Yes. I use a paint brush for basting. After use I put it in the dishwasher brush side down. I've had the same one for years.

I have a couple silicone brushes (Oxo and Le Creuset) for basting and grilling. However, I’ve also used paint brushes. No problem as long as they don’t shed. I’ve had these brushes for years that I only use for pastry.

BTW, paint brushes also come in handy for removing dust from crevices and other tight/small spaces.

I've bought paint brushes at the hardware store for pastry basting, but I haven't made pastry that needed basting for quite some time.

You can see me using a pastry brush in this video, but I can't tell what type it is.

It doesn't look like a paint brush, but I think it has the same bristles - it did not have silicon bristles, but I do like silicon for normal basting, but not pastry brushing.

My father was a builder and woodworker, with a discount at the hardware store. Hardware paintbrushes were the only kitchen brushes we had when I was growing up. They were good quality, though, and held up in the dishwasher. I once, as an adult, had a ”cooking” brush, with a known kitchen provider's brand on it. The bristles were inferior and it fell apart quickly. I still have a paintbrush, which is better for oiling filo dough, but prefer my three different size and shape silicone brushes for most things. I don't have or use a mop brush, so have no comment on that. There is a lot of good stuff at the hardware store. My father also put a fresh blade on his hacksaw when my mother needed things cut. :)

Yes, I use paint brushes :-) I have a couple of silicon brushes but prefer regular bristle brushes for most applications. And paint brushes are far cheaper than "kitchen brushes" and I toss and replace frequently.

Honestly, the contact with the food is so fleeting that even if the paint brushes were made of something suspicious (and I don't believe they are), the chances of it being transmitted is minimal.

Have for years. I have never understood those silicone bristle utensils. My kids used to paint cookies with small paint brushes..sooo much easier than heavy frosting and knives.

I do this as well. I use a 1 1/2 inch chip brush. I wash the brush thoroughly first. I've never had a silicone brush, but I have had these type of old school pastry brushes that really don't work that well because they're so stiff. I think they're from Fuller. The metal ferrule slides up so you can clean the bristles.

I used to use regular paint brushes. But after I purchased my first silicone brush, I never went back to a regular paint brush.

I used to use a bristle brush, but I switched to silicone because I wasn't sure I could get them properly clean after. I don't like the way they work as well, but I feel better being sure they're fully clean. I would not use a hardware store paint brush, though - I would definitely stick to a "food safe" brush.

Paint brushes, although not often. I have two that have been around for many years.

Thanks, everyone.

Chloebud, I like those brushes. Do you know where I might find some like that?

Silicone brushes get clean easily, but I feel as though I’m usinf a bunch of poles strpped together. I rarely use brushes w pastry as I seldome make pastry these days. If I make a pie, I like to brush the top crust with milk (using a bristle brush). It givesa beautiful gold color to the crust.

I hear some of you about the cleanliness factor, but most of what I brush is going to me a 350 to 400 deg F oven.

I once bought from a hardware store a set of two bristle brushes for our kitchen. When we opened the package, they smelled like mothballs, so you can be sure we did not use them! Later we bought a branded bristle brush sold explicitly for kitchen use and it, too, smelled like mothballs. Nope, we can touch up the paint on the kitchen door frame with that, but it won't be touching our food.

I just looked in the drawer where we would keep such a brush and we don't seem to have one. I've never used a silicone brush, but they look interesting.

Carolb, I remember that brush from my parents' kitchen. I greased many a cake and cornbread pan for my mother with that brush. I agree that it was from Fuller Brush.

Natural bristle brushes are typically made of hog hair. The type of bristle whether the stiff darker ones or the softer light beige ones are just different sorts of pigs. The quality of the bristle is going to determine whether or not they make it into high end paint brushes all the way to cheap chip brushes. If you are worried about food safety I would just run them through the dish washer before you use them. Chip brushes are amazingly sturdy and the bristles usually well set. It if sheds I toss. I dont baste with a brush, I spoon and I put on BBQ sauce the same way so I have little use for a silicon brush and I dont like them anyway. I have a wide very soft brush that I dont even remember where I got it for dusting off my pastry dough. It might be an actual pastry brush but they are no better than a chip brush for applying butter or other fats to a pan.

I used to use the bristle brush, but found hairs in my cooking. Never again, I use silicone now.

“Chloebud, I like those brushes. Do you know where I might find some like that?“

I think mine came from World Market/Cost Plus years ago. I found this on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124492580582

Petalique, if your silicone brush feels like poles, you may have the wrong one. I do have a stiffer one that's great for spreading sauce on meat, but not brushing bread or pastry. My other two have filiments that are much softer than a bristle brush, and one is softer than sable. if you're interested, try checking at high end kitchen stores for different kinds.

@Judy Good, exactly what happened to me causing me to go look for another type brush. At that time, didn't even know they made silicone brushes.

@petalique, agree with pillog. My silicone pastry brush is extremely soft and very, very flexible.

I prefer the feel and performance of non-shedding natural brushes, but the cleanliness of silicone. Silicone generally wins in my kitchen. But if I’m buying natural, I’m in a cooking aisle not a paint ailse. I don’t know for a fact that it makes any difference but I also don’t know for a fact that it doesn’t.

Good point, Foas. And it isn’t as though any basting or pastry brush bill is going to break the bank. I bought ba bristle pastry brush, mounted in a silicone ferrule which was then glued onto the wooden handle. I bet the glue was some toxic epoxy (nasty stuff). The glue came undone when the brush was washed and I was reluctant to reglue it with epoxy. I actually considered using rivets. For 2 seconds.

I have the Oxo Good Grips silicone brush, which is very soft and has a flatter silicone piece inside which helps hold whatever liquid you're brushing on

You can get a set of six silicon brushes for less than $8, and a set of four boar bristle brushes (for pastries) will cost $13, but I think it is good to have both. This is not a large investment.

I have all sizes of silicon brushes, and some of them I got for free when I ordered something else. I like the small ones for pastry. The boar bristle brushes are not made for the dishwasher if they have wooden handles, and mine do.

Here's one that is DW safe, and it is $10 for one brush.

"I have the Oxo Good Grips silicone brush..."

Toronto Vet, that's the same one we have.

I use a bristle brush. I’m off silicone after finding a piece of my silicone spatula in my batter.

Thanks, I am going to get that Oxo brush.

I would like to add that I rarely use a pastry brush anyway - I can't recall the last time I did. I mainly use one with melted butter, and I don't baste with one either.