What's a good fine brush?

[Milo]

I want to paint the little chrome emblems such as "corvette" or "stingray" and things like those on the sides or backs of cars. What brush can I use for these super small details?

[stitchdup]

I would use a toothpick or cocktail stick. when i've tried to use a brush i end up making a mess but using toothpicks i dont have enough paint on to make a mess

[bluestringer]

You can put paint on a pencil eraser and use it like a stamp for the raised letter emblems. 

[Bainford]

Go to Michaels or an art supply store and check out the artist's brushes. The brushes have a number that refers to its size, the smaller the number, the smaller the brush. Sizes smaller than 1 are 0, 00, 000 etc (also written as 1/0, 2/0, 3/0) all the way down to 10/0. Look for a short bristle brush (may be called a pointer) that is around 000 or smaller for detail painting. 10/0 pointer is great for picking out very fine details such as scripts or dashboard detail. A 1 or 0 is a handy for general small painting. 

[carrucha]

6 hours ago, stitchdup said:

I would use a toothpick or cocktail stick. when i've tried to use a brush i end up making a mess but using toothpicks i dont have enough paint on to make a mess

I also use a toothpick.  The nice thing about toothpicks is that you can slice the tip to make a finer point.

[bobss396]

I have a good Mack brush I like, 520-0000.

[Horrorshow]

I’m a little off topic but I have always wondered why emblems are even on car model bodies. Why don’t manufacturers just supply decals with the kit?

[Skip]

I used to categorically say, any Artist Grade - Watercolor brush that is constructed of Red Sable, for years the natural hair brushes were the goto for Sign Writers, serious Hobbyists, Water Media painters. Lately though, there are a whole lot of synthetic faux fur brushes coming on the market that have better stiffness, snap and feel for the detail painting you want to do. So, if you are going with a detail brush look for a good synthetic 0000 to 20/0 sized brush, the more 0's on the handle the finer the tip. Hobby Lobby, Micheals and some of the other big box arts and crafts stores are going to carry the brands like "Simply Simmons", Windsor & Newton, da Vinchi, Robert Simmons, Rapheal, are all good names in the watercolor world. If a brush will handle watercolor it should for the most part handle both enamels and acrylics.  Cotman and some of the "student grade" brushes will do in a pinch and will be less expensive.  The cheapest brushes in the long run will not be the cheapest brush, because you will end up replacing the cheap ones sooner.

I've used all kinds of brushes in the Sign business and have settled on the newer synthetic brushes for general work, for sign work it's still Red Sable Kolinski from a dedicated sign brush supplier. I've been puttering around with painted sign work since the late 70s so I sort of know my way around a brush!

The pencil eraser tampo trick is probably going to work the best as it doesn't require an absolute steady hand and properly thinned paint, I've used this trick with the Molotow Chrome pens, get a little of the chrome paint in a water bottle cap and lightly load up the eraser, if you mess it up take it off with isopropyl alcohol.

[Bainford]

3 hours ago, Horrorshow said:

I’m a little off topic but I have always wondered why emblems are even on car model bodies. Why don’t manufacturers just supply decals with the kit?

There are a number of ways of replicating scripts and badges on a model; Cutting the mold to make them part of the body (and then painted or foiled using one of several common methods), PE, metal transfers, and decals. Of these, 2D decals are by far the least acceptable method of replicating a badge on a body. They just don't cut it in terms of realism. Unfortunately some new kits are using decals for this purpose, but I am at the point now where, if a kit is available with only decals to represent the badges, I won't buy it, because no matter how well you do on the finish of the kit, the badges will always be a disappointment.

In my opinion, well engraved badges molded to the car body provide the best opportunity to produce an accurate representation of the real thing. The cutting of the tool has to be well done, though; the badge or script not too heavy or too faint, accurately sized and located, etc to look really great. Fortunately, given the foibles many kits exhibit, most kits do a surprisingly good job of this.

[Milo]

5 hours ago, Horrorshow said:

I’m a little off topic but I have always wondered why emblems are even on car model bodies. Why don’t manufacturers just supply decals with the kit?

you can't really have a nice chrome decal

unless you are talking about real cars rn?

Edited November 20, 2023 by Milo

[tbill]

I use the tiny pointed ‘swabs’ from hobby lobby or Tamiya, put some molotow chrome in a bottle cap or something, dip the swab in it, and you almost get a dry brush effect as the swab soaks it in enough to not run off the top and mess up your work , I’ve had good luck doing scripts this way 

[NOBLNG]

I prefer to use the foil under paint technique if it hasn’t been painted already. I have also filed badges down slightly to level them and then applied the decal. Then it sits a little proud and doesn’t look as much like a decal.

[bobss396]

I have a set of MCG PE emblems that came with their '66 Nova set. This is the way to go, but likely expensive. I like the decals too.

My brother would BMF the emblems first and then paint the car. Then he "polished" through the paint to expose the foiled emblems. This is the best method I have seen so far.