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Car wash brush
- Thread starter WaterBoy
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PC
Obi Wan
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Most Brushes will leave scratches in auto paint so it's wise to avoid all brushes except for a few very high quality products made specifically for washing fine finishes.
There are a few synthetic bristle brushes that are gentle enough but most of the top products are made with natural boar's hair bristles.
Whether natural or synthetic your technique is the critical factor. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER scrub automotive paint. That will guarantee scratches. Use lots of high lubricity car wash shampoo and use the brush to lightly sweep away dirt. Try to apply less pressure than the weight of the brush itself. Only the tips of the bristles should touch the surface. The bristles should just barely nudge* the dirt particles off.
If there's gunk that won't come off with delicate brushing leave it there until you can use clay or a chemical cleaner to remove it.
Unfortunately I only know suppliers in the USA. Some might be willing to ship across the pond. Somebody in the UK probably sells them but I wouldn't know where to look.
https://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthr...;threadid=3451
https://www.topoftheline.com/boarhairbodw.html
https://www.topoftheline.com/boarhairtruc.html
https://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?&SKU=10220
https://www.brush.com/cgi-bin/Brush.store...View/701B010802
PC.
* wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more...
There are a few synthetic bristle brushes that are gentle enough but most of the top products are made with natural boar's hair bristles.
Whether natural or synthetic your technique is the critical factor. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER scrub automotive paint. That will guarantee scratches. Use lots of high lubricity car wash shampoo and use the brush to lightly sweep away dirt. Try to apply less pressure than the weight of the brush itself. Only the tips of the bristles should touch the surface. The bristles should just barely nudge* the dirt particles off.
If there's gunk that won't come off with delicate brushing leave it there until you can use clay or a chemical cleaner to remove it.
Unfortunately I only know suppliers in the USA. Some might be willing to ship across the pond. Somebody in the UK probably sells them but I wouldn't know where to look.
https://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthr...;threadid=3451
https://www.topoftheline.com/boarhairbodw.html
https://www.topoftheline.com/boarhairtruc.html
https://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?&SKU=10220
https://www.brush.com/cgi-bin/Brush.store...View/701B010802
PC.
* wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more...
Thanks for your response, PC! I have found this site www.Danbrush.com where there is a chamber to contain water og make a constant supply of water for about 30 sec for each dip. The water between brush hair and automotive paint secures minimize the risk of scratches.
Furthermore a worker told med that you save 90% the use of water and chemicals and use 50% less time...
Check it out!
Furthermore a worker told med that you save 90% the use of water and chemicals and use 50% less time...
Check it out!
PC
Obi Wan
Offline
Hi Waterboy,
Looks like there's potential there.
One note of caution, since the Danbrush products do have synthetic bristles it's probably a good idea to do a little testing at first just to be sure. Its especially important if you have a dark car with a basecoat/clearcoat finish.
Try it on a small area first then dry it (I prefer to use microfiber towels) and have a look at it in good light from different angles. If you notice swirls, ghosts or holograms it's not gentle enough.
The wash technique they demonstrate appears to me to be geared more toward conserving water than preserving a fine finish. I would do it differently.
I do always use two buckets for washing, one for soapy water, one for clean. In their demo they use the brush for rinsing the surface with clean water. I would never touch a finish with a non-soapy brush, ever. The soap provides lubrication to reduce the risk of scratching. I only use the clean water bucket to rinse dirt off the brush before loading it up with soapy water again.
After sudsing up the area I'll rinse the soap off with a hose. It takes more water but not an awful lot if you have the flow turned down to a moderate, steady stream. You don't want to spray a lot of water anyway because splashing can lead to water spots. I have a shutoff valve on the hose to avoid wasting water while I'm not rinsing.
Another note, use a different brush for cleaning wheels and another for undercarriage, wheel wells, etc.
PC.
Looks like there's potential there.
One note of caution, since the Danbrush products do have synthetic bristles it's probably a good idea to do a little testing at first just to be sure. Its especially important if you have a dark car with a basecoat/clearcoat finish.
Try it on a small area first then dry it (I prefer to use microfiber towels) and have a look at it in good light from different angles. If you notice swirls, ghosts or holograms it's not gentle enough.
The wash technique they demonstrate appears to me to be geared more toward conserving water than preserving a fine finish. I would do it differently.
I do always use two buckets for washing, one for soapy water, one for clean. In their demo they use the brush for rinsing the surface with clean water. I would never touch a finish with a non-soapy brush, ever. The soap provides lubrication to reduce the risk of scratching. I only use the clean water bucket to rinse dirt off the brush before loading it up with soapy water again.
After sudsing up the area I'll rinse the soap off with a hose. It takes more water but not an awful lot if you have the flow turned down to a moderate, steady stream. You don't want to spray a lot of water anyway because splashing can lead to water spots. I have a shutoff valve on the hose to avoid wasting water while I'm not rinsing.
Another note, use a different brush for cleaning wheels and another for undercarriage, wheel wells, etc.
PC.
A
aerog
Guest
Guest
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RE:"The wash technique they demonstrate appears to me to be geared more toward conserving water than preserving a fine finish. I would do it differently."
I'd agree with that statement. There's the right way of doing things, and there's the "conservation" way of doing things. Let's be realistic here - unless you've got the hose on full blast during the whole washing process you're not likely to save that much water to make a difference anyway.
I'd agree with that statement. There's the right way of doing things, and there's the "conservation" way of doing things. Let's be realistic here - unless you've got the hose on full blast during the whole washing process you're not likely to save that much water to make a difference anyway.