Brushes? Recommendations

B

Ben D.

New member
For cleaning and drying my paint and chrome as well as my chrome wheels I use an assortment of MF and 100% cotton bath towels, works great. It's a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4



I do have splash gaurds taht get dirty as well as my tires and some other plastic trim like my mirrors and in between my grill, wheel whells all sorts of other places. basically most of my exterior textured plastic. Was looking for a brush or brushes that I could use for detailing these areas as well as some engine stuff.



any recommendations? I mean i'm sure I could just buy one and be good but what do you guys out there prefer? anything on this truck I should stay away from with a brush. other than the obvious like my painted surfaces?
 
See my thread comparing different BHBs (Detailing Products Forum). Finding a good BHB is harder than I expected.



But note that, used properly, a good BHB is *more* gentle than a mitt, and that doesn't sound like what Ben D. is after :think:



On my Denali XL, I do use BHBs. But I never have to really do anything aggressive on it either...the grill/sideviews/etc. get treated the same as the hood. I do use various BHBs in the wheelwells and undercarriage, but I use things like the Quikee Sponge Mop for those areas too. Link: Welcome To Quickie.com
 
I'm open to using a BHB. are they safe for painted surfaces as well?? don't see myself using one there but if it is I may use it to see how it gets off bugs from my front chrome grill and such as well as playing double duty with wheel wells... obviously doing the chrome and such first then moving on to the wheel whells and such.. or just buy a nice BHB for my mirrors, glass, and front chrome and like a cheap mothers brush.. saw on autogeek for 8 bux and using that on the grimy areas?? how does that sound?
 
Ben D. said:
I'm open to using a BHB. are they safe for painted surfaces as well?? don't see myself using one there but if it is I may use it to see how it gets off bugs from my front chrome grill and such as well as playing double duty with wheel wells... obviously doing the chrome and such first then moving on to the wheel whells and such.. or just buy a nice BHB for my mirrors, glass, and front chrome and like a cheap mothers brush.. saw on autogeek for 8 bux and using that on the grimy areas?? how does that sound?
Click to expand...



They're safe for paint if a) you get the right one and/or b) you use it correctly. See my threads on the subject, where I go into detail.



But *used correctly* they're *MUCH* too gentle for stuff like bugs...well, they'll get the big chunks off but that's about it. Embedded bugs are a challenge as the aggressiveness required to get all the bug guts out/off of the surface can often lead to marring.



Wheels generally can be treated more aggressively, but the stuff I use on wheels doesn't touch the paint/etc. on the rest of the vehicle.



Chrome is usually so hard that you can use more aggressive measures, ditto for glass. But note that if you *do* scratch these surfaces it cannot be polished out.



I dunno...it sounds like your vehicle gets a lot dirtier than any of mine do :think: Maybe a different LSP would help the surfaces shed dirt better so you won't have to wash so aggressively. In the wheelwells/etc., maybe you could use some APC so the cleaning agent does a lot of the work (chemically), that way you wouldn't have to scrub as much.
 
well it's not that I need to was aggressively It's more or less i'm looking for a better way to reach those areas. Like I don't wanna ruin my wash mitts and my bath towels by using them on the wheel wells and other places. I'm more trying to create a more area of vehicle specific approach with my wash tools. instead of just using my towels on everything? sorta see what I mean??



I'm not having any problems getting bugs off. Usually washing takes them off pretty well. the stuff left behind a clay bar makes work of in like a few seconds. but if i could find a way to get them off a little better I would. I may just be being too much of a baby with washing. I'm very cautious about putting swirls on the paint.



what woudl you recommend for getting bugs off? I mean i'm doing a good job with it now I'm just very picky. I can get it to pass the five foot test np with bugs but if i get right on top of the chrome sometimes small spots can be seen that just don't wanna come off. I'm sure i could buy a cleaner from like autozone but I don't want it to take off my LSP. which atm is Zaino.
 
Ben D.- OK, that clarifies things a bit.



Yeah, one of the great things about brushes is that they're generally free-rinsing, so you can use them for really nasty jobs and they clean up like new.



That Quickie thing made for glasswear doesn't clean up as well as a brush, and it'll wear out quickly (get a few if you want to try them), but I really do like it for wheelwells. Most of the time I use it and a few small BHBs (to get into the more inaccessible areas).



For bugs, I just clay 'em off and repolish/re-LSP as needed. Some people here have said that certain bug removers are LSP-safe, but I simply don't understand how that can be :confused: Doesn't mean it's not true though, so maybe it's worth some kind of search. I want to say "Bug Squash" and/or "Anti-Insekt" (it's some kind of weird spelling like that), but I can't remember the names exatly.



On chrome (e.g., the big chrome grille on my Denali XL :rolleyes: ), I find it pretty easy...I just use some kind of AIO type product if the clay isn't enough, and then redo the LSP. Zaino's ZAIO would be super for this IMO.



And I'm in complete agreement with you about being as gentle as possible during the wash :xhxthumbs Also about not being satisfied with the five foot rule (or even five inches in some cases ;) ).
 
ok thank you clay bar and re LSP is what I figured i'd have to do. yep and I have Zaino's AIO and I like it. that plus claybar makes short work of it . I was looking for a way possibly to get them off without taking off the LSP but taht just doesn't seem to be possible. no biggy at least now I know. and yes My ram has a mega front grill just like a denali taht just loves to give bugs the kiss of death.



yea I saw teh bug squash it's made by p21s or poorboys. i forget. they say it does take off LSP. I guess what i'm learnign is that certain things getting them off just means the LSP has got to go.



ok so i'm gonna order among other things... spray bottles, mf, maybe megs all purpose cleaner for engine and the wheel wells maybe, i'm gonna order these cheap mother's brand brushes for the plastic wheel wells and such just cheap.. and one or two BHB for other things that I deem it may be needed and to clean off. example... not gonna stuff my BHB into the mud in my wheel wells after a bad storm... use the mother's cheapies then finish up with BHB to get the last of it.



acc you have been a great help once we got on the same page i think we were saying the same things all along..
 
Ben D.- I know what you mean about using BHBs for really nasty stuff..but OTOH I've done it and be pleasantly surprised when they cleaned up just as good as new. I mean, I've used 'em on *AWFUL*, greasy/filthy undercarriages and they absolutely came clean. Just something to keep in mind so you don't worry, it's pretty much impossible to soil a BHB to where it won't come clean.



And yeah...I figure that anything potent enough to get the bugs off the finish is gonna do something to the LSP :think: Next time I read about something that's supposedly LSP-friendly I'll see what I think though.
 
yea well the truck wasn't washed for awhile and bugs were really bad.. with Zaino AIO that was applied after the last wash and clay they came off pretty well... tommorow it gets clayed rewashed AIO'd and on up through the Zaino products... can't wait to see my metallic black shine.



i'll keep it in mind to use the BHB, maybe i'll just order that. I just ordered more Z7 wash and Z6 qd.
 
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