Understanding Brushes: An Overview
When most people think of a brush, they think of a tool with a handle and bristles. But with the diversity of brushes, it can be hard to summarize all the brushes there are. Like everything else we do, when we paint a wall in a house, we can choose from numerous brushes designed for different jobs.
For example, one would use a wire brush to scrape wallpaper off of the wall. For painting, one might choose from brushes with angular, flat, or pointed heads, which can be a quarter inch wide-5+ inches wide.
These descriptions focus primarily on some common brush typologies, but there are many other types of brushes, such as: makeup, tar, automotive paint, archeological, tooth, and preservation brushes.
This simple tool, which is very old tool, is obviously imbedded in our culture and has undergone changes as have we.
Every year, brush manufacturers look to make brushes that are new and different. Something that seems very basic is now represented by many shapes, styles and classifications.
Most brushes have a handle and bristle typically, there are however brushes that differ from this pattern. One unique use of brushes is in generating electricity.
An electric coil may be connected to slip rings, as the coils move through a magnetic altering motion, current is created. The brushes make electrical contact with the slip rings which keeps the electricity moving.
This type of brush is important to generators and alternators in some of their design. The metal parts of the contact piece is then determined to be a brush and not because it looks somewhat like the brushes we are accustomed to seeing.
In many ways, organizing many brushes can be a challenge because of the multitude of tasks and types of designs brushes perform.
For example, applicator brushes apply paint, varnish, or cosmetics, then there are specialty brushes which can help clean a track at the base of elevator doors, by brushing off dirt and keeping the tracks clean.
The diversity makes it difficult to design a classification system for different brushes. Therefore, when talking about how many types of brushes, opinions may be variegated since someone may have a different view of the innumerable applications of brushes.
To consolidate, it is useful to examine both common and uncommon examples of brushes. For example, before machines applied blacktop, workers used long-handled brushes to paint hot asphalt.
This process was labor intensive, but without brushes like these, the task would be unbearable! Certainly lots of innovative ways brushes have made tasks easier throughout history.
What are the Different Types of Brush Filaments or Bristles?
Bristles (or filaments)
Bristles are one of the fundamental components of brush construction and affect how brushes perform and which tasks are suitable.
If you need to choose the right brush for your application, knowing about brush filaments is essential for people in manufacturing, industrial maintenance, painting, woodworking, and surface finishing jobs.
Filaments can generally be classified into three broad groups: organic (natural), synthetic, and metal (or alloy). Each filament type has its own unique attributes, advantages, and works best under specific criteria such as abrasiveness, heat resistance, chemical suitability, and durability.
Synthetic filaments
Synthetic filaments are made from various polymers including nylon, polypropylene, polyester, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
Synthetic industrial brush bristles can be found in varying textures and stiffnesses which can go from ultra soft and flexible for lighter use as in high-quality paint or cleaning brushes to very rigid and stiff for more demanding work.
Synthetic bristles are chosen for their consistency, performance characteristics, durability, resistance to chemicals, and solvents; synthetic filaments can withstand harsh environments for example, manufacturing plants, automotive detailing, and laboratories.
Natural filaments
Natural filaments are derived from renewable materials; examples are horsehair, hog bristles (or boar bristle), and plant fibbers like tampico.
Natural filaments have been used for centuries for both commercial and artistic uses for their ability to appropriately hold and distribute liquids, paints, or cleaning solutions.
Natural brush bristles afford the highest quality surface finishes; for example, natural filaments provide the best feel in fine art brushes, wood finishing brushes, and cosmetics.
Metal filaments
Metal filaments are made from high strength materials such as steel, stainless steel, carbon steel, hardened steel, aluminum, and brass wire.
Metal filaments are much more abrasive than either organic or synthetic bristles. Metal bristles are designed for heavy-duty work.
Metal bristles attack rust, paint, and corrosion; deburr edges; prepare surfaces; clean welds; and aggressively remove materials from metal or wood.
This is why you would commonly see metal filaments in production lines, fabrication shops, or other industrial maintenance work.
Organic Fiber Brushes
Natural filament or organic fiber brushes, are also made from numerous types of animal and plant origins. This brush category is inclusive of many degrees of stiffness, lengths, and textures to allow for fine precision work, and light coating of surfaces.
While organic brushes are considered soft brushes, they are perfect for applying paints, stains, lacquers, and specialty coatings, as well as for using properly for those gentle dusting activities or finishing applications that are even more concerned about maintaining a surface.
While organic fiber brushes are not seen as much in heavy industry, they can be seen as the brush of choice in artisan painting, fine woodworking, cosmetic brushes, and might even be the brush-of-choice in a do-it-yourself cleaning application.
This comes back to the type of use and the need for delicacy, good absorption, and unique resilience that the brush has…not to mention, it belongs to a wonderful category of limit known option for craftsmanship.
The organic fibers are naturally resistant to heat and acid, and are able to extend life where an environmental and sustainable practice is warranted for the user aligned with quality, eco-sensitive kinds of materials.
Relative to the synthetic types of brushes, organic brushes have that natural flexibility and feel providing the tactile response where required, which is most valued when comparing craftsmanship with natural material competition.
Typical examples of organic fiber brush bristles include:
- Hog Bristles: Hog bristles (boar bristle) are long, tapered, hollow, and curved fibers. Hog bristles are not only excellent for oil and acrylic painting uses, they are the best choice for the largest surface area needing maximum paint retention and control over the surface whether the artist is applying paint to the canvas or painting on a textured surface.
- Horsehair: Horsehair is soft, straight fibers, flexible and extremely durable. Horsehair brushes are the best choice for light dusting, cleaning the surface in a gentle way, and for materials that are sensitive, such as leather and care of instruments.
- Goat Hair: Goat hair is extremely fine, has excellent color retention, and not very elastic. Goat hair is a common fiber in makeup brushes and artist brushes requiring delicate application, and specialized cleaning brushes for optics and electronics.
- Tampico: Tampico is a plant fiber that is durable, water-wicking, with good thermal and chemical resistance. It is a great choice for scrubbing, polishing, and buffing hard surfaces, and is a commonly used in industrial cleaning brushes and power-driven brushes systems.
