A silicone shaper looks like a brush and behaves like a very precise fingertip. Instead of bristles it has a moulded rubber tip — chisel, point, cup or flat — that pushes soft material around rather than absorbing it. On uncured putty that difference is everything: a metal blade drags and tears, a bristle brush loads up and lifts the putty away, and a rubber tip simply moves it where you want and leaves a clean surface behind.
They are equally at home in paint work, where a firm tip lifts wet colour off a raised edge or stipples texture into a still-wet coat.
SILICONE BRUSHES HARD TIP MEDIUM (5 SILICONE PENCILS)
6.76 €
SILICONE BRUSHES MEDIUM TIP MEDIUM (5 SILICONE PENCILS)
6.76 €
SILICONE BRUSHES HARD TIP SMALL (5 SILICONE PENCILS)
6.76 €
Colour Shapers Brushes SIZE 0 - BLACK FIRM
11.96 €
Colour Shapers Brushes SIZE 2 - WHITE SOFT
12.36 €
Colour Shapers Brushes COMBO 0 and 2 - BLACK FIRM
24.76 €
Sets of silicone pencils with hard tips in small and medium sizes, medium-firmness tips for general shaping, and individual shapers in several sizes and firmness grades from extra firm through firm to soft. Tip shapes vary: tapered points for pressing folds, flat chisels for smoothing a plane, cup shapes for hollows.
A firm tip moves stiff putty and cuts a definite crease; a soft tip feathers an edge and blends two surfaces together with no visible boundary. For sculpted cloth you want both — firm to establish the fold, soft to soften the surrounding fabric. Buying one of each firmness in a mid size is more useful than three sizes of the same grade.
Silicone releases far better than steel, but it is not non-stick. A film of water on the tip, renewed every few strokes, is enough to stop epoxy putty pulling away with it. Some materials prefer a trace of oil instead; check before you start, because a greasy residue left on the putty will reject paint later.
Cured putty on a silicone tip can usually be flexed off, but it takes the fine shape of the tip with it. Wipe the shaper the moment you put it down — a cotton bud from cotton swabs does the job and keeps the profile intact.
A firm shaper will lift wet paint from a raised edge, giving a chipped look without any solvent, and will stipple a rough texture into a thick coat. For anything that needs a loaded brush, ordinary modelling brushes and specialist weathering brushes remain the right tools — silicone carries almost no paint.
One tip is worth keeping separate and unused on putty: a clean soft shaper is the best tool there is for smoothing a decal into an engraved line.
