Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

Someone I know puts a couple of very thin plastic sheets (cut up vegetable
bags from the supermarket)under the tin lids of tins of varnishes, paints
and glues that come stored in tins.

It makes the lids come on and off very easily and he claims they act like a
'washer' and hence give a more *airtight* seal. But since air passes
through plastic bags (why long life bread is packaged in 'silvered' plastic
bags) albeit slowly, would this be worth doing?

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

In article ,
john brook wrote:
Someone I know puts a couple of very thin plastic sheets (cut up
vegetable bags from the supermarket)under the tin lids of tins of
varnishes, paints and glues that come stored in tins.

It makes the lids come on and off very easily and he claims they act
like a 'washer' and hence give a more *airtight* seal. But since air
passes through plastic bags (why long life bread is packaged in
'silvered' plastic bags) albeit slowly, would this be worth doing?

The reason paint goes off after being opened and used is the large
quantity of new air when you replace the lid.

--
*Rehab is for quitters

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
john brook wrote:
Someone I know puts a couple of very thin plastic sheets (cut up
vegetable bags from the supermarket)under the tin lids of tins of
varnishes, paints and glues that come stored in tins.

It makes the lids come on and off very easily and he claims they
act like a 'washer' and hence give a more airtight seal. But
since air passes through plastic bags (why long life bread is
packaged in 'silvered' plastic bags) albeit slowly, would this be
worth doing?

The reason paint goes off after being opened and used is the large
quantity of new air when you replace the lid.

Your better dropping a peace of plastic in the bottom

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

In article ,
steve robinson wrote:
The reason paint goes off after being opened and used is the large
quantity of new air when you replace the lid.

Your better dropping a peace of plastic in the bottom

Or fill the space with some inert gas?

--
*Strip mining prevents forest fires.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

Huge wrote:

On 2011-07-05, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
steve robinson wrote:
The reason paint goes off after being opened and used is the
large quantity of new air when you replace the lid.

Your better dropping a peace of plastic in the bottom

Or fill the space with some inert gas?

Store the tins upside down.

Makes no difference once the tin is opened and new air introduced.

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

On 05/07/2011 11:36, steve robinson wrote:
Huge wrote:

On 2011-07-05, Dave Plowman wrote:
In ,
steve wrote:
The reason paint goes off after being opened and used is the
large quantity of new air when you replace the lid.

Your better dropping a peace of plastic in the bottom

Or fill the space with some inert gas?

Store the tins upside down.

Makes no difference once the tin is opened and new air introduced.


With oil based paints, it ensures that the skin is under the paint, not
on top, when you come to use it.

Colin Bignell

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

On 7/5/2011 11:26 AM, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In ,
steve wrote:
The reason paint goes off after being opened and used is the large
quantity of new air when you replace the lid.

Your better dropping a peace of plastic in the bottom

Or fill the space with some inert gas?

I transfer leftover paints to nice clean glass jars. Takes up less
space, and makes it easy to see the colour.

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

Nightjar wrote:

On 05/07/2011 11:36, steve robinson wrote:
Huge wrote:

On 2011-07-05, Dave Plowman wrote:
In ,
steve wrote:
The reason paint goes off after being opened and used is the
large quantity of new air when you replace the lid.

Your better dropping a peace of plastic in the bottom

Or fill the space with some inert gas?

Store the tins upside down.

Makes no difference once the tin is opened and new air introduced.


With oil based paints, it ensures that the skin is under the paint,
not on top, when you come to use it.

Colin Bignell

The reason for rotating tins was to help keep the oils and pigments
mixed, otherwise they eventually seperate

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

On Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:45:44 +0100, "Nightjar wrote:

With oil based paints, it ensures that the skin is under the paint, not
on top, when you come to use it.

But how do you then stir the paint to get the oil back in without
breaking the skin and get loads of bits in the paint?