When selecting a natural fiber brush, one must factor in surface sensitivity, finish quality, and hand feel in order to achieve the best outcome for the application. For individuals interested in eco-friendly biodegradable brush materials, the organic bristle is preferred for personal or professional use.
Synthetic Fiber Brushes
Synthetic fiber based brushes are made from strong polymers such as polyester, nylon (PA6, PA6.6), lycra, and rayon. Because of the strength and versatility of synthetic bristles, they now represent standard construction for industrial brushes, commercial cleaning brushes and painting tools used in many sectors including automotive, construction, marine, and electronics manufacturing.
Some key advantages of synthetic brushes include their top-notch water, solvent, and chemical resistance. Synthetic brushes can be used in moisture laden, or harsh environments.
When compared to natural bristles, synthetic filaments create a consistent contour of filament to support superior abrasion resistance while reducing fiber breakage. As a result, synthetic brushes have longer service life during repetitive usage.
They come in both the length and diameter of filament to accommodate detailing work, surface preparation, and scrubbing in both residential and industrial or commercial surroundings and can also be built for application of coating, in the case of brushes used for oil or latex paints, stains and finishes.
Aside from performance characteristics, synthetic filaments can be detailed – engineers and designers can specify filament diameter, color, and tip shape for custom purpose industrial brushes to meet their needs, including custom automation, conveyor cleaning, or specialty finishing systems.
Synthetic brushes provide a quality and performance stability in volume applications, and offer an economically viable solution compared to natural bristles, particularly where automation is employed in manufacturing and product assembly lines.
Common applications for synthetic fiber brushes include:
- Industrial cleaning, conveyor belt cleaning, and equipment maintenance
- Automotive cleaning and detailing
- Paint rollers and professional paint brushes
- Floor scrubbing and janitorial supplies
- Laboratory cleaning tools and precision instruments
Selecting synthetic bristles provides significant advantages in high-wear environments or in applications that require specific resistance to chemicals, extreme temperatures, or constant wear and tear.
How to Choose the Right Brush Filament for Your Application
Choosing the appropriate type of brush filament or bristle (natural, synthetic, or metal) will depend on a variety of factors, including the material you are working on, how aggressive you need to be in a cleaning process, and environmental conditions (i.e. heat, chemicals, etc.).
Natural bristle brushes provide the best softness and aesthetic result, making them very suitable for fine artistic results, finishing of furniture, and including in cosmetic applications.
Synthetic or metal filaments provide the durability and resistant properties needed for industrial and manufacturing environments where heavy-duty or repetitive tasks are required.
Metal filament brushes are best for cleaning applications were there is aggressive cleaning and surface preparation, while synthetic brushes are also suitable where cost, performance, and flexibility is important for a broader purpose.
Working with leading brush manufacturers and suppliers will help dictate the best solution for purchase with your project or production needs. Many manufacturers and suppliers will help custom design brushes for your need through filament and material selection.
Most major suppliers will provide samples, technical datasheets, and application advantages to help form a qualified purchasing decision for the best brush products for your needs.
What are the different types of brushes?
1. Anti-Static Brushes
Anti-static brushes are made from low-charge, natural filament materials that are close to neutral on the triboelectric chart. These materials do not give or take electrons, so they are electronically neutral. However, sometimes there can still be a small charge.
In an extreme voltage application, the charge on anti-static brushes has validity to be used only in a liquid environment.
Examples of natural filament materials are wood, hog bristles, horse hair, camel hair, ox hair, and goat hair. A brush with these materials can be used when there is an ESD-sensitive area as long as the brush is in a liquid environment.
Anti-static brushes are made from many materials: brass, stainless steel, anti-static nylon, conductive nylon, and high density nylon.
There are also customized anti-static brush fibers available in any length and density. To help with brush life, it is best to use the softest fill material that will allow the job to be done.
Anti-static brushes are essential to mitigate the effects of static electricity, like interruptions of material flow. Anti-static brushes can be custom-built, or purchased as normal in-stock items.
Some common types of anti-static brushes include: applicator brushes, strip brushes, vacuum brushes, aluminum handle brushes, hand-laced brushes, plywood handle brushes, curved wood scratch brushes, long handle brushes, flat scrub brushes, wood block brushes, rectangular block brushes, and upright brushes.
2. Applicator Brushes
Applicator brushes comprise a handle and have some type of filament which flexible and can absorb liquid. The applications for applicator brushes are endless, from applying paint to wallpaper paste, to applying grease to a bearing or rotor.
A particularly interesting type of applicator brush is the artist’s brush, which is used to apply paint to canvas or other media to create a work of art. Artists often have a real bond with their brushes and are cautious about sharing them.
High-end artist’s brushes can be very expensive, to the tune of nearly a thousand dollars, and they are hand made to do something specific, for example, make a specific and precise dab of paint with just a couple of filaments.
Artist’s brushes can be used for many techniques and styles and vary widely in size and shape. A big round brush, for example, can be used to create tricks like ductus before a hare.
Watching an artist create, you will quickly realize they conclude their choice of brush depends on how it fits the demands of their own artistic process.
Although rollers and spray painting have improved the speed of painting, brushes are needed for hard to reach places and precision trimming.
Brushes have become more specialized beginning with angular trim brushes as opposed to flat trim brushes and brushes having different paint types including acrylic or water-based paints.
Discerning which brush to select on a visit to your local home improvement business can be overwhelming, at times requiring assistance from a specialist among so many choices.
Makeup brushes form another fascinating category of brush. The purpose of the makeup brush is to apply color to the skin with limited contact or injury. Historically, women applied makeup with a cloth or sponge, which was not accurate and required constant touch-ups.
Since the middle of the 20th century, a full range of makeup brushes have been invented to apply color exactly where it needs to be applied providing for accuracy while applying makeup.
Oil brushes can be used to apply oil lubricants to moving parts and to remove contaminants. Proper use of oil brushes reduces operating costs ao helps decrease wear from friction. Oil brushes are particularly necessary for maintenance of chains, conveyors, and chain lifts.
Oil brushes are typically placed before the sprockets in mechanisms so that the sprocket can put the oil on the links where they can apply between the link and the pin.
