Brush for Large Vehicles?

jebfour

jebfour

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Hello everyone,

To begin with, I drive a large vehicle (GMC 2500HD Crew Cab 4x4). I prefer to wash the vehicle myself, but there are many (many) times where I just don’t have the time to devote to getting it cleaned up.

I recently relocated from Southern California to the greater Charlotte, NC area and while not perfect, there were a few “hand wash” car washes in the So. Cal. area; these seem to be “nonexistent” in my new place of residence and everything seems to be one of those automated drive-thru car washes that have the spinning “brushes”. To be blunt, I don’t care to run my vehicles through these.

I’m the kind of guy that likes things neat and clean. I understand that using the “hand wash” places in Southern California were far from ideal from a detailing standpoint, they were certainly better than nothing. Now that they are no longer an option, I need to find a way to quickly clean this thing myself.

Can anyone recommend a quality, soft quality brush that will allow me to get the high spots (i.e. roof, etc.) while not damaging the paint? I have one that I use on my RV, but I’m not sure that it would be appropriate for my vehicle’s finish.

Any advice is appreciated!
 
yes the Montana boar's hair brushes are very good. I use the long-handled one on my paint regularly and it does very well. I actually believe they're better than wash mitts since you're not rubbing against the paint with a mitt that may have some dirt particles embedded. I believe the brush has more of a lifting action to remove dirt, so you're less likely to induce swirls. The handle is an advantage for large vehicles also.

That said, I find the boar's hair brushes actually too soft for wheels, since they don't have enough abrasive action to remove brake dust.
 
Get the one Meghan @autogeek uses:

IMG_11523.JPG



Bob
 
Yup, I know exactly how you feel. You can't really work with a brush with no punch to it but at the same time you aren't trying to scratch your paint to the max... I'm about to purchase this brush to use on the roofs of customers vehicles because for 1 they aren't fully corrected up there + no one can see up there either ways.

58c5c314609477b359362308dbb49092.png


AG doesn't sell it so you'll have get it elsewhere, it's the flagged tip brush. I have a short 1 that I use for applying tire dressing but it's certainly good for washing the roof, grill, wheels, rocker panels, bumpers etc.

This is what you're looking for + it's fairly cheap. I'm getting mine for $11 + free shipping on the bay...

417e00abcd3c0feaead205dd7d623d01.png


Perfect for my customers SUV's. On my Kia I'll still use the mitt but that's because it gets pampered.

Carrand also makes 1 but the bristles appear to be nylon which is sometimes borderline safe or sorry.. HF sells the same type of wash brush. The gray 1 I showed you is safer yet still cleans well.


Sent from my iPhone
 
Eldorado2k said:
Yup, I know exactly how you feel. You can't really work with a brush with no punch to it but at the same time you aren't trying to scratch your paint to the max... I'm about to purchase this brush to use on the roofs of customers vehicles because for 1 they aren't fully corrected up there + no one can see up there either ways.

58c5c314609477b359362308dbb49092.png


AG doesn't sell it so you'll have get it elsewhere, it's the flagged tip brush. I have a short 1 that I use for applying tire dressing but it's certainly good for washing the roof, grill, wheels, rocker panels, bumpers etc.

This is what you're looking for + it's fairly cheap. I'm getting mine for $11 + free shipping on the bay...

417e00abcd3c0feaead205dd7d623d01.png


Perfect for my customers SUV's. On my Kia I'll still use the mitt but that's because it gets pampered.

Carrand also makes 1 but the bristles appear to be nylon which is sometimes borderline safe or sorry.. HF sells the same type of wash brush. The gray 1 I showed you is safer yet still cleans well.


Sent from my iPhone
Click to expand...
i think the carrand one is flagged tipped as well
 
fightnews said:
i think the carrand one is flagged tipped as well
Click to expand...

It is, but it's bristles feel more like nylon compared to synthetic bristles of the gray brush. The blue bristles of the Carrand are stiffer whereas the gray brushes bristles feel denser while being softer in construction.

-The blue Carrand body brush says do not use with hot water or the bristles will deform. It also says nothing about the bristles being chemical resistant, so I'll assume they're not.

-The gray flagged tipped brush is chemical resistant and I've been using my small 1 for well over a year and it appears bulletproof.

I have a wheel brush that's similar in look and feel to the Carrand brush, and while I like it's extra stiffness to help clean wheels, I'd never use it on paint vs. the gray brush which I would feel safe to use.

a08497b21451ce2015cfca52c35024bc.jpg



Sent from my iPhone
 
How long is the handle on that yellow brush? Mothers makes a brush that looks very similar to that. It's flagged tip as well. I think the handle on the Mothers is about 18".
 
DaveT435 said:
How long is the handle on that yellow brush? Mothers makes a brush that looks very similar to that. It's flagged tip as well. I think the handle on the Mothers is about 18".
Click to expand...

It's 20"


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Actually this one is 20 also. Just checked. It's actually a fender well brush. It has the flagged tips and is actually way too soft for a fender well. Bristles look close to that. I had the matching wheel brush to this but over time the flagged edges on the bristles wore down to the point it was going to start scratching wheels. I switched to a boars hair brush. A little better alternative for paint IMO, but $$$

Mothers Fender Well Brush cleans wheel wells beneath the car's fenders. Fender Well Brush has a long handle to scrub behind wheels and tires.
 
DaveT435 said:
Actually this one is 20 also. Just checked. It's actually a fender well brush. It has the flagged tips and is actually way too soft for a fender well. Bristles look close to that. I had the matching wheel brush to this but over time the flagged edges on the bristles wore down to the point it was going to start scratching wheels. I switched to a boars hair brush. A little better alternative for paint IMO, but $$$

Mothers Fender Well Brush cleans wheel wells beneath the car's fenders. Fender Well Brush has a long handle to scrub behind wheels and tires.
Click to expand...

Yea I've heard nothing but good things about all the Mothers brushes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
On a recent trip to a big-box store in my area I found in the car wash area a tool that was a long extendable pole similar to the ones discussed with brushes, but this one had a chenille MF mitt attached to the end. I'd think that would be a much better idea than a brush and probably less likely to run into any swirl/scratch problems when doing the roof. When using a step ladder, I can cover the entire roof of our SUV, but if I had to deal with anything larger I'd go for the pole with the mitt on the end.
 
Desertnate said:
On a recent trip to a big-box store in my area I found in the car wash area a tool that was a long extendable pole similar to the ones discussed with brushes, but this one had a chenille MF mitt attached to the end. I'd think that would be a much better idea than a brush and probably less likely to run into any swirl/scratch problems when doing the roof. When using a step ladder, I can cover the entire roof of our SUV, but if I had to deal with anything larger I'd go for the pole with the mitt on the end.
Click to expand...

^^ I use one like this on our van. Works great. No scratches or swirls but that will depend on technique. If I use a hose/bucket, I blast the dirt off the MF Mitt before dipping it into my soap bucket. It enables me to wash the entire roof without any ladder.
 
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