As for the plastic bag under lid can't see a reason for it provided
the lid and rim are in good condition. I always wipe around the lid
and rim to remove excess paint put the lid on firmly with a few taps
from a small hammer. Don't have a problem with stuff going off and if
there is a skin it is easy to remove in tact.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:45:44 +0100, "Nightjar wrote:

With oil based paints, it ensures that the skin is under the paint,
not on top, when you come to use it.

But how do you then stir the paint to get the oil back in without
breaking the skin and get loads of bits in the paint?

As for the plastic bag under lid can't see a reason for it provided
the lid and rim are in good condition. I always wipe around the lid
and rim to remove excess paint put the lid on firmly with a few taps
from a small hammer. Don't have a problem with stuff going off and if
there is a skin it is easy to remove in tact.

so what is actually needed (dragon's den here I come) is a paint tin that
can be made shorter, perhaps collapsible corrugations ? or an inner cup
that could be screwed inside the can and would then effectively raise the
bottom surface of the can.

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

john brook wrote:
Someone I know puts a couple of very thin plastic sheets (cut up
vegetable bags from the supermarket)under the tin lids of tins of
varnishes, paints and glues that come stored in tins.

It makes the lids come on and off very easily and he claims they act
like a 'washer' and hence give a more *airtight* seal. But since air
passes through plastic bags (why long life bread is packaged in
'silvered' plastic bags) albeit slowly, would this be worth doing?

Oxygen is the enemy of unused paint. Here are some tips:

* Don't paint out of the can. Pour paint into another container and re-seal
the can.
* When finished painting, return the unused paint to the can, then - pay
attention here - EXHALE three times into the can. This replaces most of the
oxygen with carbon dioxide.
* Use a plastic bag as your friend suggested. It acts like a gasket around
the edges.
* Store the can upside down. Any remaining oxygen will cause a thin film to
form on what will be the bottom of the paint next time you open the can.
* Make sure the lid is on tightly. Else some paint will leak out, firmly
attaching the lid to the shelf such that when you grab the can, the lid
stays on the shelf, the remaining paint plops to the floor, and you have an
empty can in your hand.

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

Nightjar "cpb"@ insertmysurnamehere wrote:

On 05/07/2011 11:36, steve robinson wrote:

Huge wrote:

Store the tins upside down.

Makes no difference once the tin is opened and new air introduced.

With oil based paints, it ensures that the skin is under the paint, not
on top, when you come to use it.

Only if there's more than 1/2 a tin left when you put it away!

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

Owain wrote:
On Jul 5, 12:19 pm, "Mrcheerful" wrote:
so what is actually needed (dragon's den here I come) is a paint tin
that can be made shorter, perhaps collapsible corrugations ?

Something like a wine box?

Owain

problem is that paint separates, so it needs to be something with a solid
bottom and room to get a stirrer in. What about a tough plastic bag inside
a tin?, you could then seal the bag in close proximity to the surface of the
paint and undo it for stirring and use.

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

* When finished painting, return the unused paint to the can, then -
pay attention here - EXHALE three times into the can. This replaces
most of the oxygen with carbon dioxide.

Only if you are an alien? Typical human exhalations have only 4%~5%
carbon dioxide in place about the same amount of oxygen leaving ~15%
oxygen (plus added water vapour).

--
Robin
PM may be sent to rbw0{at}hotmail{dot}com

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
steve robinson wrote:
The reason paint goes off after being opened and used is the large
quantity of new air when you replace the lid.

Your better dropping a peace of plastic in the bottom

Or fill the space with some inert gas?

Or use an inflated plastic bag to fill the void.

(I started off writing "blow up a plastic bag...", but I suspect this is one
problem that wouldn't be best solved with explosives :)

--
Andrew

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

Robin wrote:
* When finished painting, return the unused paint to the can, then -
pay attention here - EXHALE three times into the can. This replaces
most of the oxygen with carbon dioxide.