3. Application Brushes
Application brushes can come in unlimited sizes, shapes, and configurations. They provide the function of applying a material to the surfaces of parts, equipment, and products.
The use of application brushes is very diverse due to the different types of materials that can be applied and the different types of equipment and products to be maintained or manufactured.
Every day, the use of application brushes is developing based on changes in application techniques to produce or remove different types or substances. Specialized application brushes are designed with custom modifications for specified tasks.
The features of the brush, including the filaments, handles, and materials used, can be modified for the materials being used.
The potential of application brushes has not been entirely recognized due to the ability to make brushes for specific applications.
This may include the case of wood processing, in which brush must be designed precisely to allow the appropriate application of coatings and to not damage the wood surface.
Application brushes are important in many industries because they can apply material evenly toward the components. This is especially important in maintaining large machinery requiring occasional greasing or lubrication in high-use scenarios and continuous stress.
Many application brushes produced for manufacturing and industry are designed form high-quality materials to withstand consistent use and performance.
4. Custom Brushes
Every product produced has been completed in some way with a brush. Brushes are a very important tool when it comes to applying a coating, cleaning, preparing a substrate, or glueing components together.
Many of these are done with standard brush that are designed specifically for the task at hand but some processes require a very specific custom brush in order to accomplish the task. As brush manufactures we are challenged with creating and engineering those specified brushes.
A standard brush is typically made up of a bristle, ferrule, crimp and handle, which is the typical standard configuration that most people are aware of.
Designers and engineers can take those elements and create custom brushes by manipulating the bristle, any variations of a ferrule, and handle. Designers think creatively and innovatively based on the required specifications for the brush to be designed for that task.
Although the concept of a brush is not particularly complicated (and will not be a topic for a Ph/D. dissertation), making the wrong application can typically cause major damage, which is very critical in making sure you choose the correct application when it comes to industrial usage.
There are countless examples of destruction of products because they have selected the wrong brush.
Custom brushes that have a fitted bristle and handle can be tailor made to precisely apply coatings, clean into corners, prepare specific metals, or alter the grain of wood.
Their progress through manufacturing and testing is incredibly selective to ensure superior product performance.
5. Sanding Brushes
Sanding brushes have become an acceptable alternative to sandpaper. Sanding brushes have abrasive bristles designed to always be contacting the surface being prepped so that consistent and steady sanding is achieved.
Sanding brushes can have a range of grits from 500 grit intended for fine surface preparation before applying a finish to 46 grit, which rapidly cuts into the surfaces.
Sanding brushes can be used in applications ranging from do-it-yourself (DIY) activities to professional product finishing. As with many tools, sanding brushes can have varying effectiveness depending on the grit level, which varies from aggressive to fine.
Industrial sanding brushes will generally include filaments that are made from nylon, ceramic, or steel, and are designed for specific tasks, such as deburring and smoothing metal surfaces.
The cylindrical brush is the most common type of sanding brush, where the filaments are arranged around the surface of the cylindrical brush allowing the brush to move smoothly and consistently move over a surface in order to achieve the desired finish.
Cylindrical brushes are available in many grits, allowing one to select a brush appropriate based on the treated material and desired finish.
Although it suggests a single type, the term sanding brush describes multiple different types of brushes that can perform sanding. This group of brushes includes cup brushes, end brushes, disc brushes, and brushes with wood handles.
The secret for successful sanding is choosing the correct brush that will fulfill the application requirements effectively.
6. Artist Brushes
Artist brushes are tools with quality and practical significance for both artistic and industrial use. The unique characteristic of artistic brushes is that they can be shaped and placed precisely due to having the ability to produce a sharp tip.
Additionally, artistic brushes have the capacity to hold and lay down paint in a regular manner, which in turn gives the artist or user incredible control of the paint flow.
Because many of the advantages and benefits provided by an artistic brush are related to the filaments, they require good quality filament materials.
Artist brushes include five basic types: flat, bright, round, filbert, and sable. Flat brushes have a relatively wide and thin shape, and they may also have a set of long and short filaments.
Flat brushes can provide both broad and fine brushstrokes and work great with respectively oils, acrylics, and, and alkyd media.
Bright brushes are like flat brushes, but typically, a bright brush has set of shorter filaments, which allows for short stokes of paint, but they can also provide controlled strokes, and they match well with heavy paints, such as oils.
Round brushes come in many sizes from fat to fine; fat strokes produce thick brush strokes whereas fine round brushes produce precise brush strokes suited well for detail work and outlined works.
Round brushes react to the pressure of the hand and they lend precise control with oil and other heavier paints.
Finally, filbert brushes have thick oval shaped top edges with medium width, and flat ferrules attached to brushes, which makes this style versatile enough to provide a wide range of painting techniques.
7. Bottle Brushes
More commonly known as flue brushes, bottle brushes are a series of filaments arranged radial to a stem and used primarily for cleaning hard-to-reach areas inside bottles.
Some definitions state they are made for endurance and repeated use; bottle brushes can clean holes after drilling, clean air and water purification systems, and clean surfaces inside test tubes.
While test tube brushes are consider bottle brushes, they will have tufted ends to clean test tube bottoms.
The configurations of bottle brushes vary greatly to clean multiple configurations of bottles, particularly with narrow necks. Almost all bottle brushes are linear however curved brushes exist that will better fit certain bottle shapes.
They are supplied for cleaning everything from water bottles and baby bottles, thermos flasks and vinegar bottles, narrow-necked bottles, coffee cups, carboys, flasks, and beakers.
Normal bottle brushes are generally not supplied with the stem part; simply asking for a bottle brush also conjures an image of scrub break that is stiffer and firmer.
Bottle brushes are found in wide range of industries including laboratory, pharmaceutical, residential, food processing, industrial, medical, electronics, and petrochemical.
8. Brooms
Brooms are cleaning instruments with long handles that are meant to collect and remove dust or debris from different locations (e.g. businesses, homes, public places, etc.).
Brooms have been an invaluable cleaning tool throughout history, but their manual operation essentially limits them to light-duty cleaning applications on an industrial scale.
Brooms can vary in form, with the traditional sweep broom being the most commonly used. The sweeping broom consists of filaments which are attached directly to a handle; brand variations might include tying the filaments around the handle as is seen with besom brooms or a flat fan shape, as in a woven broom.
