There have been lots of threads lately with questions about how exactly to go about restoring a brush so I figured I'd make a how to of how I do it. I don't have a knot so this will just befor restoring the handle and getting it nice and shiney. This brush has a lot of soap buildup on it so it looks much worse than it is.
First of all here's all the tools and polishes I use throughout the process.
Hand tools:
Low rpm buffer(I forgot to put them in the picture but I use white and blue compounds from Caswell Plating):
Polishes and tee shirt:
Here's the brush before I did anything to it:
Use the scissors and trim the hair down close to the handle:
Using your drill and a 1/4" bit slowly drill a hole down through the knot till you break through the shelf. On solid handled brushes the probably isn't a shelf so you will just have to drill till you think it's through the knot and them proceed. Then do the same thing with a 3/8" bit.
1/4" on left 3/8" on the right:
After that you shoul be able to take some needle nose pliers and pull the hair out, if its not budging you might have to skip this step and go straight to the dremel. If you skip this then I would trim the hair as close to the handle as you can get it. All that is left in this picture is the thin shelf the knot sat on.
Then us the small sanding drum for the dremel and open the hole up enough so that you can get the bigger drum in it. The bigger drum will give you a more even roundness to the hole. If you want to open the hole up this would be the time to do it before you do all the polishing.
Here it is after a quick trip to the buffer. If you don't have a buffer then it is not nessecary to have one. If you have to be VERY careful if you use one or you will melt the plastic fast. Mine is a 1725 ramp motor, most bench grinders run at 3750rpms. This one had some pretty deep scratches and I couldn't get them all out.
Now I used the cheap dental picks to clean out the grooves in the handle. These work very well for cleaning out lettering also. I also use a small stiff bristled nylon brush that I forgot to put in the picture.
Next comes the hand polishing. This is where the shine really comes out. To polish in the grooves I use a old tooth brush. I use the Maas first. It has a decent amount of abrasives in it. Then comes the Flitz. No abrasives. Last is the Mothers Plastic Polish. It puts the final shine on it.
Here's the finished product after about a hours worth of work.
It's pretty easy. Anyone can so it with a little patience. You don't have to do it he exact way I did it either. Find what works best for you. Thanks for reading.
First of all here's all the tools and polishes I use throughout the process.
Hand tools:
Low rpm buffer(I forgot to put them in the picture but I use white and blue compounds from Caswell Plating):
Polishes and tee shirt:
Here's the brush before I did anything to it:
Use the scissors and trim the hair down close to the handle:
Using your drill and a 1/4" bit slowly drill a hole down through the knot till you break through the shelf. On solid handled brushes the probably isn't a shelf so you will just have to drill till you think it's through the knot and them proceed. Then do the same thing with a 3/8" bit.
1/4" on left 3/8" on the right:
After that you shoul be able to take some needle nose pliers and pull the hair out, if its not budging you might have to skip this step and go straight to the dremel. If you skip this then I would trim the hair as close to the handle as you can get it. All that is left in this picture is the thin shelf the knot sat on.
Then us the small sanding drum for the dremel and open the hole up enough so that you can get the bigger drum in it. The bigger drum will give you a more even roundness to the hole. If you want to open the hole up this would be the time to do it before you do all the polishing.
Here it is after a quick trip to the buffer. If you don't have a buffer then it is not nessecary to have one. If you have to be VERY careful if you use one or you will melt the plastic fast. Mine is a 1725 ramp motor, most bench grinders run at 3750rpms. This one had some pretty deep scratches and I couldn't get them all out.
Now I used the cheap dental picks to clean out the grooves in the handle. These work very well for cleaning out lettering also. I also use a small stiff bristled nylon brush that I forgot to put in the picture.
Next comes the hand polishing. This is where the shine really comes out. To polish in the grooves I use a old tooth brush. I use the Maas first. It has a decent amount of abrasives in it. Then comes the Flitz. No abrasives. Last is the Mothers Plastic Polish. It puts the final shine on it.
Here's the finished product after about a hours worth of work.
It's pretty easy. Anyone can so it with a little patience. You don't have to do it he exact way I did it either. Find what works best for you. Thanks for reading.
