BHB Comparison

Thanks for your reply and recommendation of the Montana brush Accumulator. Yes, you've guessed right that my R32 is much pampered so that 'soft' brush should fit my needs. :smile:



Thanks for all the links Greg - looks like the Montana soft brush is quite widely available. I wonder who will give me the 'best price'? :lol1:
 
Greg Nichols- Thanks for posting that!



The Universal ones *appear* to be the ones Griot's sells as their "flow-through" brushes (in that style). It's hard to tell by just looking though...I wondering how their conventional sytle ones would test :think:



EDIT: come to think of it, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they are the source for all the Griot's BHBs. There are only a few players in the BHB game and I can't see GG sourcing different BHBs from different makers. Yeah, they look swell in the pix, but then so do the ones in the Griot's catalog.



The Braun ones are widely distributed and Braun is simply a *huge* player in the BHB market. Just wish their stuff was a little better.



Alan W- Just inspect that Montana for two things:



-Unflagged/"odd" bristles

-Excess adhesive at the base of the bristles (Montanas seem good in this regard, but there *was* a little bit to break loose and clean away prior to use)
 
Accumulator said:
Greg Nichols- Thanks for posting that!



The Universal ones *appear* to be the ones Griot's sells as their "flow-through" brushes (in that style). It's hard to tell by just looking though...I wondering how their conventional sytle ones would test :think:
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There's only one way to find out! :wink:



Accumulator said:
Alan W- Just inspect that Montana for two things:



-Unflagged/"odd" bristles

-Excess adhesive at the base of the bristles (Montanas seem good in this regard, but there *was* a little bit to break loose and clean away prior to use)
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Thanks for the advice Accumulator. :up However, I wouldn't be able to inspect the brush closely until it had arrived in Scotland and if there were any 'issues' with it I'm back to square one!



I'm not sure how to approach this to be honest without taking a potentially expensive (US$150) gamble. :confused1:
 
Accumulator:

I know from your other post on BHB's that you use natural bristle toothbrushes from Natural-Bristle Toothbrushes available at The Vermont Country Store

However, can you tell us Autopians which "stiffness" (soft, medium, or hard) of bristles you use or recommend for car-care?

Also, how long do these toothbrushes last?



I know that Griot's sells some smaller boar hair brushes that look like a paint brush and a parts cleaning brush. Do you have any experience with these?



I know this request is kind of off-topic, but you have a great deal of experience with BHB's that you share with the Autopian community.
 
Alan W said:
There's only one way to find out! :wink:
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For some reason I'm soooo confident that it's not gonna pass that I'm disinclined to buy one for testing. Maybe I'm being foolishly pessimistic, but I can't help but think that with so few makers offering them I've almost certainly tried it under one name or the other.
However, I wouldn't be able to inspect the brush closely until it had arrived in Scotland and if there were any 'issues' with it I'm back to square one!
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Check your PMs.
 
Alan W said:
There's only one way to find out! :wink:
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Heh heh, yeah....but I'm so pessimistic, or rather, so certain that I've tried their BHB under somebody else's name, that I'm disinclined to give them a fair shot. Yeah, my bad...





... I wouldn't be able to inspect the brush closely until it had arrived in Scotland and if there were any 'issues' with it I'm back to square one..I'm not sure how to approach this to be honest without taking a potentially expensive (US$150) gamble. :confused1:
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That *would* be an expensive gamble, and you already got burned with the Griot's. Hmm....check your PMs.
 
Lonnie said:
Accumulator:

I know from your other post on BHB's that you use natural bristle toothbrushes from Natural-Bristle Toothbrushes available at The Vermont Country Store

However, can you tell us Autopians which "stiffness" (soft, medium, or hard) of bristles you use or recommend for car-care?
Click to expand...



I virtually *never* use such brushes on painted surfaces, like around emblems the way some people do; I really wouldn't try it. But people who *do* do such stuff might like the soft one for that (again, I would never try it).



As it is, I've used the soft one on interior surfaces that I'd never use a plastic-bristle brush on (stitching on leather, around welting, etc.), but I sure don't think you oughta use it on wood or instrument cluster faces. They're just not that soft and the bristle tips aren't flagged. This is my version of David Fermani's toothbrush-centric interior approach.



I had no real use for the medium one, only got it out to finish some work after the handle of the hard one broke. Somebody else might like it better though, maybe a personal preference toss-up between the hard and medium ones.



The hard one is something I used a *LOT* on undercarriage stuff, incredible how it'd rinse clean after I got greasy filth all worked into it! Between the steamer and APCs and that brush I was really able to get some work done.



