>Another treatment I think helps (or maybe it's just a ritual) is before
>using a new hake brush, I soak it in a tub of warm water then gently pull
>on the hairs, presumably loosening the ones ready to come out. A lot
>always come out -- but obviously not all.
>
When I get a new brush, I wash it with soap. When dry, I put some arabic gum
( I keep some old solution for it) on a piece of paper, and I coat it with
the brush. Hairs ready to come out get glued. I do the job again until the
brush doesn't loose any hair again.
>There's also the fact that as
>the brush ages the hairs tend to get brittle, and pieces of them break
>off and into the emulsion -- and those little pieces are very hard to spot.
>
The best solution when this appears is to get a new brush. But if you see
hair or dust *after the mixture is dry*, you can use a piece of marrow of
elder (moelle de sureau in French) to rub *gently* them. Don't insist if
they don't go, because you can damage your coat.
Alain
=============================
Alain Gayster gayster@micronet.fr
=============================