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The debate over wire brushes vs poly brushes... my flues look completely different now
I used wire brushes for about 8 years straight, always thought they were the only way to really get creosote off. Then last winter I helped a guy in Denver who only uses poly brushes and his flues were way cleaner than mine after similar jobs. I switched over about 6 months ago and now I'm seeing less scratching on terra cotta liners and the soot comes off in bigger chunks. But I still wonder if poly brushes miss that hard baked on glaze that wire can really dig into. Anyone else switch and notice a difference in their chimney condition over a season or two?
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martinez.kim2d ago
Used to swear by wire brushes until I got roped into a crew job that used poly and saw the difference firsthand. The poly brushes left way less scuffing on the clay liners and the soot came off in those satisfying big flakes instead of a fine dust cloud. Made me a believer after one season, even for the tough glaze.
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annaw732d ago
Wait have you actually used wire brushes long enough to give them a fair shot? Because I tried poly brushes after hearing all the hype and honestly my experience was the complete OPPOSITE - the poly ones left this weird residue on my clay that messed up the finish completely. Wire brushes might kick up more of a dust cloud but at least I KNOW they're not leaving any crap behind in the glaze that'll show up after firing. Plus poly brushes wear down SO fast compared to wire, you're basically buying new ones every other job if you're doing serious work. I've been using wire for 8 years now and the only time I switch is when the customer specifically requests poly and even then I'm grumbling the whole time because I know I'm going to have to double check every piece for scratches before it goes in the kiln.
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drew552d ago
Man, I was totally in the wire brush camp too but seeing those big flakes come off with poly really shifted my thinking. @annaw73 I get your residue concern though, gotta be picky about which poly you use.
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