What is the best type of brush to use for car washing?

[02zx9r]

Re: What is the best type of brush to use for car washing?

I have always been under the impression that if using a 100% boars hair brush and as long as you lightly make 1 or 2 passes it is ok. Again, light pressure, as long as you arent making 10 passes in same area and dont try to push brush (or any wash media) through the sheetmetal it is ok. After watching the videos from MP and others I have a pretty good handle on it.

Please correct me if my thinking and understanding is off. I do want to learn the proper materials to use.
- Right now I use a mf wash mitt and sheepskin mitt. I have never used a bhb just because i get great results from using the mitts and cant justify paying the amounts for a bhb when I get the results i need from the mitts

[Mike Phillips]

Re: What is the best type of brush to use for car washing?

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Meguiar's offered a 2 body washing brushes that testing showed them to be safe for use on paint. I use the wide body brush on my Jimmy and on our black Pilot. I keep both polished and waxed often enough that I don't notice any problems using this brush on either of these vehicles.

Can't speak for these other brushes referenced in this thread as I've never used them personally. One thing for sure, clear coats are scratch-sensitive, that is they are easily scratched and besides a quality wash mitt or brush, good technique is also important. Don't scrub paint when washing a car and only make as many passes over the paint as necessary to loosen surface dirt. All to often people wash panels over and over and over again, (lots of passes over a single area of paint), when they don't need to and it's usually because they are not focusing on the task at hand.

[gbackus]

Re: What is the best type of brush to use for car washing?

Boars Hair Brushes are the safest for your paint, but like any tool, used incorrectly, it too cna damage your paint.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: What is the best type of brush to use for car washing?

Boars Hair Brushes are the safest for your paint, but like any tool, used incorrectly, it too can damage your paint.

I've read a number of good testimonials about Boars Hair Brushes by some seasoned forum members on Autopia who have good reputations for helpful and accurate information. They run around $50.00 to $60.00 so they're on what most people consider to be the spendy side as compared to other options so personal preference is a factor as well as your budget.

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: What is the best type of brush to use for car washing?

I was at WalMart last night and saw some microfiber "brushes" with a telescoping handle. Sorry I can't remember the brand, but the brush really was microfiber. The "bristles" of the brush were similar to a microfiber mitt. Maybe this would work for the OP? For myself, I still wouldn't use one. The chance of the aluminum handle scraping a fender or roof panel is not worth the risk.

[gbackus]

Re: What is the best type of brush to use for car washing?

I've read a number of good testimonials about Boars Hair Brushes by some seasoned forum members on Autopia who have good reputations for helpful and accurate information. They run around $50.00 to $60.00 so they're on what most people consider to be the spendy side as compared to other options so personal preference is a factor as well as your budget.

With shipping, and the cost of the handle, they are actually closer to $90; BUT when you have 6 cars to wash on a saturday morning and lots of places to go, and things to do, there is no method that I have found that is faster than using a boars hairs brush, while at the same time maintaining a high level of safety for the paint when using proper technique.

Are there better ways to wash a car, sure, you have to decide if you want this to be a 100% show quality car 100% of the time requiring 100% of your time or 100% clean and shiny car 100% of the time for 10% of your time.

[Megafast13]

Re: What is the best type of brush to use for car washing?

YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DON'T EVER USE THE BRUSH AGAIN

Only use Microfiber Wash mitts or pure lambswool

All Brushes=Swirls

[Dave6]

Re: What is the best type of brush to use for car washing?

Moved out of "Hot Topics"


Meguiar's offered a 2 body washing brushes that testing showed them to be safe for use on paint. I use the wide body brush on my Jimmy and on our black Pilot. I keep both polished and waxed often enough that I don't notice any problems using this brush on either of these vehicles.

Not sure why this is such a touchy subject; you'd think this will be an issue in the next Presidential election based upon some of the emotions stirred.

I've been detailing cars off and on since the early 1980s, and owned a shop in the mid-80s, and if I can add one thing, it's that I trust Meguiar's. The rep that called on us showed me more than anyone else, and his favorite response to a question was "Let's try it out!" If Meg's says it's safe, I believe it is safe

Having used both OXO and the Meguiar's Wide Body Brush (discontinued; why?), I notice no scratching on either my wife's or my black cars.

Thoughts? Experiences?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: What is the best type of brush to use for car washing?

Not sure why this is such a touchy subject; you'd think this will be an issue in the next Presidential election based upon some of the emotions stirred.

I've been detailing cars off and on since the early 1980s, and owned a shop in the mid-80s, and if I can add one thing, it's that I trust Meguiar's. The rep that called on us showed me more than anyone else, and his favorite response to a question was "Let's try it out!" If Meg's says it's safe, I believe it is safe

Having used both OXO and the Meguiar's Wide Body Brush (discontinued; why?), I notice no scratching on either my wife's or my black cars.

Thoughts? Experiences?

You know, sometimes reviving a 5 year old thread can revisit some interesting discussions.

We'll address the "Meguiar's Wide Body Brush (discontinued; why?)" question first because it's so easy to answer: Sales were very, very slow on the entire Gold Class brush line a few years ago; they were all pretty fantastic brushes if we do say so ourselves, but at retail almost nobody was willing to pay a premium price for a premium tool. Simple as that, really.


The basic question remains, then, can a brush be safely used to wash a car? Sure, provided you select the right brush and you maintain it properly. A high quality boar's hair brush is a great tool for cleaning, but again, it's really tough to get people to part with $75 or more for such a tool. And if you do buy one but don't take care of it, you've basically shot yourself in the foot. And the really big variable in all this is the scratch sensitivity of the paint - what may work great on one car may not work so well on another.

But when you look at how different materials actually work against the surface of the paint and deal with surface dirt, there is a major case to be made for microfiber wash mitts, in various configurations. Microfiber excels at grabbing debris and pulling it up into itself, which is fantastic for keeping that dirt away from the paint. A brush will rarely do this, but instead will tend to push the dirt along in a manner not all that different from sweeping a floor. The brush itself may be totally and completely safe for the paint, but the method by which it removes surface dirt may not be. Again, not all brushes are identical, so your mileage may vary. That said, I have personally used our (long since discontinued) Wide Body Brush on the front of our own cars at home, primarily to remove slightly heavier road grime, light bugs, and other crud from the front bumper, grille, etc where tight areas are otherwise tricky to get to. I haven't ever seen any negative effects from doing so, but I'd rather not wash the entire car this way. That's a totally personal decision, mind you, but hey, I'm willing to "take one for the team" and do a full wash with this brush sometime soon. But to what end, really? The brush I'd use has been discontinued so it's not like you'd all rush out and buy one!

[Dave6]

Re: What is the best type of brush to use for car washing?

Michael, thanks SO MUCH for a straight answer. I guess I will save the brushes for those times I will be following with a buffer.

[Jeepster04]

Re: What is the best type of brush to use for car washing?

When I caught wind of the brushes being discontinued I stocked up. Ive used the meguiars wide body brush several times and I must say I have no negative comments. It takes some sense when using it, I would never use it on a heavily soiled vehicle. For light washings after properly spraying the paint off, it works awesome. Really cuts down on the time required to wash the vehicle.

Now, would I use this on a brand new vehicle, no. I don't mind a bit to use it on my 20 year old Jeep that's in good condition.

[drumdan]

Those brushes are similar to the ones used at automatic car washes. We tried them once, but they didn't work right for us. We now use boars hair, and they're much better. The cloth and bristle rotating brushes are another story, entirety. ..