Only if you are an alien? Typical human exhalations have only 4%~5%
carbon dioxide in place about the same amount of oxygen leaving ~15%
oxygen (plus added water vapour).


OR: put a thin plastic bag into the can and tuck it in so that it contacts
the paint and leaves the open end outside the can, putting the lid on inside
the open end of the bag would mean that air could not get to the paint
surface. A bit like the old idea of a greaseproof paper round on top of
jam.

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

On 7/5/2011 4:15 AM, john brook wrote:
Someone I know puts a couple of very thin plastic sheets (cut up vegetable
bags from the supermarket)under the tin lids of tins of varnishes, paints
and glues that come stored in tins.

It makes the lids come on and off very easily and he claims they act like a
'washer' and hence give a more *airtight* seal. But since air passes
through plastic bags (why long life bread is packaged in 'silvered' plastic
bags) albeit slowly, would this be worth doing?



If you keep paint out of the sealing area between the lid and can you
get the same effect.

Store the can upside down to keep the air on bottom.

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

On 7/5/2011 5:36 AM, steve robinson wrote:
Huge wrote:

On 2011-07-05, Dave Plowman wrote:
In ,
steve wrote:
The reason paint goes off after being opened and used is the
large quantity of new air when you replace the lid.

Your better dropping a peace of plastic in the bottom

Or fill the space with some inert gas?

Store the tins upside down.

Makes no difference once the tin is opened and new air introduced.


New air or not the paint will skim over, better on bottom than on top.

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

On 7/5/2011 6:03 AM, steve robinson wrote:
Nightjar wrote:

On 05/07/2011 11:36, steve robinson wrote:
Huge wrote:

On 2011-07-05, Dave Plowman wrote:
In ,
steve wrote:
The reason paint goes off after being opened and used is the
large quantity of new air when you replace the lid.

Your better dropping a peace of plastic in the bottom

Or fill the space with some inert gas?

Store the tins upside down.

Makes no difference once the tin is opened and new air introduced.


With oil based paints, it ensures that the skin is under the paint,
not on top, when you come to use it.

Colin Bignell

The reason for rotating tins was to help keep the oils and pigments
mixed, otherwise they eventually seperate

Now that is a load, that will not keep the contents mixed.

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

In message o.uk
"Dave Liquorice" wrote:

On Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:45:44 +0100, "Nightjar wrote:

With oil based paints, it ensures that the skin is under the paint, not
on top, when you come to use it.

But how do you then stir the paint to get the oil back in without
breaking the skin and get loads of bits in the paint?

With sufficient air space in the tin the oil paint will skin over
anyway, this will protect the remaining paint and depending on
the type of paint you are supposed to either cut off and remove
the skin then thoroughly stir or stir in the skin and then strain
through a nylon stocking or purpose made paint strainer.



--
http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk
From the Wirral Peninsular.
Coach painting tips and techniques + Land Rover colour codes
"Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble". Henry Royce

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

On 7/5/2011 7:27 AM, Robin wrote:
* When finished painting, return the unused paint to the can, then -
pay attention here - EXHALE three times into the can. This replaces
most of the oxygen with carbon dioxide.

Only if you are an alien? Typical human exhalations have only 4%~5%
carbon dioxide in place about the same amount of oxygen leaving ~15%
oxygen (plus added water vapour).


He left out holding your breath. Have you ever heard of holding your
breath before blowing out a candle?

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

In message o.uk, Dave
Liquorice writes
On Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:45:44 +0100, "Nightjar wrote:

With oil based paints, it ensures that the skin is under the paint, not
on top, when you come to use it.

But how do you then stir the paint to get the oil back in without
breaking the skin and get loads of bits in the paint?

Without stirring it (or maybe after first stirring very carefully,
without breaking the skin), you decant most of the paint off into
another container. You then scrape off the sludge from the inside of the
lid, add it to the paint you have decanted, and stir it in well.

After you have used the paint, if there's still some left, you can pour
it back unto the original tin until the next time you need it.

