Chinese bristle or horse hair paint brushes are not from China. For a change.

Often called Chinese boar bristle paint brushes, these are for the times you want the job to look great.

They are tricky to clean, but it’s all worth it.

Looking online, I see the best prices are at Amazon.

I use a 3-inch angle cut, best for windows and wall cuts, but if you don’t have a lot of experience, go with the 2-inch or maybe 2.5 angle cut. This page has all the China bristle brushes you’ll ever need.

Purdy brushes, now owned by Sherwin-Williams, make the standard China bristle brush.

Very briefly, a natural fiber from the tail of a horse is perfect for controlling oil-based paint.  But do not use them for water-based paints, as you will ruin them.

Why do we call them Chinese Bristle? That may come from the brushes that use Chinese hog hair.

In any case, a quality bristle lets you control the flow of your oil paint very well. You can use other brushes intended for both oil and latex, and that’s ok for the homeowner level of brush.

I get it. You don’t want to spend much on a good brush. But pros use a brush all morning, then switch to a fresh brush for the afternoon. We clean them well and use them over and over. And over. Months.

Having said that, now almost all paints are water-based paints. So you won’t need this brush often.

But you might want to try a China-bristle paint brush for oil-based stains and varnishes.

That white china bristle brush you see is used for when you need a very smooth finish, as with oil-based polyurethane and shellac. 

Clean immediately with mineral spirits if oil, or whatever the paint you use calls for. Don’t soak them. You’ll be sorry.