Car Detailing & Cleaning Brushes

Car detailing brushes are built for cars rather than adapted from something else, and that shows up in three places.

The bristle. Soft synthetic and boar hair bristles are chosen to lift dirt without marking the surface they're on. A household brush is made to scrub, so the bristle is harder than anything you want near a dashboard or a painted panel.

The size and shape. Automotive detail brushes are made for vents, cupholders, badges, seat rails, wheel nuts and panel gaps. They're smaller, angled and tapered to reach places a cloth simply slides over.

The build. Handles and ferrules are made to cope with APC, wheel cleaner and solvents without corroding or shedding bristles into the car.

We stock individual brushes as well as detailing brush kits and sets that cover the full range of sizes in one go.

If you're starting out, yes. A detailing brush set works out cheaper per brush and it gives you sizes you wouldn't have thought to buy, which is usually how people find the one they end up reaching for every time.

The Economax and CARPRO sets are the general purpose option, a spread of sizes and bristle stiffness that covers most of the car. Koch Chemie's interior set and exterior set are split by job instead, so you're getting brushes chosen for one side of the work rather than a bit of everything.

Singles make sense once you know your habits. Most detailers use two or three brushes constantly and the rest occasionally, so when a favourite wears out you replace that one rather than another whole set. It's also the way to go if you need something specific, a long reach brush for wheel barrels or an ultra soft one for a piano black console.

Plenty of people end up with both, a kit for coverage and a couple of singles for the jobs they do most.

The area of the car you're working on dictates what type of detailing brush you use. Softer brushes are typically recommended for your interior surfaces such as your dashboard, leather surfaces, cupholders and more. These can also be used on more sensitive areas on the exterior of the car as well.

Stiffer brushes on the other hand may be favoured when looking at carpets and upholstery, as well as wheels, badges, engine bays, wheel arches and other exterior surfaces.

Whichever you're using, rinse the brush out between areas. It's rarely the bristle that marks a surface, it's grit picked up from somewhere else still sitting in it.

Maintaining your detailing brushes is simple.

After each use, rinse them thoroughly with warm water to remove any residue. You can agitate the bristles with your fingers to ensure any trapped residue is removed. For stubborn dirt, you can use a standard pH neutral car wash or a light dilution of an APC to help with this.

Once cleaned, gently shake off excess water and leave the brushes to air dry, preferably bristles facing down to prevent water from soaking into the handle. That matters most on wooden handled brushes, where a soaked handle swells and eventually works the ferrule loose.