Once opened, I suspect that a re-sealed tin often allows small amounts
of air to get in. Storing it upside down probably helps the lid to be
absolutely air-tight - just make sure it doesn't leak!





--
Ian

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

On 7/5/2011 6:19 AM, Mrcheerful wrote:
Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:45:44 +0100, "Nightjar wrote:

With oil based paints, it ensures that the skin is under the paint,
not on top, when you come to use it.

But how do you then stir the paint to get the oil back in without
breaking the skin and get loads of bits in the paint?

As for the plastic bag under lid can't see a reason for it provided
the lid and rim are in good condition. I always wipe around the lid
and rim to remove excess paint put the lid on firmly with a few taps
from a small hammer. Don't have a problem with stuff going off and if
there is a skin it is easy to remove in tact.

so what is actually needed (dragon's den here I come) is a paint tin that
can be made shorter, perhaps collapsible corrugations ? or an inner cup
that could be screwed inside the can and would then effectively raise the
bottom surface of the can.

Like these?

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/pag...190,44133&ap=1

--
Free bad advice available here.
To reply, eat the taco.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

I remember many many years ago seeing on TV a system of lids for glass
jars with a self sealing valve on top and a sort of hand operated vacuum
pump. The idea being you removed any air after putting back on the lid.
Rather like canning works, but without the heat.

It was short term storage of edible products - and may well have been
before most had 'fridges. But like many such things on TV, never saw it
again.

--
*Toilet stolen from police station. Cops have nothing to go on.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

I remember many many years ago seeing on TV a system of lids for glass
jars with a self sealing valve on top and a sort of hand operated
vacuum pump. The idea being you removed any air after putting back on
the lid. Rather like canning works, but without the heat.

I still have one. Uses the same pump and same design of valve as
vac-u-vin.

It was short term storage of edible products - and may well have been
before most had 'fridges. But like many such things on TV, never saw
it again.

Some still available. Just pop "vacuvin storage" into the search engine
of your choice. Bit pricey for paint though and possibly not suitable
for oil based paints 'cos of the effects of "the vapours".

--
Robin
PM may be sent to rbw0{at}hotmail{dot}com

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

Steve Turner wrote:
On 7/5/2011 6:19 AM, Mrcheerful wrote:
Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:45:44 +0100, "Nightjar wrote:

With oil based paints, it ensures that the skin is under the paint,
not on top, when you come to use it.

But how do you then stir the paint to get the oil back in without
breaking the skin and get loads of bits in the paint?

As for the plastic bag under lid can't see a reason for it provided
the lid and rim are in good condition. I always wipe around the lid
and rim to remove excess paint put the lid on firmly with a few taps
from a small hammer. Don't have a problem with stuff going off and
if there is a skin it is easy to remove in tact.

so what is actually needed (dragon's den here I come) is a paint
tin that can be made shorter, perhaps collapsible corrugations ? or
an inner cup that could be screwed inside the can and would then
effectively raise the bottom surface of the can.

Like these?

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/pag...190,44133&ap=1

dang, I was too late.

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

In article , lcb11211
@swbelldotnet says...

On 7/5/2011 7:27 AM, Robin wrote:
* When finished painting, return the unused paint to the can, then -
pay attention here - EXHALE three times into the can. This replaces
most of the oxygen with carbon dioxide.

Only if you are an alien? Typical human exhalations have only 4%~5%
carbon dioxide in place about the same amount of oxygen leaving ~15%
oxygen (plus added water vapour).


He left out holding your breath. Have you ever heard of holding your
breath before blowing out a candle?

Nope. Neither has the wind.

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

On 05/07/2011 13:35, Mrcheerful wrote:
Robin wrote:
* When finished painting, return the unused paint to the can, then -
pay attention here - EXHALE three times into the can. This replaces
most of the oxygen with carbon dioxide.

