Everybody uses a brush for something, every day. The
"working" part of the brush is the bristles. In the brush industry,
the term "bristles" usually applies to a material that comes from a
special kind of pig/hog. But hog bristles are not the only type of material
used in brushes. For this reason, we use "FILL" material as a more generic term to refer to the working
part of the brush.
Fill material can be broken down into three categories:
Natural, Wire, and Synthetic.
Natural Fill Material
Gordon Brush® offers a wide
selection of natural fill brushes for all applications: acid/sash brushes, flow
thru brushes, artist brushes, forensic brushes, medical instrument brushes, and
much more. Some of the natural fill materials we use are: hog bristle,
horsehair, camel hair, goat hair, ox hair, Palmyra, pure red sable, red sable,
sabeline, squirrel hair, Tampico, and a mixture of Tampico and horsehair.
Hog Bristle
Hog bristle is relatively scarce and expensive.
This material has characteristics that set it apart as the best natural filling
material for a wide variety of bristle brushes. Each strand of bristle has a
natural taper from the butt or flesh end to the tip, giving it resilience not
found in other hairs. In addition, the tip end of each bristle is naturally
split into two or more branches called the flag. Hog bristle has a slightly
stiff to very stiff texture and is brown or black in color excellent for ESD
applications. It has excellent durability and water resistance.
Horsehair
Horsehair is a medium to high cost material. Tail
hair is stiffer than mane hair. Its soft to slightly stiff texture gives a
scratch- free dry cleaning and has very good durability. Not resistant to acids
or alkalis. Used for buffing, cleaning, dusting, and finishing in a variety of
brush styles: floor sweeps, shoe shine brushes, tin handle acid brushes,
counter dusters, and window brushes, excellent for ESD applications. Heat
distortion temperature is 370°F.
Camel
Hair
Camel Hair brushes are not
usually made from camel hair. Rather, “camel hair” is a more generic term used
for lower priced, soft hair that is commonly used for artist brushes.
Goat
Hair
Goat hair is a very fine hair
with limited elasticity. It has a natural kink that cannot be straightened.
Used for short, soft bristle brushes like cosmetic brushes. Goat hair is
available in natural black and white, and dyed in blue, brown, gold, green,
gray, and purple.
Ox
Hair
In proportion to its diameter,
ox hair is perhaps the stiffest of all soft hairs. Ox hair is particularly
sought after in artist or dental brushes for fine lettering, striping and
marking brushes.
Palmyra
A cinnamon colored fiber
produced from the base of the leaf stalks of the India Palmyra palm. It has a
medium stiff to stiff texture and is light to dark brown in color. It is finer,
less stiff, more brittle, and of lower quality than bassine. Used in garage
floor brushes, fender washing brushes, deck brushes, and scrub brushes.
Pure
Red Sable
Pure Red Sable hair has a
perpetual taper, creating the finest point possible on a bristle brush.
Red
Sable
The hair of the red sable is
the most valuable of all soft hairs. It is very fine, has strong, sharp points
and great elasticity and carries color well. Red sable hair makes the finest
artists’ brushes, being particularly suited for use with Japan colors, oil
colors and heavy- bodied sign- writing materials, and is best for fine
lettering.
Sabeline
Sabeline hair comes from the ear hair of
Oxen which are native to Northern Russian and Northern China. The hair is died
to either a reddish or yellowish colors. Historically, Sabeline hair was sold
as inexpensive Sable hair, and sometimes also as Red Sable hair. Sabeline is a
good "go-to" brush for dry brush and for washes and fills. It does
not have a tapered tip so is not great for detailed work. Sabeline hair
diameter is larger than goat hair, but Sabeline has a great affinity for
holding paint media plus a very smooth delivery. Sabeline makes a high quality
long hair brush and that means it’s also excellent for organic lines and
curves. Sabeline brushes are ideal for water based inks and paints.
Squirrel
Squirrel hair is divided into
blue squirrel and Canadian squirrel. It is a very fine hair used for applying
thin lacquers, Japan colors, light- bodied varnishes, and for general artwork,
lettering and striping, as well as, cosmetic brushes.
Tampico
Tampico is produced in Mexico
from the stalk of the Agave plant. Has a soft to medium texture and is off
white in color. It is often dyed and blended to give the desired effects to a
bristle brush. It is heat, alkali, and acid resistant. The porous fibers absorb
water and work wet or dry. Tampico is more aggressive than nylon or horsehair.
Used for removing surface particles and tool marks, dusting, wet scrubbing,
cleaning, and spreading liquids. It is excellent for removing light feather
burrs and for light edge blending when used with a compound. Heat distortion
temperature is 283°F.
Wire Fill Material
Gordon Brush® has an extensive
selection of wire fill brushes for all applications, including medical brushes,
applicator brushes, conductive ESD brushes, clean room brushes, FDA-compatible
brushes, and more. Some of the wire fill materials we use are: aluminum, brass,
carbon steel, phosphor bronze, stainless steel, and titanium. Gordon Brush®
also uses many of these materials in combination, for our two-headed brushes.
Aluminum
Aluminum is soft and non- corrosive. Bends easily
and takes a set. It is recommended for special applications only. Brass: 360
alloy. Aluminum is the softest metal fiber available. It comes straight or
crimped and is used for light to medium cleaning and luster finishing.
Carbon Steel
Carbon steel is available both tempered and un-tempered,
in a variety of sizes, straight or crimped. This is a widely used metal fill
material. It has excellent cutting ability and fatigue resistance for long
brush life at a low cost. It is used for general- purpose cleaning, rust
removal, deburring, edge blending, and roughing for adhesion.
Phosphor Bronze
C51000, phosphor bronze B, is non-sparking and
about 1/5 as conductive as copper. It is stronger than brass [F73 Rockwell] and
lasts longer. It resists corrosion and fatigue due to flexing.
Stainless Steel
Type 302 stainless is for wet and no rust
applications in a variety of sizes, straight or crimped. Highly corrosion and
heat resistant and unlike carbon steel, stainless steel does not leave after-
rust deposits when used on stainless steel, aluminum, and other high strength
alloys. However, once used on carbon steel it cannot be used on stainless steel
or rusting can occur. Used in corrosive environments for general purpose
cleaning, rust removal, deburring, edge blending, and roughing for adhesion.
Stainless Steel is FDA approved and widely used in medical brushes,
pharmaceutical brushes and food service brushes.
(to be continued.....)
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