Sweeping brooms are designed to be manually swept back and forth by the operator, making them suitable for cleaning a limited area. These configurations are not necessarily the most ergonomic way to clean and their use may result in neck and back pain or discomfort.
9. Cleaning Brushes
Cleaning brushes are considered one of the earliest forms of brush. As civilizations advanced, maintaining clean living spaces became increasingly important. Manual cleaning was often inefficient and time-consuming, leading to the invention of the first cleaning brushes.
An early innovator likely took a branch and attached some type of filament to it, creating a tool similar to a modern broom.
Over time, more efficient cleaning methods emerged, such as the street sweeper equipped with circular brushes. For centuries, city streets were cleaned by itinerant trash collectors who picked up garbage and swept dust, much like modern street cleaners.
In 1896, an inventive individual from New Jersey created the self-propelled street sweeper, a significant advancement that revolutionized urban cleaning practices and set the foundation for contemporary street sweepers.
In today’s technological age, keeping electronic devices free of dust and dirt is crucial for their proper functioning. A variety of specialized brushes have been developed for cleaning keyboards, delicate circuit boards, and other electronic components.
These brushes come in different sizes and are designed for specific tasks, including anti-static and conductive brushes that protect sensitive electrical parts.
In addition to these, there are other types of cleaning brushes such as bottle brushes, spiral brushes, and pipe brushes. Bottle brushes are ideal for reaching into narrow or enclosed spaces, while pipe brushes are designed to clean pipes with sediment buildup. Spiral brushes, similar to bottle brushes, are available with various filaments and handle configurations to suit different cleaning needs.
10. Conveyor Brushes
Conveyor brushes are a secondary cleaner that may be employed wherever there is a belt conveyor, although they work best in applications involving nonskid and cleated belts. Conveyor brushes can be either stationary or rotary and can be adjusted for very light contact with the conveyor belt.
In this way, there is little chance of the conveyor brushes making undue wear on belts, or conveyor belt accessories such as cleats. Conveyor brushes take on many shapes and forms for cleaning of different types of material, such as powders and dust.
These shapes and forms include spiral coils, spiral-wound, strips and scrapers. Each of these conveyor brushes will have a different performance characteristics.
When installing a brush cleaning device on a conveyor, install the cleaning brush at the conveyor outlet, below and after the head roller(s). The brush should also be mounted close to the support roller to maintain the pressure on the brush surface.
Width and diameter of the design are important, as you want the brush to be wide enough such that when you install it, it overlaps the conveyor belt a half inch on either side. This allows for full coverage for cleaning, and any normal weaves that conveyor belt may have.
Be sure to select the fill material for the brush and consider the density of brushes. Determine if you want to have a refillable or replaceable brush, and whether the shaft will be removable or integrated. Finally, consider the operating size and speeds of conveyor system will be used.
11. Cup Brushes
Cup brushes are used for light and medium-duty jobs to clean flat or irregular surfaces as well as bevel buffing. There are several manufacturing styles for cup brushes.
A classic cup brush features wires protruding in a circle around the head. For more heavy-duty jobs, there are also cup brushes that feature a spiral of wires more like thick cables.
Mini cup brushes with long arms can be used for hard-to-reach areas or components. A cup brush has a mounting portion with a threaded hole or where a stem can be fitted to a drill or other rotational machinery.
Cup brushes with threaded nuts are typically meant for an angle grinder and are great for smooth running. The majority of power tools that can utilize cup brushes are variable speed, which is helpful for controlling the brush and varying the operations based on cleaning tasks.
12. Cylinder Brushes
Cylinder brushes generally are used in industrial situations in which an automated system is required to clean large objects. The wires of cylinder brushes are mounted all around a cylinder which is commonly mounted on a bar, and can support rotation of a full 360 degrees.
Depending on the application, cylinder brushes can be mounted in either a vertical or horizontal orientation.
Frequently, cylinder brushes are mounted above conveyor belts to scrub objects that move underneath, or can be mounted vertically to clean items as the brushes move beside them.
An automated car wash uses large cylinder brushes that are mounted vertically, which clean the vertical sides of the car.
Small cylinder brushes are used for more fine-detailed tasks, such as cleaning a computer circuit board before it enters the plastic or metal housing and is later assembled.
Computer manufacturing firms need to make sure that their products will work properly when they reach consumers, and they achieve this by avoiding any dirt particles from already affecting the function of the components while being made.
Even the smallest amounts of dust would interfere with connections to products and likely impair the functionality of the computer.
It is very efficient to roll a small cylinder brush across the entire circuit board to remove loose particles and to clean the surface without damage to the circuit board assembly.
13. ESD Brushes
The letters ESD stand for Electrostatic Discharge. Many types of electronic products can be damaged from static electricity, and ESD brushes are made from materials that dissipate static energy, and are non-static generating while brushing.
The benefits of ESD brushes are very important to manufacturers that clean or repair electronic products in order to avoid damaging components from unintended electrostatic discharge.
Not all ESD brushes are the same because not all materials used to construct ESD brushes are specifically selected to insulate, conduct, or dissipate an electric static discharge.
ESD brushes are intended for a variety of applications, for example: solder removal, dusting, board preparation, lead trimming, edge connector cleaning, and static dissipation. Generally speaking ESD brushes are small, designed for cleaning or treating very small surface area.
They are usually operated manually by a back and forth or side to side movement. The length of brush trim can be adjusted: when you shorten the bristle length, stiffness increases, and conversely when you extend the bristle length, you increase flexibility.
14. Industrial Brushes
Custom brushes are becoming an industry standard. When liquid or pliable properties are used, a certain brush needs to be selected.
The brush is responsible for applying the product evenly, but not damaging the product. The food industry uses a variety of brushes to allow food production equipment to be cleaned and sanitized.
In manufacturing it is important to move raw materials efficiently from point A to point B for time saving and flow in production efficiency.
Augers and conveyors tend to be the methods used for moving bulk material and it should be considered that brushes are always a part of why conveyor belts stay cleaned and free from carryovers and obstruction.
Custom brushes can be made from a variety of filaments and thicknesses to clean delicate electric motors. Brushes can also act as barriers for pests for businesses that have outdoor access, or can function as cable guides and seals.
