Coming to terms with fibreglass brushes

Richard H

Western Thunderer
but not impossible.

Personally I never have any problems with glass-fibre splinters - they are the spawn of the devil and they are forever banished from my workshop. From my point of view they are not worth the risk to use them, for myself it's not the splinter in the finger that is the concern to me but more the splinter in the eye - you won't be getting that out with a stanley knife. :eek: I think I must have quite sensitive eyes, I wear glasses all the time in the workshop, likewise for cycling I wear glasses at all times, I have some clear glasses for winter cycling. So I have a variety of ways of cleaning etched kits, scrapers, garryflex blocks, wet and dry, burnishing brushes etc fortunately completely avoiding the pernicious glass-fibre brush.:thumbs:
Thanks Adrian - I also fear transferring a splinter to an eye. I'm quite interested in the idea of using a variety of techniques to replace the FG brush. Can I ask, what grit size of Garryflex blocks are you using? I'm assuming those at the finer end of their range. Also, how durable are they?
 

mickoo

Western Thunderer
I've a couple of Garryflex blocks, no idea of the grit rating, ones grey, the other reddish.

They're great for large areas like tender sides, footplates etch but you do end up with quite a lot of rubber rubble on the desk top.

The problem comes with smaller nooks and crannies where the block is too large to get into, you can trim small pieces off and use it with needle nosed pliers or the such like but it's still not as good as a decent fibre pen, not for me anyway.

I find the best way to not get fibres in ones finger, or reduce the risk, is to use it less; obvious really :D

I'm also comfortable using nitrile gloves for extended periods and if you get the right size that are a snug fit, you don't loose too much dexterity.

If you follow the bread crumbs of why we use fibre brushes back to it's source, it's basically too much solder, less solder equals less cleaning up.
 

ceejaydee

Western Thunderer
Although I haven't worked on etched brass much, I have and do use fibreglass brushes when refurbishing Vintage Action Men removing rust from the rivets that enable the limbs to move. This is a tedious job and stopping to remove splinters from my person makes it even more tedious so I have adopted a standard method when using the brush.

When using the fibreglass brush I usually..
1) Like Jordan mentioned - have my fibreglass refills soaked in gently diluted pva then dried before use.
2) Make a 'tray' from newspaper or similar that sits over my work area that can be replaced regularly and I'm talking about sometimes two or three times during a modelling session.
3) Wear safety specs or usually it is just specs with a magnification so that I can see what I'm doing.
4) Wear disposable gloves of some description - usually latex - whilst they won't stop all splinters they can reduce the amount to a minimum.
5) Regularly clean the work area and tools usually by vacuum.
6) I often wear an apron of some description too - this catches any stray fibres and can be folded as you take it off then shaken outside or vacuumed to take care of any stray fibres.

In the warmer weather I will often set up a table in the garden to work but beware of flip flops or other shoes that expose your feet - a fibreglass splinter in your finger is often painful and difficult to see to remove so I can't imagine what a foot full of the things would be like :mad:
 

Richard H

Western Thunderer
I've a couple of Garryflex blocks, no idea of the grit rating, ones grey, the other reddish.

They're great for large areas like tender sides, footplates etch but you do end up with quite a lot of rubber rubble on the desk top.

The problem comes with smaller nooks and crannies where the block is too large to get into, you can trim small pieces off and use it with needle nosed pliers or the such like but it's still not as good as a decent fibre pen, not for me anyway.

I find the best way to not get fibres in ones finger, or reduce the risk, is to use it less; obvious really :D

I'm also comfortable using nitrile gloves for extended periods and if you get the right size that are a snug fit, you don't loose too much dexterity.

If you follow the bread crumbs of why we use fibre brushes back to it's source, it's basically too much solder, less solder equals less cleaning up.
Thanks Mickoo - this is helpful info.
 

Richard H

Western Thunderer
Although I haven't worked on etched brass much, I have and do use fibreglass brushes when refurbishing Vintage Action Men removing rust from the rivets that enable the limbs to move. This is a tedious job and stopping to remove splinters from my person makes it even more tedious so I have adopted a standard method when using the brush.

When using the fibreglass brush I usually..
1) Like Jordan mentioned - have my fibreglass refills soaked in gently diluted pva then dried before use.
2) Make a 'tray' from newspaper or similar that sits over my work area that can be replaced regularly and I'm talking about sometimes two or three times during a modelling session.
3) Wear safety specs or usually it is just specs with a magnification so that I can see what I'm doing.
4) Wear disposable gloves of some description - usually latex - whilst they won't stop all splinters they can reduce the amount to a minimum.
5) Regularly clean the work area and tools usually by vacuum.
6) I often wear an apron of some description too - this catches any stray fibres and can be folded as you take it off then shaken outside or vacuumed to take care of any stray fibres.

In the warmer weather I will often set up a table in the garden to work but beware of flip flops or other shoes that expose your feet - a fibreglass splinter in your finger is often painful and difficult to see to remove so I can't imagine what a foot full of the things would be like :mad:
Thanks ceejaydee - it's helpful to have such rigorous process described.
 

markjj

Western Thunderer
I tried brass once on an area that I had struggled with after using several fibre refills and got nowhere I had in my stash a small brass brush that I picked up in a pound shop. The brush was a cross between a shoe suede brush and a tooth brush. I took seconds to shift the excess solder leaving the brass nice and shiny. Since I have replaced my fibre stock with brass pen refills I still keep a few for more delicate work though.
 

Boxbrownie

Western Thunderer
What about a spray booth?

If it’s not powerful enough with the filter/outlet in the vertical position (as most are) turn it so the filter is at the base so shard fall down and are trapped but the airflow.

Just a thought.
 

Richard H

Western Thunderer
I tried brass once on an area that I had struggled with after using several fibre refills and got nowhere I had in my stash a small brass brush that I picked up in a pound shop. The brush was a cross between a shoe suede brush and a tooth brush. I took seconds to shift the excess solder leaving the brass nice and shiny. Since I have replaced my fibre stock with brass pen refills I still keep a few for more delicate work though.
Thanks - this is very encouraging.
What about a spray booth?

If it’s not powerful enough with the filter/outlet in the vertical position (as most are) turn it so the filter is at the base so shard fall down and are trapped but the airflow.

Just a thought.
Interesting idea. I'm unsure about using my spray booth, but some sort of extractor system might be feasible.
 

Sully

Member
I've got a biggish one that I have had for years.....industrial I guess. (OOhhh Matron!).

It was or still is wrapped in a sort of sticky backed material which you cut away as the brush wears out (no chance).

I bumped this up with tightly wound masking tape and it seems to work well in containing the fragments, producing more of a powder.

I only get splinters now using the propelling one....which only contains the brush by way of the rather flimsy nozzle at the end.
 

simond

Western Thunderer
I too have a string wrapped large one.... it still makes splinters, though not as badly as the little ones, but it won’t go in the corners. Yer pays yer money...

Atb
Simon
 
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