The Hamilton Perfection Paintbrush has been a mainstay of the Decorating Industry for decades. So, it’s worth marking its recent evolution. We’re talking of course, about the natural bristle version.
The pure bristles were always made from hog hair from China and suited most oil-based paints. The bristles wore down over time, holding less paint, but becoming easier to cut-in with. When new, you’d use this brush to paint doors, or soffits and facias. Some even used them as dust brushes to begin with.
A well-worn Hamilton Perfection Pure Bristle was known as a Dog’s Cock, and it was the prize possession of any Decorator who owned one. Anytime you worked with a new Decorator, you’d always have a look at his brushes (usually kept in water) and have a conversation about how long he’s had his Hamilton’s for.
Why did the Hamilton Perfection Paintbrush Need to Change
A lot of Decorators are stuck in their ways, so don’t like change. Never-the-less, the industry does move on. Change is happening faster now than it ever has in the past.
One thing that’s changed is the quality and price of hog hair. It used to be a viable option as a material for bristles. Some hogs were bread solely for that reason. However, over the last 5 or so years (possible longer), the quality has dropped dramatically as the price has skyrocketed.
Hamilton know Decorators aren’t going to spend £30 or £40 on a paintbrush. Besides which, they have a reputation for trade-quality products. They can’t carry on manufacturing a brush, knowing full well that the quality will diminish year on year.
The other thing that’s changed is paint. Hog hair is no longer as effective for manipulating paint as it once was.
The Evolution of the Hamilton Perfection Paintbrush
So, we know the Hamilton Perfection Paintbrush needed to change, but what changes did they make? They needed something more cost effective and with better performance. They can’t carry on using hog hair forever, so they needed to develop an alternative.
Recently, Hamilton launched Perfection MaxStroke and Hamilton cleanEdge Paintbrushes.
Like hog hair, these are designed to work as well as they possibly can in oil-based paint. These are the alternative to the traditional hog hair brushes, and the evolution of Hamilton Perfection.
Hamilton CleanEdge is a bit like hog hair. The bristles hold their shape, which is perfect for sticky paint like oil-based gloss and undercoat. Great for doors, soffits, facias, window boards, and pretty much anything else. I’m not saying it cuts in as good as the classic dog’s cock, but you can whip round a window and leave a weather seal with ease.
Hamilton Perfection MaxStroke is a bit softer. I like this type of brush when applying thin material like varnish or stain. It’s quite springy too, and great for squaring internal corners on skirting board and the like.
Final Thoughts
At the time of writing this blog, the Hamilton Perfection Pure Bristle Paintbrush is still available. This is good because the old-boys won’t need to go cold turkey. But the industry is changing, and Hamilton did need to evolve its Perfection range to keep up.
Over the next few years, I can see pure bristles being phased out altogether. Luckily for us, Hamilton is ahead of the game. Their CleanEdge and MaxStroke are the future.
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