Brushes can act as seals around doors and other entry points to help maintain hot or cold retention while reducing energy expense. Brushes can also reduce the transmission of noise that is produced by vibrations, allowing for a more consistent noise generated environment.
Seal or blocked airflow by placing brushes around doors can help direct airflow in desired areas, reduce dust migration, and seal between moving parts surface areas.
In food production, brushes are in use for more than just keeping the equipment clean. Produce must be thoroughly cleaned before use, and simply washing raw fruits and vegetables with water does not always remove all contaminants.
Some raw produce is scrubbed with specialized equipment that includes brushes prior to preparation.
In the healthcare field, brushes are a necessary means of facilitating cleaning. The surgical scrub for surgeons is a type of cleaning brush with sterilized solution soap (similar to dawn) that sanitizes their hands and arms before they put on their gloves to perform surgery of a patient.
The cleaning brush helps provide the highest level of protection possible against the risk of contaminating a surgical environment and a patient.
The construction industry and all it entails utilizes many types of brushes in many applications to ensure cleanliness, safety and retroactively to assist in making job sites compliant with applicable legislation.
In the roofing industry, there are different brooms that facilitate cleaning prior to and following the installation of a roofing material system.
Although blowers are being utilized more than ever for site cleanup, brushes and brooms are still required for the initial cleaning of areas that are in progress or to facilitate the preparation of all areas prior to finishing.
15. Knot Wire Brushes
Knot wire brushes are a type of brush that come in many different applications and can be considered any one of several types of brushes. They can be attached to a hand-held paintbrush type of a handle or they can be considered a disk or cylinder brush style.
They are comprised of twisted filaments that are not fully twisted and are affixed to a holder that is either attached to a shaft or handle.
Knot wire brushes excel at removing slag, heavy contaminants, and coarse burrs. In most cases, the knot wire brush filaments are stainless steel filaments to remove stray material without creating unwanted residue.
Knot wire brushes are commonly used to remove slag from welding jobs, particularly on finished surfaces. Because knot wire brushes are rough and have a coarse design which facilitates welding material removal.
However, because they are rough and have a coarse design, they are not very precise tools, and in the wrong hands, they can cause extensive damage if the brushes are used too easily.
Knot wire brushes come in various sizes (i.e. small, large). Smaller knot wire brushes may be used to attach to a hand drill for a job that pits stiff abrasion (like a regular project at home). A larger knot wire brush is frequently used in industrial applications for deburring or cleaning metal components.
16. Miniature Brushes
Artists employ miniature brushes to apply finishing touches to a craft or painting because the small tips enable fine detailing. Miniature applicator brushes can apply a layer of paint or sealant to smaller components, as the brushes can handle whatever flattens the tiny spaces on the targeted surface.
The design of the miniature brushes makes quick work of painting or applying, whilst creating fine detail, which is common in the industrial setting, where miniature brushes are used to clean machinery, or recondition parts to their original state and appearance.
The brushes can be made of several kinds of materials, from wire to plastic, to synthetics.
For polishing applications, the softest material that could be used is chosen, whilst for deburring and cleaning contaminants off of metal surfaces, more weighty and harsher things like stainless steel wire are necessary.
17. Nylon Brushes
Nylon Brushes can be any brush where the filaments are all nylon. Nylon is the most commonly used material for brush filaments for a reason.
Brushes with nylon filaments embrace the properties of the nylon polymer like the recovery of bending, heat resistance, good abrasion resistance, and chemical resistance.
Some of the favorable characteristics of nylon brushes are, exceptional fatigue life, low to moderate water absorption, and the ability to be used in wet and dry circumstances.
Therefore, due to the many outstanding characteristics nylon brushes can be used for a variety of applications such as cleaning and wiping contaminants, dusting, aggressive scrubbing, surface finishing, rough surface preparation, weld blending, and special industrial applications.
Nylon brushes can be manufactured from a number of different synthetic nylons. The properties of nylons (length, stiffness, etc.) all depend on the type of nylon, and the grade and diameter of the nylon filaments. The most common nylon kinds include Nylon 12 and Nylon 6.
Nylon 6 is noted for toughness; high strength, tensile strength; elasticity; wrinkle resistant; lustrous surface; and resistance to mild acids and alkalis. Nylon 12 is also noted for its chemical resistance, hardness, tensile strength, and stress-cracking resistance.
Also, currently, the most frequently used nylons polymers of brush filaments are Nylon 610, and Nylon 612. Also, there are specialized nylon types, such as abrasive nylon and conductive nylon, etc for specific applications.
Abrasive nylon is made by coextruding heat-stabilized nylon with abrasives e.g. diamond, aluminum oxide, or silicon carbide to make it more abrasive.
18. Steel Brushes
Generally, a steel brush is a brush that utilizes filaments made from steel wire. These surface cleaning brushes allow cleaning without damaging the base material or changing the dimensions of the cleaned base material.
Steel brushes are intended to remove contaminants while not affecting the condition of the substrate. It can take many forms for different purposes. Steel brushes are often trusted because they are tough, versatile, durable, and are extremely reliable.
Long bristle steel brushes are designed to change direction quickly and to follow surfaces contours while cleaning. Short bristle steel brushes are for dynamic fast action, while the density of the bristle also affects performance.
High bristle density steel brushes are for faster cleaning jobs, while low-density bristle are for more uneven surfaces.
The crimped wire brush is widely used while a knotted wire brush is also popular. A crimped wire brush is made of a filaments made from straight steel wire that is crimped in such a way to provide support to the bristle shape.
A knotted wire brush is made from twisted steel wire, which is doubled backed for a knotted effect. Each bundle of twisted steel wire acts as a singular filament. Knotted brushes are good aggressive brushes used for removing rust, paint, scale, oxides, etc.
Steel filament brushes are probably the most widely used and trusted in a variety of applications, often due to their durability, reliability to perform well, and extended lifespan in terms of use producing the intended results. In manufacturing and industrial applications, there are few tools as well trusting as steel brushes.
19. Abrasive Brushes
Brushing (coated abrasive) involves a fiber styling that permits the use of coarse, aggressive filaments that can be used for paint and rust removal and smoothing out welding.
