Romera Rustic Chubby Fading

As most all of us who have purchased a Rustic Chubby know, a good amount of the black stained portion comes off during the first few shaves. Now, I find myself in the situation where the black portion is very faded and "washed off". Kind of a chalky look. Has anyone tried to restore the black portion of this brush? If so, what did you use? The original finish appears to be a stain and not a paint. I have seen some wood dye products on the Inet but am not sure if this will work to restore the black portion.

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. 

As a side note, this continues to be my favorite badger. The knot is simply amazing!!!!

Thanks for your help.

Ed

Check out Brad Sears Shave Works. He refinished a mini rustic barber that is very similar to the rustic chubby. There is a picture of the refinished brush on his website - look under the by request section.

Tim

Looks good.  Sure would like to know the product used to re-finish the black portion but I an confident it is proprietary information.

Thanks,
Ed

Have you tried asking the brush maker for advice?

(02-12-2016, 07:03 AM)shevek Wrote: Have you tried asking the brush maker for advice?

Furthermore, I believe Gustavo may have changed the product. My first rustic acquired some 20 months ago did exactly the same. A second brush received towards the end of last year has been used at least half a dozen times and there's no sign of fading.

(02-12-2016, 07:12 AM)Optometrist Wrote:

(02-12-2016, 07:03 AM)shevek Wrote: Have you tried asking the brush maker for advice?

Furthermore, I believe Gustavo may have changed the product. My first rustic acquired some 20 months ago did exactly the same. A second brush received towards the end of last year has been used at least half a dozen times and there's no sign of fading.

David,

Thanks much. The fading is not a "show stopper" for me and somewhat adds to the rustic look. I just thought I would toss out the query in case someone knew of a fix. I appreciate the replies.

Ed

Mine has yet to see any fading yet after roughly 8 uses, a fact for which I am appreciative. The last time I tried to "recondition" a wooden brush I completely ruined it!  Sorry to hear yours has faded...

This is my first post concerning my Rustic Chubby back on January 9, 2015.
"The first shave with this brush was both panic and pleasure.

The panic. I filled my Georgetown G3 with hot water, placed the Chubby in the water, and went about my business to make a soap selection. When I looked back at the scuttle, the water was almost black. I pulled out the Chubby and the knot was dark gray. I had a mug of MWF sitting on the counter and began to "wash" the brush in the MWF. After a few lathers and rinses, the Chubby knot returned to its original color. It appears, at least for me, that once the black stain Gustavo uses is "washed off" the bleeding of the stain no longer occurs."
David replied, "Yes, the stain only runs on first use, thereafter, it remains stable."  I found this to be the case. After using a few times the finish became more stable.


It appears the remaining stain has come off due to use over the year.  This brush is still on the top of my badger list - just showing some character.


Again, thanks for the replies.
Ed

I agree with Tim. Brad Sears will get that tuned up for you and make it look fantastic. I would trust that guy with the most difficult of restorations. He is truly a master craftsman.

(02-11-2016, 07:26 PM)LookingGlass Wrote: As most all of us who have purchased a Rustic Chubby know, a good amount of the black stained portion comes off during the first few shaves. Now, I find myself in the situation where the black portion is very faded and "washed off". Kind of a chalky look. Has anyone tried to restore the black portion of this brush? If so, what did you use? The original finish appears to be a stain and not a paint. I have seen some wood dye products on the Inet but am not sure if this will work to restore the black portion.

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. 

As a side note, this continues to be my favorite badger. The knot is simply amazing!!!!

Thanks for your help.

Ed

Hi, Ed,

Were you ever able to figure out a solution? I'm in the same boat as you were last year, but I've let it get even more "chalky" since I don't even know what to clean the brush with that won't remove even more finish. I've reached out to Gustavo without response. Please let me know if you came up with something. IMO, mine doesn't exactly look rustic anymore! Thanks.

(09-08-2017, 09:06 AM)pwc123 Wrote:

(02-11-2016, 07:26 PM)LookingGlass Wrote: As most all of us who have purchased a Rustic Chubby know, a good amount of the black stained portion comes off during the first few shaves. Now, I find myself in the situation where the black portion is very faded and "washed off". Kind of a chalky look. Has anyone tried to restore the black portion of this brush? If so, what did you use? The original finish appears to be a stain and not a paint. I have seen some wood dye products on the Inet but am not sure if this will work to restore the black portion.

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. 

As a side note, this continues to be my favorite badger. The knot is simply amazing!!!!

Thanks for your help.

Ed

Hi, Ed,

Were you ever able to figure out a solution? I'm in the same boat as you were last year, but I've let it get even more "chalky" since I don't even know what to clean the brush with that won't remove even more finish. I've reached out to Gustavo without response. Please let me know if you came up with something. IMO, mine doesn't exactly look rustic anymore! Thanks.

This may sound stupid, but take a dry, soft bristle toothbrush to it. I did exactly that and the brush looked as good as new afterwards.

hell,  i just used black liquid shoe polish. it was one of his first offerings.  now have 4 total  3 rustic.  yes the hair is amazing.

When I received my Rustic brush I washed the black stain off and applied a few layers of Tung oil, which worked pretty well. I reapply the oil once every couple of months and it keeps the brush looking as new.

One of the reasons I try to use only resin stabilized woods for my brushes.

I see I posted in February of 2016 that mine had not faded at all.  I must have been one of the few lucky ones, it still has not faded to this day and it does see regular use.