Only if you are an alien? Typical human exhalations have only 4%~5%
carbon dioxide in place about the same amount of oxygen leaving ~15%
oxygen (plus added water vapour).


OR: put a thin plastic bag into the can and tuck it in so that it contacts
the paint and leaves the open end outside the can, putting the lid on inside
the open end of the bag would mean that air could not get to the paint
surface. A bit like the old idea of a greaseproof paper round on top of
jam.


I simply pour gently, a small amount of turps on the paint, this in my
experience stops it skimming and is easily stirred in before the next
use. Another thing I have found useful is if I use a paint brush then
need to continue the job the next day wiping any excess paint off then
firmly wrapping the paint brush in cling film, keeps the brush usable
until the morrow.

--
Residing on low ground in North Staffordshire

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

On Jul 5, 10:15*am, "john brook" wrote:
Someone I know puts a couple of very thin plastic sheets (cut up vegetable
bags from the supermarket)under the tin lids of tins of varnishes, paints
and glues that come stored in tins.


Surely the place to put the plastic sheet is lying on top of the
paint. this separates it from the air.

Robert

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

john brook laid this down on his screen :
Someone I know puts a couple of very thin plastic sheets (cut up vegetable
bags from the supermarket)under the tin lids of tins of varnishes, paints and
glues that come stored in tins.

It makes the lids come on and off very easily and he claims they act like a
'washer' and hence give a more *airtight* seal. But since air passes through
plastic bags (why long life bread is packaged in 'silvered' plastic bags)
albeit slowly, would this be worth doing?

Once the lid is firmly back on, just turn it upside down. The what ever
it is inside will seal the gaps in the lid and prevent any more air
entering.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

I use the wine box for all my finishes.
It's great. I can mix the paint by just slapping the membrane on a
bench. It elongates the storage of all my finishes.

The way my wife and brother in law go through these boxes I have an
endless supply.

I use soda bottles with the top cut off to fill them (makes a one time
funnel) squeeze the air out, then store.

The best method of storing I have used. No rusted lids, no stuck lids.

If I can't get the stuff to remix, I pour it all out in a can and mix,
then pour it back. Rarely needed, but occasionally does happen.

One more advantage is the small storage size.

On 7/5/2011 7:28 AM, Owain wrote:
On Jul 5, 12:19 pm, "Mrcheerful" wrote:
so what is actually needed (dragon's den here I come) is a paint tin that
can be made shorter, perhaps collapsible corrugations ?

Something like a wine box?

Owain

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

In message , Mrcheerful
writes

so what is actually needed (dragon's den here I come) is a paint tin that
can be made shorter, perhaps collapsible corrugations ?

I've got a few concertina bottles in my darkroom for storing film
developer.
http://www.silverprint.co.uk/media/stock/000009EC.JPG

They will collapse from 1 litre down to about 1/2 litre. Works fine with
fluid but I'm not sure about gloss paint. Can you imagine trying to
whack the lid on an concertining paint container ;-)

--
Paul Giverin

My Photos:- www.pbase.com/vendee

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

Paul Giverin wrote:
In message , Mrcheerful
writes

so what is actually needed (dragon's den here I come) is a paint tin
that can be made shorter, perhaps collapsible corrugations ?

I've got a few concertina bottles in my darkroom for storing film
developer.
http://www.silverprint.co.uk/media/stock/000009EC.JPG

They will collapse from 1 litre down to about 1/2 litre. Works fine
with fluid but I'm not sure about gloss paint. Can you imagine trying
to whack the lid on an concertining paint container ;-)

That would be a job to be passed to 'the boy'

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

On 7/5/2011 9:13 AM, J. Clarke wrote:
In , lcb11211
@swbelldotnet says...

On 7/5/2011 7:27 AM, Robin wrote:
* When finished painting, return the unused paint to the can, then -
pay attention here - EXHALE three times into the can. This replaces
most of the oxygen with carbon dioxide.