Abrasive brushes come in an assortment of shapes and designs, including end brushes, disc brushes, and cup brushes. Abrasive brushes are designed for specific purposes on a surface of a workpiece.
Deburring is one of the primary uses of abrasive brushes. It involves removing the burrs or discontinuities to smooth out the edges.
Abrasive brushes are generally very effective and aggressive, making them useful for metals such as steel, plastics, various alloys, and aluminum. Abrasive brushes improve surface finish and prepare surfaces for subsequent additional processing.
The amount of non-precision finish on a workpiece is influenced by the grit size of the abrasive brush. Hence, grit size must be carefully selected according to the type of material being processed.
Coarser grit sizes, such as knot and crimped steel brushes, are better suited to metal surfaces, while the difference in polyethylene filaments would be preferred on both plastic and wood surfaces.
Abrasive brushes come in all different sizes and shapes, ranging from a simple wooden handled brush, with metal filaments, to disc brushes that look like bundles of steel wire. Put simply, there is a type of abrasive brush For virtually any type of surface. To obtain the required finish means that it is imperative to use the right abrasive brush.
20. Pipe Brushes
Pipe brushes are tools used in plumbing and other maintenance applications to clean pipes or other difficult to access areas. The brush will be attached to a long stainless steel thin rod that can reach deep into pipe.
Ideally, the diameter of the pipe brush should be the same or larger than the diameter of the pipe, because the wire of the brush will push against the pipe walls and clean off the dirt and build up when either twisted, or pushed up and down.
Many times a pipe brush is enough to clean out the obstruction in a pipe and restore an even flow to commercial or residential plumbing.
When discussing pipe brushes, one cannot neglect its’ use on automated cleaning machines in recycling plants.
The pipe brushes in these systems, while still named pipe brushes, look a little different than a pipe brush one might purchase as these brushes are attached by motors that spin at very high speeds.
There are multiple types of pipe brushes including: double-stem, side-action and micro spiral, all for specific applications. In heavy duty applications, minimizing contamination and dirt, the filaments used on wire brushes is the best option for scraping and cleaning the inner pipe walls.
21. Polishing Brushes
Polishing brushes are similar to bristle brushes in that they are utilized to clean different materials and surfaces from things as small as jewelry, to things as big as cars and shoes or stainless steel dishware.
Generally speaking, a polishing brush should be a far less abrasive brush in that it is used after a surface has been cleaned, primarily with the intention of making the object shine and appear new like a finished product.
Nylon filaments are generally softer than many wires which makes a brush soft yet useful. There are instances where an automatic brush will be used to polish the product on an assembly line prior to being packaged. In those instances, the polishing brush will be required to withstand continuous and repeated use.
Polishing brushes can be made as roller or cylinder brushes which are also attached to motors to create a very fast rotation which allows for a thorough polish of whatever surface they come in contact with.
A polishing brush can also be in a cup or disc shape and comes in a variety of sizes so that it may be attached to hand drills or other powered tools. These polishing brush attachments are very versatile and allow a user to do the job of a professional-level finish with a commonly-used drill.
22. Power Brushes
Power brushes are metal or abrasive nylon filament brushes used for deburring parts when surface finishing, namely when parts require no material removal, and only burrs and sharp edges need to be eliminated.
Power brushes work so that the brush bristles cut the workpiece, and are made into various shapes depending on the specific precision deburring required. The majority of power brushes can be described as either a wheel, cup, end, wide face cylinder, or internal twisted-in wire.
Power brushes work with grinders, lathes, drills, or automated machinery, and operate at a very high revolution per minute to deburr and cut. Power brushes are used to deburr products of all types, including forged tools, machined components, stainless steel tubes, and computer parts.
The filament durability of power brushes is critical, since industrial applications count on the filaments ability to remove simple burrs and sharp edges, so that the workpieces can function uniformly, as designed.
23. Roller Brushes
Roller brushes are widely employed in commercial and industrial applications to clean parts or equipment. The brush is generally mounted to an axis that is spun mechanically or by hand in order to scrub a surface.
Roller brushes can come in varying lengths and diameters, and are also called cylinder brushes. The roller brushes themselves can be made from soft or abrasive materials given the nature of the parts or equipment cleaning needs of the industry or business.
Roller brushes can usually be found in some stage of the assembly line in a factory, cleaning the parts that are moving under the conveyor belt.
In automated car washes roller brushes are also commonly used to thoroughly scrub the vehicles. The large roller brushes are specifically designed with a very soft bristle so as to not harm or scratch the car’s paint.
The brush is comprised out of the brush material, housed in a durable plastic or metal roll that is designed with perforated holes to hold the bristles in place. The roll has a central rod that the motor is connected to, which can power the brush through electricity.
The design allows the brush to spin and clean both sides of the vehicle as it moves through the wash cycle.
24. Rotary Brushes
Rotary brushes can be designed in different styles, including the cylinder design which is where filaments are wound around a cylinder or long tube. Other designs will be mounted on a round flat piece of wood, plastic or metal. This action is circular, and rotary brushes can be found in floor polishers and scrubs.
Cylindrical rotary brushes can be found in various objects, from residential vacuum cleaners to industrial conveyor systems. These brushes can take many forms.
One form will have a coarse metal cover wrapped around the cylinder. Another form will have broom-like filaments arranged in rows, and the length of these arrangements can vary. The cylinder will rotate, powered by a belt or gear system, cleaning and maintaining operations.
Another widely used rotary brush is one that is found mounted on a round platform, also known as the disk brush. Disk brushes come in many sizes and are usually powered by a motor that connects to a shaft mounted on or connected to the platform.
Disk brushes can range from small disk brushes that fit a hand drill as the motor, to large disk brushes designed for street sweeper applications.
Allowing different configurations to speed controls, some rotary brushes can vary their speed controls to meet the different conditions of the surfaces and cleaning requirements.
25. Rotating Brushes
Rotating brushes are built for operation on machines that rotate using a cylinder or ring. The rotation of the brush comes into contact with objects to clean an object through the brush’s filaments.
Rotating brushes are typically applied to shoe polishers, street cleaners, conveyor belts, runway sweepers, etc. Generally, rotating brushes are replaceable since filaments can break down from use over time.
