I'm with David on this……..you need a natural fibres brush. Most modern (cheap) brushes are made of synthetic 'bristles' similar to nylon and this is easiy corrupted by oil. In the workshop at EFHC we have had repeated problems with this and even the floor brooms are now natural bristle fr this reason……we have some of those made in Nepal from natural (pig?) bristles,…they are a distinctive yellow with an orange band both ends and are excellent.

If you find a source of small natural bristle brushes then stock up with plenty as they are very handy in the workshop…..I use then for removing swarf an applying cutting fluid on the lathe but clean ones get used for many uses from the odd glueing job to applying meths and touching up paint etc.

I too had this and took action. I ordered a load of "acid brushes" (I think acid in American is flux but may be wrong) These are a metal tube with horse hair bristles and work brilliantly for brushing coolant.

I do sell them in my eBay shop but in the spirit of Christmas will send a few out to anyone that PMs me (UK only though)

Regards.

David.

Edited By David Colwill on 18/12/2020 08:34:09

Edited By David Colwill on 18/12/2020 08:36:38

Edited By David Colwill on 18/12/2020 08:37:12

Fascinating. I'm certainly no chemist but was genuinely surprised by Bob Stevenson's comment "….made of synthetic 'bristles' similar to nylon and this is easiy corrupted by oil" (I'm certainly not disagreeing with his point) but I suppose thinking about it, most of the cheap brushes I use for cleaning do end up useless & grotty very quickly! I had thought most synthetic materials were pretty well oil-proof (as most oil comes in synthetic containers in the first place).

Can any scientific bod clarify this (in laymans terms) just out of interest. regards Mike

Might the swelling be caused (or at least some of it) by small chips working their way up the bristles?

Nylon resists most things – oils, water, etc, but it has many an Achilles Heel! For example, although Nylon resists most Alcohols, Propanol and Anti-freeze both cause severe damage.

There are a shower of unknowns in the question. Brushes are made from various materials aimed at an intended purpose. Nylon, Teflon, polypropylene, polyester and natural materials like Horse hair, and palm fibre. These can be used alone or mixed. We don't know what our brushes are made of, but as polyester and polypropylene are considerably cheaper than Nylon, we can guess cheap brushes aren't made from the best bristles available.

I wonder what's in the coolant? Water, Oils, Soluble oils, anti-pressure chlorides, disinfectants (perhaps an alcohol) – goodness knows what, mixed with swarf. We can be sure coolant isn't formulated to be kind to paint brushes.

Cheap brushes are intended to work with domestic paints and varnishes, and in my experience aren't particularly good for that. Semi-disposable. So there's no guarantee how well an ordinary paint brush will cope with workshop liquids. I use mine until they stop working, then bin them.

Only a few elements are inert. Everything else is more-or-less unstable. In the right circumstances Asbestos will burn…

Dave

Pastry brushes, or cheap paint brushes do the job in my shop.

Yes, none of the bristles seem to withstand being milled, knurled or turned. Funny that!

Old toothbrushes, (Manual, not electric! ) once cleaned, are ideal for for cleaning chuck threads, and Taps and Dies before putting away.

A quick swill in white spirit cleans them ready for re use.

Howard

Edited By Howard Lewis on 18/12/2020 12:57:19

Just buy the cheapest possible and throw them away regularly, it is a harsh enviroment for a brush.

My solution to the problem was a set of these:

**LINK**

Harris 100% natural bristle brushes.

Rod

I buy the cheapest packs of paint brushes from the local DIY shop and I class them as "consumable products". Whether used for painting or brushing swarf, it's not really worth the effort of cleaning or restoring them when a pack of 6 is less than £3. So bin them.

The OP's brush looks identical to the cheap ones I use to clean oil and swarf. I found that regardless of the brush quality they all pick up swarf and as I do a lot of brass, also fine brass needles. I decided to stich with the cheap and throw away more often simply to save cuts and scratches.

Elmo

I buy cheap Chinese brushes at the paint department of a DIY store. The bristles of most paint brushes are too long to move swarf effectively so I give my brushes a haircut.