You need to boil the brush in order to rid the brush of the natural purple-brown dye inherent within the fibres and reduce the amount of dirt as well as make it softer. There are many ways to do this but this is how I do it:
1. First, remove the first or three rows of stitching on the bottom of the brush. This depends on the quality of the brush. The best brushes are made with tight stitching and so have more rows than standard brushes with fewer, wide spaced out ones. Removing these stitches makes the brush more pliable and flexible. To remove, use a knife and some pliers to cut, being careful not to cut into the actual fibres of the brush itself and use the pliers to pull the stitches out. If you want the brush stiff then you can skip this step.
2. Then, trim the tip of the brush so the outer edges slant inwards; i.e. form a soft V when looking down the brush. You could also trim it so it is more like a U. It is really down to what purpose you have for the brush; whether it is for smoothing backing paper down or applying glue to mounting silk etc. You can keep it untrimmed if you are using it to bash down on seams and edges etc.
3. Sand down the tip of the brush by rubbing it over sandpaper. Use several grades from coarse to fine. Some people just rub it on a paving slab in the garden. This needs to be done to soften the tips of the fibres so it would be less likely to damage the paper.
4. Prepare a tub of hot water with bicarbonate of soda dissolved into it (or soda water if you have it). Immerse the brush into it and let it soak overnight.
5. Next day, prepare a large pan on the stove of water and add bicarbonate of soda into it (or use soda water). Bring to boil then immerse the brush into it. Boil for at least an hour, stirring and turning it from time to time. Some people reduce or prolong the boiling time. It all depends on the size and quality of the brush and it really is trial and error on your part.
6. After it has been boiled, rinse under cold water to wash away the soda water. Then hang to dry naturally for a few days until completely dry.
7. After it has dried, take the brush and start bashing and brushing it aggressively on some white paper. This will start to dislodge all the dirt and broken fibres. Keep doing it until there is minimal dirt being dislodged. If it keeps giving a lot of dirt etc even after a while, then you must repeat from step 4 again. Otherwise, the brush is now ready for use. #Mounting;MountingBrush
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