Likewise, filaments can become dull and weak over time, which reduces efficacy. Soft rotating brushes can be used for polishing or smoothing surfaces, as on the exterior of a vehicle.
Rotating brushes are found on heavy equipment in both static and movable machinery. In a static set-up the brushes may be mounted horizontally over a table, or mounted vertically using a pole.
When the brushes are mounted vertically two rotating brushes would spin in parallel to one another and objects would pass between the bundles to be cleaned.
In mobile set-ups, such as a street sweeper, the gutter broom rotates inward to direct objects to a center rotating brush, then swept into a vacuum system. For heavy-duty cleaning and deburring applications rotating brushes can be developed using stainless steel wire.
26. Scientific Brushes
The application of scientific brushes in crime scene analysis is important for the collection of evidence, such as recovering fingerprints, using special powders or illuminant methods, therefore forensic brushes come in all different shapes and sizes; some look like paint brushes others look like makeup brushes, etc.
One type of brush is a brush that has very soft filaments, somewhat like a feather duster, which is used a lot in archeology.
In archeology brushes are used after shovels, and spades have already taken the gross mass of dirt away and then brushes are used to slowly pull away the loose dirt and keep the excavation area clean.
The brushes are available in a range of sizes, from the size of a toothbrush to fine filaments like a paint brush. The size and delicacy of brushes make them most appropriate for handling fragile artifacts.
To return or restore ancient artifacts requires a lot of continuous cleaning. For instance, restoration of the Sistine Chapel ceiling took from 1980 to 1994 to clean the frescoes, which involved distilled water with additive soap, and soft brushes to clean and preserve the painting.
27. Specialty Cleaning Brushes
Specialty cleaning brushes are engineered for specific uses, and they come in a diverse range of shapes and sizes according to the application required.
For example, bore brushes are operated by hand or machine and were developed to clean the walls and bottoms of large diameter blind holes. Bore brushes are thicker, and more abrasive than spiral brushes and are used when the task is too dirty for a spiral brush.
Carwash brushes are designed to have filaments similar to the filaments of normal brooms, however the filaments are configured in a V-pattern to clean at multiple angles.
Carwash brushes can be made from different materials and are often intended to help avoid scratching from vehicle surfaces. One type of brush is made in the shape of a mop head which is particularly gentle for delicate surfaces.
28. Spiral Brushes
Spiral brushes are part of an extensive range of products available to assist users, from industrial parts manufacturers to hospital medical doctors to food processing integrators to laboratory technicians, to clean and treat surfaces and hard-to-reach areas.
Spiral brushes are characterized by their spiral filament pattern and cylindrical body. The most common uses of spiral brushes include conveyor belt cleaning, deburring, cleaning bottles and flues, polishing, and swabbing.
Conventional brushes that qualify primarily as spiral brushes include cylinder brushes, wheel brushes, coiled strip brushes, and twisted knot wheel brushes.
There are many different spiral brush configurations, and there are more filament materials available in spiral brushes. The filament material used in a spiral brush is based on its intended use.
For example, if a spiral brush is intended for deburring applications, it must be made with a durable metal filament that does not erode and is resistant to wear while being used against other metal surfaces.
29. Strip Brushes
Strip brushes are defined as long thin brushes used for all types of cleaning, sealing, and surfacing applications on conveyor products for industrial, commercial, and even for some consumer products.
A strip brush may also be called a channel back brush and can have natural, polymer, or metal filaments held in the channel by steel or aluminum channels.
Strip brushes have many configurations, and they can be shaped into cylindrical coil brushes, external disks, inverted disks, and cup brushes. They are also used for sealing applications such as around doors, windows, conveyor edges, cleanroom doors, and anywhere a flexible seal is needed.
The configurations and properties of a strip brush will determine its application. In one application, a strip brush may simply be a straight strip used to seal a gap in a door, while another strip brush may be mounted on a tube with multiple other strip brushes to form a power brush attachment. Strip brushes can also easily be configured into spiral shapes or bent into circular uses.
30. Sweepers
Sweepers are floor-cleaning machines that are used in industrial, commercial, and public locations to improve safety and cleanliness.
Sweepers are built in different styles for indoor and outdoor use, as well as for specific feature types like carpets and hard surfaces, and larger machines are even available for outdoor sweeping.
Some sweepers are simple hand-operated machines that can roll back and forth across (carpeted) floors to affordably capture dirt and debris.
In all forms of a sweeper, there are specialty brushes. These brushes may be used to perform various tasks such as indoor street sweeping; scrubbing and cleaning or buffing and polishing floors.
Overall, industrial sweepers cost a lot less than manual labor costs and cleaning times are greatly reduced.
Sizes/ types of sweepers can vary from street trucks with a sweeping attachment, to the smaller size riding models that can clean sidewalks, street gutters, and large warehouse floors, to small walk-behind sweepers primarily intended for indoor use.
31. Tube Brushes
Tube brushes are utilized as part of plumbing and other equipment maintenance/cleaning with the intent to clean tubes or areas that are difficult to access.
A tube brush is installed on a long and thin piece of metal, allowing it to be inserted a long distance into a long tube. Ideally, the brush diameter is at least equal to the tube diameter.
When the wires of the tube brush are twisted or pushed up and down, they would push up against the wall of the tube and remove any dirt or other buildup.
Tube brushes are typically used in automated cleaning systems, particularly in the recycling industry, to clean bottles or containers extensively before reusing them.
Tube brushes are attached to machines that rotate the brushes at high speeds, in contrast to brushes with handles. Each type of tube brush is intended for a specific application.
For example, a double-stem tube brush, which can be made from a variety of wire or synthetic materials, is more robust than a single-stem brush.
Side-action brushes have a very good level of stiffness because they use a strong stem made of stainless steel and can be used for more extreme cleaning.
32. Wheel Brushes
Wheel brushes are circular brushes that are commonly employed for the deburring process of parts during the early stages of surface finishing and polishing during the last stages.
Wheel brush configurations provide a straight-line brushing action and are usually mounted on, and powered by a grinder, lathe, drill, and a robot. The mounting machinery allows wheel brushes to run at high RPM to deliver the effective brushing action intended.
