Do you wash your carbon fiber brush?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by senseabove, Jun 29, 2015.

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  1. senseabove

    senseabove Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I'd never thought of doing this until it was mentioned in the Disk Doctor cleaning fluid instructions, where it's suggested that you can clean a carbon fiber brush by soaking the tips of the brush in DD fluid and then rinsing with water a few times. Does anybody actually wash their carbon fiber brush? If so, how often?

    I don't see any particular build-up on on my brush, and it seems to sweep just as well as it always has since I got it more than a year and a half ago, so I was curious if anyone's does this!
     
  2. vinylkid58

    vinylkid58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Victoria, B.C.
    I've never done that, and I've had a CF brush for a lonnnnnng time.

    jeff
     
  3. cat9

    cat9 Forum Resident

    ^^^^^same
     
  4. senseabove

    senseabove Forum Resident Thread Starter

    You mean this tedious task you never would have have thought to do until someone mentioned it doesn't produce dramatically solidified imaging, smoother highs, and tighter bass response?

    :bigeek:

    Am I on the right forum? :p
     
  5. chervokas

    chervokas Senior Member

    Yeah, I've done it every now and then basically by soaking the bristles in 99% isopropyl alcohol then letting it dry bristles up, not via the above-noted method.
     
    Paul K likes this.
  6. skriefal

    skriefal Senior Member

    Location:
    SLC, Utah
    The one time I let a carbon-fiber brush get wet, the bristles stuck together and the brush appeared to be ruined. I tossed it a few days later.
     
    tin ears likes this.
  7. jupiterboy

    jupiterboy Forum Residue

    Location:
    Buffalo, NY
    That's my experience. I have Hunt knockoff at the moment, and two Thunderon brushes (long and short). I use the short Thunderon brush on the Hunt brush, which cleans anything that might be stuck to it. Logically, it diminishes the static charge on the Hunt. Results seem pretty good to me though.
     
  8. blakep

    blakep Senior Member

    You could have simply ruffled up the fibres on the brush and it would have been fine.

    I have to admit that I have never washed the CF brush I have in use for dry brushing as it's mainly just a matter of rotating the brush through its holder to clean it.

    I have, however, used CF brushes for wet cleaning for about 12-13 years now and they're quite capable of being washed/rinsed, at least with high purity water. The fibres will tend to clump and dry but will return to a normal position when rotated through the holder or otherwise "re-adjusted".

    It might be possible to ruin a brush if one allows detergents or other solvents to physically dry on the fibres though.
     
  9. OcdMan

    OcdMan Senior Member

    Location:
    Maryland
    Same here. Just seemed the reasonable thing to do every so often.
     
  10. skriefal

    skriefal Senior Member

    Location:
    SLC, Utah
    That's what I do now.

    When this happened to me it was with a vinyl-cleaning solution. Mostly water, but with some alcohol and a bit of detergent. I assumed that it was the water that had done the damage, but it might have been one of the other ingredients.
     
  11. chervokas

    chervokas Senior Member

    If you soak it briefly in 99% isopropyl and let it dry, bristles up, the bristles get clean and stiff and then you just whack it clean like you do after you dust a record and they losen right up. I've had the same carbon fiber brush for probably 20 years doing ocassional such cleaning.
     
    Paul K and warp2600 like this.
  12. vinylman

    vinylman Senior Member

    Location:
    Leeds, U.K.
    I've had my CF brush since the early '90s and never washed it; I do flick it over the 'cleaning bar' in the handle every time I use it, though.
     
    JohnT likes this.
  13. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    I was recently researching this and apparently the carbon fibers are given a light coat of lacquer, which will start flaking off in little bits when wetted. It did not know this. If you washed your brush and the fibers stuck together, it could have been from melting some of the lacquer with a cleaning solution containing alcohol and having the fibers bind out of shape. I think another rise in alcohol would completely remove the lacquer and the brush would regain its shape.
     
  14. cjc

    cjc Senior Member

    They are not that expensive in my opinion...I just buy a new one every few years. Same with the stylus brush.
     
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