The handle finally broke right behind the brushhead, probably from all the abusive work I did with it. Gotta reorder one, now that you mention it, I might as well get a few.
Also, how long do these toothbrushes last?
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Pretty long unless you press too hard. Eventually, I *think* the handle got weakened from all the APC/etc. use, and between that and my bearing down on it it busted right behind the head. I *was* kinda surprised that it broke when it did, so I'd rate the durability as only so-so.



I'm *NOT* saying that these are better than some alternatives...something with similar bristles in a wood handle would be better in some ways (and worse in others...grease from undercarriages can sure soak into wood).
I know that Griot's sells some smaller boar hair brushes that look like a paint brush and a parts cleaning brush. Do you have any experience with these?
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Quite extensive experience actually :D



I use these at *EVERY* wash. The round one is what I use around wheel lugs/airvalve stems/etc. I use the paintbrush style one for wheelwells/doorjambs/etc.



The bristles are flagged, but IMO they're not quite soft enough for, say...use around emblems. OK, you could probably get away with it, but stuff like that (and/or passing the CD-test) will probably depend almost as much on your technique as on the brushes themselves. They did pass the CD test when I tried that (*very* gently) but I've also (lightly) marred some jambs with them so YMMV. Note that said marring wasn't severe enough for me to quit using them, and I'm *awfully* particular on that subject ;)



If you cut them down to make them stiffer, you'll lose the flagged tips. They'll become *quite* aggressive and will scratch up paint something awful, but they can still be useful for some jobs on some surfaces (I use one like that around the house).
I know this request is kind of off-topic...
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Eh, BHBs are BHBs...not off-topic at all IMO. The way they rinse clean, and the way you can do such gentle cleaning with them (the softer ones at least), make them very handy.
 
Accumulator said:
For some reason I'm soooo confident that it's not gonna pass that I'm disinclined to buy one for testing. Maybe I'm being foolishly pessimistic, but I can't help but think that with so few makers offering them I've almost certainly tried it under one name or the other.



Check your PMs.
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Thanks Accumulator! :thumb:



Lonnie said:
I know that Griot's sells some smaller boar hair brushes that look like a paint brush and a parts cleaning brush. Do you have any experience with these?



I know this request is kind of off-topic, but you have a great deal of experience with BHB's that you share with the Autopian community.
Click to expand...



I have both these brushes as well as Accumulator and have not been able to find better or softer, yet! Used with care (don't bend the bristles or stipple - I tend to 'wipe' with them) I've not experienced any marring on, admittedly tough, Audi or VW paint.
 
Alan W said:
..[Re the two smaller BHBs].. Used with care (don't bend the bristles or stipple - I tend to 'wipe' with them) I've not experienced any marring on, admittedly tough, Audi or VW paint.
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Yeah, I suspect any marring might come from the dirt, rather than the brushes. But you do have to watch for wear as the ones I use on wheels/other tough jobs sometimes lose their flagged tips quicker than I'd expect. Can't say for sure which issue caused the marring I experienced though.



I have to keep reminding myself about the "useful working life" of my BHBs, it's just SO tempting to think that they'll be OK forever...but then one day there's that rude awakening and "oh sheesh, why didn't I test them now and then?!?"
 
Kean said:
That's a real bummer. I hate when your "source" for a particular product changes like that.
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I agree. Great thread btw. I know how particular you are with these brushes too. Good luck on your never ending search for the perfect BHB.
 
David Fermani said:
..Good luck on your never ending search for the perfect BHB.
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For me, the real take-home lesson here is that when I found something I really liked, I shoulda just bought a lifetime supply. Not like BHBs go bad or anything.



Which makes me think I oughta buy a half-dozen Montanas while they're (still) available and OK :think: Probably not as nutty as my buying quanties of polish/etc. only to then find something better (anybody need a gallon of HT EC? What about 1Z WPS? What about some old OCP? What about [etc. etc.]...).
 
Ukie- Welcome to Autopia!



Noting that how you use a BHB, what you're trying to do (or trying to avoid!), what your wash technique is, etc. etc. can make a huge diff with regard to which BHB is right for you. That said...





The Tri-angle doesn' appeal to me because it'd be too easy to rub the paint with the "sides" of some bristles; I try to only let the very tips of the bristles touch the paint. The sides/shafts of the bristles are a) not that soft, b) not flagged, and c) likely to put too much pressure against the dirt, which will result in marring the paint once that dirt is moved under said pressure.



