A wire brush is an effective tool used for work at home, at work, and in industry. A device with wire piles of varying stiffness and diameter allows you to perform a wide range of procedures for mechanical processing of products. The brush can be used as an independent hand tool and as an attachment to power tools. Regardless of the type, such devices are also called wire brushes and cord brushes. This article provides complete information about metal brushes of different types and shapes.
The main purpose of metal brushes
This tool is primarily intended to perform the following tasks:
- Cleaning welding areas from dirt.
- Removing burrs from the end of the workpiece.
- Removing scale from a metal surface.
- Removing traces of corrosion from metal surfaces.
- Removing dried dirt from a metal surface.
- Removing plaque from a metal surface.
In addition, this tool is very often used to remove seams from a metal surface that remain after welding.
After the welding seams are completely removed, the place on the metal surface where they were located must be treated with a special anti-corrosion compound.
Functions of wire brushes: for cleaning metal surfaces, for removing rust and paint
Metal brushes are used to solve many problems and are actively used in repair and construction work. Using cord brushes you can:
- grinding the surfaces of products made of different materials, but mainly metal;
- roughing and finishing;
- removal of various contaminants: stains, dirt, paint, varnish, rust, scale, slag;
- cleaning surfaces before welding;
- polishing welding joints;
- removal of burrs;
- treatment of hard-to-reach places.
Brush attachment for angle grinders and paint removal
Characteristics of a metal brush
This type of tool is manufactured in strict accordance with GOST requirements. Documents for metal brushes must include information regarding the size of this type of tool, the material of the pile, as well as the number of rows.
In addition, special attention should be paid to the handle of this type of instrument. It can be made from materials such as plastic and wood.
Metal brushes made of bronze, copper, brass and steel
Bronze or copper brushes are used to clean the sliding surface before applying waxes or powders. When using a fluoride remover, bronze brushes are also used.
Copper brushes
After applying the first base layer of paraffin, its remains are removed with a scraper, and then comes the turn of the copper bristles. With its help, paraffin residues are removed from the sliding surface. 5-6 passes are recommended in order to remove the substance as much as possible. It is important that some of the paraffin remains for the adhesion of subsequent ointments or powders, so soft metal (copper) is the optimal solution here.
Brass brushes
If a gliding ointment is used, brass bristles are used before applying it. 1-2 passes from toe to heel are recommended to create conditions for the ointment to adhere to the previous layer of paraffin. Brass is a harder metal than copper, so fewer passes are needed. Otherwise, there is a chance to destroy the paraffin layer.
Steel brushes
Steel brushes are intended for the professional, and are not necessary for the average hobbyist. They have a very fine steel fiber that removes paraffin from the smallest structure. Only used when applying hardeners in severe frost or powders in all temperature ranges.
Types of metal brushes
Depending on the area of application, it is customary to distinguish the following types of metal brushes:
- Special attachments that are intended for various types of electric tools. For example, for a drill.
- Manual.
Based on the material of the pile, these tools are usually classified into the following types:
- Brushes for cleaning metal surfaces with metal bristles.
- Brushes designed for cleaning metal surfaces with nylon bristles. This type of tool is used to work with materials such as plastic or wood.
- Brushes designed for cleaning metal surfaces, with brass bristles.
Nylon brushes are most often used to apply various types of patterns to a wooden surface. After which the wooden surface is varnished or painted.
- As for the rows of bristles of such brushes, their number can range from one to six.
- Based on the material from which the handle is made, metal brushes are divided into plastic and also wooden.
- The main distinctive features of plastic handles for metal include a high level of strength, as well as durability.
- In addition, metal brushes, the handles of which are made of a material such as plastic, are absolutely not “afraid” of exposure to humidity.
- The handles of these metal brushes have special grooves, making them very comfortable to hold in your hand.
The main distinctive feature of wooden brush handles for metal is that you can make them yourself. Wood has a much higher level of strength compared to materials such as plastic.
However, wood is very susceptible to moisture. For this reason, the wooden handles of metal brushes must be painted or varnished.
Nylon brushes
Nylon brushes are needed for working with paraffin, namely cleaning the structure of the ski after applying paraffin. If you do not carry out the ski cleaning procedure or do it poorly, then the ski will roll extremely poorly for the first couple of kilometers, until it is independently cleared of snow on the track. Brushes come in different hardnesses: hard - for cold (frosty) paraffins, medium - for warm ones.
There are also soft brushes - they are used for final polishing of skis after applying powders and accelerators.
The main advantages of metal brushes
The main advantages of metal brushes include the following:
- Using this type of tool, wood can be brushed.
