Toad mate, its broken you complete clip.

Broken toad, what’s that then?

I’d not heard of Broken Toad gear till last summer, so i did a bit of research and it turns out they do brushes, pigments, cleaners etc, so I thought id pick up a few bits to test out, put through their paces and report back. First up, brush cleaner.

So, what is it? The website says simply conditioning brush soap. So you’d assume its soap for your brushes that conditions the bristles. Essential for taking care of your brushes if painting is your thing. These products prolong the life of your brushes, and make sure they stay pointed, keeping those strays from working their way out. I did a low down on Masters Brush Cleaner years ago, top shit it is too. Is this Toad stuff any cop tho?

Simple answer is yes.

First up you get about 3 times as much in a pot for half the price, already winning there. Its a different consistency to Masters, harder, and slightly translucent,  a bit like a tub of solid lard, but still lathers up just fine. Like any brush soap you work it gently into your bristles and wash it off, taking off the deposits left on with it. The instructions say on this you can leave it on too so I left some on over night. My brushes did seem to come out with a nicely conditioned feel to them.

So, acrylics, of course it cleans and conditions your brushes when using acrylics, fucking washing up liquid will clean water based paint off, you’d be disappointed if the Toad stuff didnt. But stupid stuff that ruins brushes, hows it cope with that?

AK Interactive enamel washes, dry solid, only shift with white spirit, fucker to clean up. Yup, worked it right out if the artists synthetic brush I use, I even left the enamel wash on the brush over night, came out nicely with a soak in warm water and a wash with the Toad soap. Brush even went back into a nice point.

Oils, same as enamels,  pain in the arse. Brought it off no problem.

AK Interactive True Metal aka Rub n Buff. Oil paint with metallic particles in, shifted that shit too and took the black stain from the bristles to boot.

Theres not much else I can throw at it off my painting desk, and the stuff I did, the Toad soap performed admirably.

I’d buy this over masters, you get more for your coin, so it will last you longer and it does the same job cleaning things up. Brushes do seem that bit more conditioned too, don’t know if its my imagination but there you go.

As a final point, it even sorted out a Citadel brush I got in a secret santa, which was in awful shape despite being brand new. Cleaned it up and it has a nice point on it, making it usable for basic shit like washes and base coats.