Best Practices for Industrial Brushes- Tips and Tricks To Using Wire Brushes

Although Brush Research has been in the business of manufacturing industrial brushes for over 50 years, the brush industry has been around for centuries. Brush manufacturing is often know as the “second oldest industry in the world.” Brushes have been manufactured to facilitate all sorts of functions from sweep cleaning to rust removal. When selecting a brush, there are many things to consider. What style brush? What diameter? What wire size? What filament material? As a rule of thumb, a wire brush will perform its best when it is exactly the right size and the right type for the job and is operated at its highest safe speed with the lowest possible pressure.

Here are some tips and trick to keep in mind when using wire brushes:

1. NEVER use excessive pressure when using a wire brush. Increasing the pressure can increase the temperature, which can result in wire breakage. This is why we always recommend you wear eye protection when working with wire brushes.
   
2. BRUSH PERFORMANCE can be adjusted by selecting different brush attributes. If you are looking for better performance, consider decreasing trim length, changing to a more aggressive knotted wire style or increase the surface speed.


3. BRUSH SPEED is an important part of properly operating a wire brush. The tool should always be running at its highest safe speed without exceeding maximum safe speeds. This will ensure better brush performance, increase cycle times and longer brush life.


4. TRIM LENGTH makes a difference. If you are looking for a more aggressive cutting action, select a brush with a shorter trim length. Choose brushes with longer trim length if you are looking for a brush that will follow the contours of the work piece.


5. WIRE SIZE also makes a difference. The larger the wire diameter, the more aggressive the brush will be.
   

Wire Brushes and Power Brushes are an excellent solution for heavy- duty cleaning, surface finishing, deburring, surface prep, weld removal, rust and corrosion removal, slug and scale remove etc. Some experimentation will always be needed to find out what tool is best for your application.