Roger Bisby has a brush with Cottam, makers of fine and coarse wire brushes for industry.
Wire brushes come in many different types but all too often the only type you see in the merchants is the wooden-handled carbon steel brush.
It is a useful all-rounder but it isn’t the only wire brush around. For one thing, it is much too coarse for soft materials and it can also cause rust stains.
If, for example, you want to brush off loose paint from masonry, the carbon steel brush is not the best choice because it leaves minute pieces of steel on the surface, which can turn to rust beneath the paint.
That’s ok if you have a rust coloured paint but it’s not great on white.
Cottam, a family business that started out supplying the shipbuilding and coalmining industry, has solved that problem, and many more, with its much wider range of wire brushes.
For example, the rust problem can be solved with a stainless steel or brass brush. Brass is also the best choice if you are brushing off rust or clearing up in an environment where sparks can be a problem.
Brass brushes are also ideal for cleaning mortar stains off bricks, and even rubbing lightly over pointing to remove trowel marks, and bring a bit of grit up to the surface of the mortar joint. I have also found them very useful for cleaning mortar stains off terracotta ridge tiles after they have been pointed up.
Another Cottam brush I really like is the concrete block scrubber. It is great for cleaning up blocks prior to giving them a coat of sealant or colour stain.
I am sure there are many more uses for wire brushes that I haven’t thought of. If you know one that is clean and legal let us know and, if we like it enough to print it on our letters page, we will send you a Cottam brush.
The brushes are available lovingly wrapped from your local merchant.
Using Wire Brushes
- Each of the Cottam products has clearly defined usage icons and product information to enable users to be confident in the brush they choose.
- Steel wire is most appropriate for work on steel and iron, but may also be used on wood, brass, aluminium and copper. DO NOT use a steel brush where marking or damage needs to be avoided.
- The softer the material to be brushed, the more likely that a steel wire brush will cut into it and remove the base in addition to the targeted coating.
- Safely enclosed in the Aurora Guard, a solution for protecting the wires and your hands!
For more information visit www.cottambrush.com