The "regular" Montana is *NICE*, if a bit on the gentle side as per my earlier posts on it. Even it needs a little work like removing excess adhesive residue, but overall it's OK IMO. Just do a follow-up with a mitt/etc. as it won't get *all* the dirt off (because it's too gentle) if you use it "properly".



Wow, Kleen-Rite sure has a scad of different BHBs! Trouble is, not enough info about them. I somehow doubt that their affordable offerings are likely to be optimal; it's hard enough to find OK BHBs when shopping at the highest tier detailing supply places.



Ever since the Griot's BHBs dropped in quality, the whole "finding a great overall BHB" thing has become quite problematic :(
 
Accumulator, thanks for your reply!

On a BHB related note, what's your opinion on a flow-thru BHB. My guess that extra water flow might help to wash away all the dirt.

Take a look @ BHB by a braun brush co - 703M [703M_0702] - $52.40 : Braun Brush Co.



Also looks like a 'standard' braun's BHB got a new plastic housing 701B [701B_0702] - $46.80 : Braun Brush Co. so there might be a chance that they have corrected a problem with extra glue on bristles.

Looks like I'm going to give it a shot... just trying to select between 701B and 703M models.
 
ukie- I have the Braun flow-through BHBs (they were/?are? sold by Griot's) and IMO the bristles aren't soft enough to be safe. and that flow-through handle setup isn't nearly as user-friendly as one might expect. And plain water isn't very good at the "flushing away dirt", nothing at all like using a foamgun for that (which is how I wash using a BHB).



So...I WOULD NOT BUY EITHER OF THOSE.



I'd buy a Montana from Autogeek and then follow up with a sheepskin or MF mitt.
 
UPDATE- A little while ago swanicyouth pointed out that the "Montana" BHBs (from AutoGeek) that I like are apparently made by Universal Brush, and that they also offer a "Premium", supposedly better, "Blonde" BHB line (link: Universal Brush ).



I ordered up a pair of their #UB-702 12" Blonde Boar Brushes, at ~$70 each.



The ones I got had a different color handle from the ones on the website, in case that diff gives somebody pause (i.e., don't worry, it's the right one).



I CD-tested them and they passed easily, even when I pressed harder than I would like to do in real car-wash use. There was no excess adhesive at the base of the bristles (which can break off, get pressed against the paint, and thus cause marring). These are *VERY* nice BHBs and may well become my new favorites.



I can't tell if they're really *softer* than the "Montana" ones (which I believe are the ones on this page- Universal Brush ), but they're not *SO* soft as to be too gentle for practical use. (But the usual "BHBs are too gentle to get things perfectly clean all by themselves" caveat definitely applies.) There are a few "non-blonde"/dark hairs mixed in with the light-colored ones, but I don't care about that as I don't think it really matters.



I washed the (admittedly not-too-dirty) S8 with them, and they worked fine. Plenty of flow/flushing through the bristles from the foamgun and enough surface agitation to get "the big stuff" off, though I'll have to try them on a truly dirty vehicle before I can determine whether they'll become my go-to BHBs for other, less pampered, vehicles.



So whether they're actually *better*, in a functional sense, than the "Montanas", eh...I can't really say and if I had to guess I'd say "no". So unless you're washing stupid-soft clear I suppose most people oughta probably save their money and buy the cheaper (non-blonde) ones.



All-in-all, the BHBs from Universal Brush are now my short answer to the "which BHB?" question. Thanks again to swanicyouth for motivating me to check them out!
 
Accumulator said:
That sounds like a pretty interesting task!
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It is; the collection deals with various conspiracy theories relating to Lincoln's murder, including the proposal that Booth escaped to India.

Actually though, I spend more time working with our rare books collection, some of which reaches back into the 1400's.

There's a tiny, tiny bit of detailing crossover occasionally, like our recent issue with "spue" on some of our leather-bound books.

Someone had used way too much of a lanolin-based product on the spines ten or twenty year ago, and now they are blooming white dust as the fat works its way back to the surface. I found a possible solution through Leather Master. Getting off-topic here!
 
Accumulator said:
UPDATE- A little while ago swanicyouth pointed out that the "Montana" BHBs (from AutoGeek) that I like are apparently made by Universal Brush, and that they also offer a "Premium", supposedly better, "Blonde" BHB line (link: Universal Brush ).
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...thanks for the update Accum. I may have to pick up a couple of brushes from that site. They have some interesting stuff.



My Montana BHB I used to use for lower panels has been retired to wheel duty for a while now.
 
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