had the same brush for a couple years now and it's quality stuff. cheap foam brushes work but just don't last. I had cheap foam brushes in use when I helped people do cyanotypes at a mini maker faire, (didn't want to lose my good one) and they lasted about 40 4x5 cyanotypes. If I'm painting a bedroom wall or something, I'll use whatever cheap brush does the job and throw it away when the job is done, but for photo stuff, a good brush is a good brush.

[Vaughn]

I use both the rod and brush. Several passes with the rod to determine the borders and then a brush to finish.

[lab black]

I have found that the final print size determines my method of coating the paper. For 8x10 and smaller, I prefer using a glass rod to coat and a syringe ( needle removed) to lay down an even bead of chemistry between the paper and the rod. For larger images, I have found the Richeson 9010 brush provides excellent results as it minimizes pooling of the chemistry on the paper which can occur when using a rod to coat larger (than 8x10) paper. While the Richeson 9010 is costly, I have found it to be very effective. That being said, I have also had good results using relatively inexpensive, Home Depot "Purdy," oil based brushes which have been moistened with a few drops of distilled water. The Purdy brush need to be completely dried before it can be reused whereas the Richeson 9010 does not.

[jumanji]

Thank you guys for sharing your experiences. Guess I will have to try several methods to find out what will be suitable for me. In future I want to play with three color gum dichromate, and a good brush is a must.

[mdm]

A pipette can work as a rod, I have used one successfully. At the moment I am using a rod cut from a 1cm diameter glass tube that was much longer than I needed. You can even use a glass or a measuring jug.