Wire Brushes

For expertly cleaned and finished metalwork, choose from our high-quality range of drill wire brushes. We stock a wide range of wire brushes in various shapes and materials so you can find just the product you need to perfect your project.

Choose wire brushes from market-leading brands, like Pferd®, Osborn Polishing®, Osaki® and our own brand, York®.

What are wire brushes?

A rotary attachment designed to fit a drill or grinder, wire brushes come in a wide range of shapes and sizes. They feature a solid mounting insert encircled with wire filaments that are grouped together or twisted to make a brush shape. These filaments can be made from steel, copper, brass and more to work on a range of applications.

Why use wire brushes?

Wire brushes are an easy and relatively quick way of providing an excellent finish to your project. They also have uses for removing excess material and rust, making them a highly versatile product, useful for having to hand when working with a variety of materials.

When are wire brushes used?

Uses for wire brushes include rust removal, deburring and surface preparation to ensure a professional finish on metalworking projects. The aggressive rotary action of the brushes also makes them ideal for distressing wood, removing the softer parts of the material to showcase the remaining hardwood.

Wire brush types

Wire brushes deliver high-performance abrasion for a variety of applications to provide an excellent finish to metalworking and some woodworking projects. They can be sharpened and maintained to offer a long product life, while the wire filament is a non-loading material, which avoids clogs.

• Crimped wire decarbonising brush   -   Designed to clean away rust and paint, these brushes are canonically shaped to access hard to reach drill holes to clean away burrs

• Shaft mounted rotary wire brush   -   This circular brush type is suitable for cleaning non-ferrous metals as well as de-burring castings and finishing metal surfaces

• Twisted knot brush   -   The wire brushing is twisted into bundles to provide aggressive removal of paint and finishing on metal surfaces

• Cup brush   -   Designed for light to medium-duty surface cleaning and conditioning work, cup brushes clean away weld spatter, rust and paint

Considerations when choosing a wire brush

• Type - the nature of your project will dictate the type of brush you use. For heavy-duty applications, a twist knot brush is best, whereas a light to medium-duty task will require a crimped wire brush.

• Material - choose the right wire material for the job to avoid costly damage to your project. For example, non-ferrous metals, such as stainless steel and aluminium use a stainless steel brush, while ferrous metals like carbon steel and wrought iron can handle the use of a steel brush.

• Shape - whether you're cleaning or finishing a project, using the right shaped brush will complete the job more efficiently. For deburring drilled holes or tight corners, an end brush is an ideal choice, while wheel brushes work effectively on small, open surfaces. Large, flat projects benefit from a cup brush to clean and deburr as they work flat against the surface for maximum contact.

• Safety - ensure the drill or angle grinder you're using matches or operates below the maximum RPM rating of the brush to avoid damage and potential injury.

Wire brush jargon buster

We want to make it easy for you to shop with us, so we've broken down a safety standard for wire brushes to keep you up to date and in the know on products that interest you.

What does safety standard EN 1083-2:1997 mean?

EN 1083-2:1997 outlines the safety requirements for power-driven brushes, namely wire brushes for drills or grinders. These include the design and dimensional limits of the brushes to ensure that torque is carried in the correct direction (shaft to edge) and that the metal shaft is guaranteed against bending.

Let's break it down...

• EN - This is the current European standard

• 1083 - This is the legislation number for the standard

• 2 - This identifies part 2 of the document that addresses power-driven brushes

• 1997 - This is the year the standard was confirmed and published. It has since been reviewed and confirmed in November 2020

FAQs

Do wire wheels remove metal?

Depending on the material they're made of wire wheels will remove a great deal of welding splash, rust and paint. Unless specifically designed to remove metal (in the case of welding clean-up), they're very unlikely to damage or remove metal from a surface.

Will a brass brush scratch brass?

A brass wire brush is primarily used for cleaning and polishing, so it won't scratch softer metals like brass or copper.

Can you wire brush wood?

In short, yes. A wire brush will make quick work of removing paint and finishes from wooden material. It's also common practice to create a distressed finish to wood using a wire brush to enhance the grain of the hard wood.