- If the handle of this type of instrument is iron, then the instrument can last for a fairly long period of time.
- Using this type of tool allows you to save a lot of time and effort.
Selection principles
When buying a brush, you need to pay attention to several factors:
- material and number of rows of pile;
- handle shape (straight or bent);
- body material;
- handle length.
Before buying a tool, it is recommended to hold it in your hands and check how comfortable it is.
Advantages
Advantages:
- if the handle is iron, the tool will last for many years;
- using a brush you can clean out various dirt;
- accessories for power tools allow you to clean metal surfaces from scale and clean welding seams;
- Using a metal brush, you can brush wood.
It takes a lot of effort to clean serious stains without power tools.
Manufacturers and cost
There are a huge number of manufacturers of hand tools for stripping metal products. Several popular companies stand out from them:
- Anchor;
- TOPEX;
- ATAKA;
- Sparta;
- K.W.B.
The cost of the tool depends on the material of the handle and pile. The average price of hand brushes is 300 rubles.
Different types of brushes (Photo: Instagram / osbornrus)
Leading manufacturers of metal brushes
The leading manufacturers of metal brushes at the current time are the following companies:
- KWB
- Anchor.
- Sparta.
- Attack.
- Torex.
As for the cost of this type of instrument, in the vast majority of stores in the Russian Federation it is three hundred rubles.
Manufacturers
Users of metal brushes prefer to purchase them from time-tested brands . a large number of Russian, Chinese and European manufacturers on the domestic market . Well-known brands usually produce a complete set of all types of high-quality, well-balanced brush attachments. Among them are the following reliable manufacturers.
Lessmann is one of the best European companies producing wire brushes with a production base located in Germany. The basis of the company's existence lies in the constant development of new types of brushes and the modernization of previously released models. The operating principle of this. The company cooperates with many representatives from Russia.
Enkor is one of the leading Russian companies producing tools. The range of manufactured goods includes more than one thousand items. Among them, wire brushes of various shapes and types find their place.
"MATRIX" is a brand owned by Germany. The production of wire brushes, from where they enter the Russian market, is located in China. This is due to the low cost of products . Some samples were mentioned in the section of this article “Disk and other types of wire attachments for angle grinders.”
How to properly use metal brushes
The operation of this type of tool is quite simple. There is absolutely no need to adhere to any rules. All you need to do is remove dirt from the fibers.
- Also, for proper use of a metal brush, you must be able to properly clamp it in the tool.
- It is very important to check the security of the fastening. For this purpose, it will be necessary to perform a test run of an angle grinder or drill.
- In addition, it is extremely important to set the correct speed of the drill or grinder.
- Under no circumstances should the front side be cleaned with metal fluff.
- Otherwise, scratches will remain on the front side. And they will have to either be deleted or corrected.
Before you start using this type of tool, you will need to inspect it very carefully. If the pile is bent, you will have to straighten it.
For this purpose, make a stop, and then hit the places where there are bends in the pile several times with a hammer. In cases where there is not enough lint, it will be necessary to replace the metal brush with a new one.
We hope you find this article useful.
For paint removal
Wire brushes successfully remove old paint and other coatings from various types of surfaces. A variety of shapes and types of brushes increase the ability to remove coatings of varying strength. Dense coatings that have good adhesion to the surface are removed with metal brushes with pile collected in bundles . The disadvantage of such consumable tools is the lack of elasticity; they can leave coating residues after processing.
Brush for angle grinder DEXX, disc, stranded tufts. Photo 220Volt.ru
Cups with corrugated pile do not have this disadvantage . They are able to remove paint more gently, getting to all, even small, irregularities. However, it is sometimes impossible to remove a durable coating with such brushes.
MATRIX cord brush, cup, corrugated wire, brass. Photo 220Volt.ru
Particularly durable paint coating cannot always be removed even with the hardest metal brushes mounted on high-speed angle grinders without compromising the quality of the treated surface.
Photo of metal brushes
Brushes made of bristles or bristles: horse, boar.
Natural bristle brushes are used to clean high fluoride powders.
Direct purpose - finishing skis after applying lubricant, used to remove soft paraffin and to treat surfaces after applying powders and accelerators to them, neutralizing electrostatics from the sliding surface. Main brush for powders. Polishing bristles remove static electricity from the ski surface. The number of passes is unlimited - until the ski starts to shine.
A wild boar bristle brush has stiffer bristles than horsehair. It can be used for finishing after cold paraffins, as well as powders, especially hard ones. Considered a second brush for applying powders.