Only if you are an alien? Typical human exhalations have only 4%~5%
carbon dioxide in place about the same amount of oxygen leaving ~15%
oxygen (plus added water vapour).


He left out holding your breath. Have you ever heard of holding your
breath before blowing out a candle?

Nope. Neither has the wind.



When you hold your breath you emit less oxygen in you wind and you blow
"slowly". The point of holding your breath is to smother the flame and
the glowing wick so that it does not continue to smoke after the fire is
out.

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

On 05/07/2011 12:11, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:45:44 +0100, "Nightjar wrote:

With oil based paints, it ensures that the skin is under the paint, not
on top, when you come to use it.

But how do you then stir the paint to get the oil back in without
breaking the skin and get loads of bits in the paint?

Carefully. Although, if I keep a paint long enough for it to skin, the
skin is usually so thick that the propblem is how to break it.

Colin Bignell

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

On 05/07/2011 13:46, wrote:
In whill.co.uk
"Dave wrote:

On Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:45:44 +0100, "Nightjar wrote:

With oil based paints, it ensures that the skin is under the paint, not
on top, when you come to use it.

But how do you then stir the paint to get the oil back in without
breaking the skin and get loads of bits in the paint?

With sufficient air space in the tin the oil paint will skin over
anyway, this will protect the remaining paint and depending on
the type of paint you are supposed to either cut off and remove
the skin then thoroughly stir or stir in the skin

What's the deal there - I never know what to do for the best when I come
across skin on paint. I usually make a judgement on whether it will
actually ever stir in, and if not (eg if it's an eighth of an inch of
hard dry crust!) I remove it.

What does it do to the quality of the paint itself? Would the
underlying paint become more (or less?) concentrated from repeated
removal of skin? Or is the skin layer identical in quality/content to
the liquid?

David

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

On 05/07/2011 13:31, Andrew Morton wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In ,
steve wrote:
The reason paint goes off after being opened and used is the large
quantity of new air when you replace the lid.

Your better dropping a peace of plastic in the bottom

Or fill the space with some inert gas?

Or use an inflated plastic bag to fill the void.

(I started off writing "blow up a plastic bag...", but I suspect this is one
problem that wouldn't be best solved with explosives :)

Cue the "Mr Bean does decorating" clip from Youtube...

David

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

On 05/07/2011 15:30, Moonraker wrote:

Another thing I have found useful is if I use a paint brush then
need to continue the job the next day wiping any excess paint off then
firmly wrapping the paint brush in cling film, keeps the brush usable
until the morrow.

I find a couple of layers of Tesco bags does the trick equally well
actually - at least it's a use for the bloody things.

Embarrassing confession - I employed a pro decorator a few months ago
for the first time in my life. I was very intrigued that he had a new
Special Box which he stored all his used brushes in; only it wasn't one
of those where the bristles sit in turps, ISTR there was some form of
chemical vapour in there which prevented the brushes from drying out
indefinitely. He said it was the mutt's nuts and he'd pretty well given
up on turps and brush cleaner. Can't remember what the stuff was though...

David

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

On 05/07/2011 11:33, Huge wrote:
Store the tins upside down.


You don't need to store them upside down (which as others have pointed
out means any skin is under the paint and hard to deal with) simply
inverting them once so paint seals the edge of the lid seems to make a
difference to me.

Andy

Sealing the lids on paint tins
 

Lobster wrote:

On 05/07/2011 15:30, Moonraker wrote:

firmly wrapping the paint brush in cling film, keeps the brush usable
until the morrow.

I find a couple of layers of Tesco bags does the trick equally well
actually - at least it's a use for the bloody things.

Tesco bags are probably the worst choice for that, especially if they're
more than a few weeks old, their bags bio/photo/oxi-degrade very quickly ...

I employed a pro decorator a few months ago
for the first time in my life. I was very intrigued that he had a new
Special Box which he stored all his used brushes in;

Been mentioned before, I think.

http://www.brushmate.co.uk/