The basic construction of a wheel brush has a wheel hub (which includes steel bristles) and a set of filaments. The wheel hub has an arbor hole in the center of the wheel hub, which is the opening that the arbor fits through.
The arbor supports the wheel and is usually positioned in a cast or reamed hole in the wheel hub. The most common method of construction involves placing a fill of some material over a set of holes drilled or molded in to the wheel hub. The fill is secured at each hole with metal staples and is folded over and formed into the filaments.
33. Wheel Cleaning Brushes
Wheel cleaning brushes are utilized for cleaning in industries such as agriculture, solar energy, aerospace, firearms, glass processing, woodworking, etc.
Wheel cleaning brushes can be purchased in a variety of sizes and applied with a common power tools, making them a low-cost, very controllable method for polishing and cleaning delicate or intricate parts.
Wheel cleaning brushes can be applied in many industrial settings, but hobbyists and handymen also use brushes regularly to put the finishing touches on a new project.
Smaller wheel cleaning brushes are also good for cleaning any equipment where its necessary to take machines apart and occasionally clean in an industrial setting.
The many small parts and shapes of a machine often obstruct accessing the various areas; however, the use of a wheel cleaning brush will help in doing that.
Manufacturers of wheel cleaning brushes will often provide custom solutions for clients that may have specific equipment requirements. In the event no accessories are available for an older machine, a custom wheel brush can be ordered that will fit the existing equipment.
Product engineers can take the precise specifications of the original brush and design a new brush that can easily interact with the machine.
34. Wire Brushes
Wire brushes are madeby a bundle of metal filaments that enable them to perform severe surface-cleaning operations, along with surface-treating operations, which include heavy surface cleaning, texture removal, and deburring, among other tasks.
Wire brushes include a removable mounting area and a series of metal filaments; they come in many configurations that range from household-type applications to heavy industrial applications.
The range of wire brush configurations includes, but is not limited to, mounted or power wire brushes, handheld wire brushes, broom wire brushes, cup wire brushes, spiral wire brushes, strip wire brushes, twisted knot wire brushes, wheel wire brushes, and so on.
The wheel wire brushes found in industrial applications are often available in wire fill of crimped wire or knotted wire. Crimped wire brushes are designed to allow the wire to break cleanly and evenly as it wears down, which creates new cutting edges continuously.
The application of crimped wire brushes is designed for some, to include polishing, cleaning, edge blending, and finishing. Crimped wire filaments are mostly used in cup brushes, but they can also be found in end brushes and wheel brushes.
Knotted wire brushes can be used for applications that require more aggressive removal due to more aggressive brushing conditions that are ideal for rough surface preparation, weld cleaning, and heavy flash area removal.
35. End Brushes
End brushes are a specific type of finishing tool that are used when accessing unique areas of a workpiece is needed, such as crevices, recesses, and tight areas. End brushes come with a variety of filament types, depending on the application.
The cup shape of the end brush enables it to fit in tight areas but effective when you need to clean or finish an area. For the most part, end brushes are similar to cup brushes, but the end brush is specifically designed to fit confined areas which would not work with many cup brushes.
Wire end brushes can be knotted or crimped filaments, and they will attach to a hand drill or die grinder via a shank. The filaments can be purchased is carbon steel, stainless steel, or tempered steel, with variations in length and filament diameters.
Knot wire end brushes are all-around the most aggressive and durable, so they can handle more heavy-duty work.
End brushes come in a few varieties, including a flared end brush with crimped filaments facing away from the holder; the hollow end brush with filaments facing away from the edge of the holder and a hollowed center to avoid getting tangled; and the encapsulated end brush where the filaments are encased in plastic to be stiffer.
End brushes are very versatile finishing tools when cleaning or finishing area that is accessed or visible areas from a disc brush or cup brush or other brushes. End brushes are flexible in mold or style of design, and are capable of cleaning various difficult to reach crevices, recesses, or grooves.
36. Disc Brushes
Disc brushes are circular brushes that consist of bristles arranged in a circle. Disc brushes consist of disc shaped holder with filaments mounted in the center, around the perimeter or inside the disc.
The arrangement of the filaments will have an effect as to how the brush applies a force against the surface, which demonstrates the versatility and applicability of disc brushes.
In metal fabrication disc brushes may be used for deburring workpieces, and light disc brushes are suitable for short cycle type deburring while heavy disc brushes may be used for a more aggressive deburring.
The filaments in disc brushes differ in hardness and strength from ceramic to silicone carbide depending on the level of required deburring.
Disc brushes are versatile products which can be used for many tasks from floor cleaning to paint and rust removal.
Disc brushes can be used on wood, metal and plastic surfaces. Disc brushes are produced in different sizes, materials, shapes and densities. Filament materials consist of nylon, polypropylene and polyethylene, of which nylon is the most abrasive.
37. Metal Brush
Metal brushes are essential metalworking tools, in various types used for finishing, preparing and cleaning the parts of metal. They are simple, valuable versatile tools used throughout different stages of metal processing.
In the same way that sandblasting uses metal filaments as abrasive grit to prepare surfaces, the filaments determine the effectiveness of the metal brushes, ranging from mild to very aggressive.
Metal brushes come in a vast number of types, ranging from wooden handled used brushes to large metal disc brushes. They are identified by their filaments, which can be twisted, crimped, or straightened and are manufactured out of carbon steel, stainless steel or high strength steel.
Filaments are an essential part of the process since they are required to remove surface layers, and scrape, or cut into the workpiece.
Most metal brushes are intended for aggressive actions to remove material at a healthy pace and are some cheap aggressive wear abrasives for metal.
There are less aggressive models suited for a controlled finish. The difference between these two groups is the filaments long filaments address small inconsistencies, and short stiff filaments will leave marks and scars on the finished surface.
The variety in metal brushes can be tailored fit for the needs of the product, and to the part. This customizable versatility makes metal brushes unrivaled and essential tools in manufacturing and forming, and specially for working with metal.
Conclusion
The variety of brush types is increasing given new applications and needs. As with all tools, choosing the correct type of brush for the work is critical. Although it is safe to reach for the ubiquitous and popular styles of brush, there may be far superior and specific choices available to us.