Brushes were invented by people in production practice. There are many types of brush materials, with the earliest being natural bristles.
Natural materials refer to materials such as bristles and wool directly collected and used, rather than artificially synthesized materials. The properties of various materials also vary, and the choice of materials should be based on the customer's usage environment.
Natural Materials
1. Bristles: Bristles can be used to make a variety of brushes, with the most common being paint brushes.
Bristles resemble human hair, with a gradual change from thick to thin from the root to the tip, giving them good elasticity. Additionally, each bristle may have slight splitting at the tip. Bristles are durable, water-resistant, anti-static, and resistant to high temperatures, and acidic or alkaline substances.
2. Wool: Wool is relatively soft with slightly less elasticity. When made into wool brushes, they do not leave brush marks when applying paint. Besides being used for paint brushes, wool is commonly used in brushes with short and soft bristles, such as makeup brushes.
3. Horsehair: Horsehair's softness lies between bristles and wool, with horse tail hair being slightly harder. Horsehair is durable, and abrasion-resistant, but not resistant to acidic or alkaline substances. Brushes made from horsehair are commonly used in polishing, cleaning, dusting, and related industries. Horsehair brushes can withstand temperatures of around 190 degrees Celsius.
4. White Tampico Fiber: White tampico fiber is made from processing fibers of the agave plant, primarily found in Mexico, hence often referred to as "Mexican white Tampico". It has good resistance to acidic or alkaline substances and excellent water absorption due to its plant-fiber nature.
White tampico fiber can withstand temperatures of around 140 degrees Celsius, suitable for manufacturing brushes used for detailed leather polishing operations.
Synthetic Fibers
Nylon Brushes: Synthetic fiber bristles, including nylon (PA), PP, PBT, PET, PVC, etc., are widely used in brush manufacturing due to their low production costs, wide range of colors, stable quality, and unlimited length, especially in industrial brushes.
1. Nylon (PA): Among these synthetic materials, nylon (PA) has the largest usage and the most classifications. Nylon filaments are categorized into several types based on their characteristics:
- Nylon 6 (PA6):
Nylon 6 is the most cost-effective nylon filament. Despite its lower price, nylon 6 still has good resilience, heat resistance, and abrasion resistance. It is widely used in various brush products and is the most common filament material in the market.
- Nylon 66 (PA66):
Compared to nylon 6, nylon 66 has slightly better hardness, resilience, and abrasion resistance at the same filament diameter. It can withstand temperatures up to 150 degrees Celsius.
- Nylon 612 (PA612):
Nylon 612 is a relatively high-quality nylon filament with low water absorption, better resilience, and abrasion resistance than nylon 66. Additionally, nylon 612 has properties such as mold resistance and antibacterial properties, making it suitable for brushes used in the food, medical, and electronics industries.
- Abrasive Nylon:
Abrasive nylon is made by adding silicon carbide (SIC) or aluminum oxide (AO) abrasive particles to nylon 6 or nylon 612 filaments. These brushes are known as abrasive brushes or grinding brushes in the industry, and the resulting brush products have abrasion-resistant characteristics. There are various types based on filament diameter and grit size.
Other commonly used synthetic filaments include:
2. PP: PP's main characteristic is its density being less than 1.
When testing filament materials, PP filaments can be placed in water, and if they float, they can be preliminarily identified as PP. PP filaments have an oval cross-section, poor elasticity, and difficulty in returning to their original shape after repeated bending. They can withstand temperatures up to 120 degrees Celsius.
3. PET: PET has durability and heat resistance properties similar to nylon. Additionally, PET has good resistance to acids, alkalis, alcohols, gasoline, benzene, and most cleaning solvents, as well as considerable antibacterial properties, making it resistant to mold.
4. PBT: PBT filament has advantages such as acid and alkali resistance, oil resistance, and solvent resistance, but it tends to hydrolyze at high temperatures.
5. PVC: PVC filaments are used to avoid frequent brush replacements. PVC bristles can be made with split ends and are commonly used in household cleaning brushes such as brooms.
