[joeb]

Does anyone have any good recommendations for extendable brushes my tape system works ok but not always good at jaunty angles etc. On a different note does anyone on here agree with me that some nylon brushes are too harsh in font and are eroding certain problems on our last visit over new year saw some unbeliveable brushing going on especially at cuvier.

[Krank]

shoe shine brush's are made from horse hair, its like a giant lapis brush. Very good for brushing big slopers. Not sure about the extendable brush problem, maybe you could attach a couple of brush's to your extendable pole at different angles.

[northerngreg]

Get a beta clip stick. It is deigned to take a Metolius M16 brush. Packs down to about 18 inches long so will fit eaily in most rucksacks.

http://info.rockrun.com/articles/beta-clip-sticks.html

[clgladiator]

i did a good brush making job using an extend-able paint roller stick available at any good DIY store then stuffed a dustpan brush in one end and have a toothbrush attachment for the other. 

[Stubbs]

It is deigned to take a Metolius M16 brush.

M16 brushes are definitely too harsh for most rock types, especially grit and sandstone.  Recently I've just been using old toothbrushes

[ben]

Recently I've just been using old toothbrushes
[/quote]

Very retro, is that coupled with an old beer towel?

Any other extendable brush recommendations?  Just back from font and and fed up with the branch/finger tape approach.

Not to keen on spending £35+ on a betastick though as will just be for les blocs.  Used a couple of brushes from johnny foreigner out there which were a lightweight extendable alloy tube with a double sided plastic head accomodating two brush types. Anyone have one?

[benpritch]

just go t o b&q or similar and get an extendable decorators pole. about £3.99 or something. tape some brushes (lapis or similar) onto end and away you go.

[GCW]

I would refute that brush X is too harsh for rock Y.  It's all in the way they are used.  You can cause damage with any brush if you try hard enough.

I've always made my own brush-on-a-stick rather than buying one.

[Wipey Why]

Have been considering making one for a while. I refuse to pay over £30 for a beta stick especially considering how flimsy they are.

Has anyone got any pictures of how specific brushes have been attached? 

[ben]

A quick google search revealed the following quality hardwood version, with blow hole.. 
http://www.kapuchinsticks.com/

[Wipey Why]

Nice looking contraption. However, it still works out at over £30 before postage!

[sjw]

My magic staff. Note the use of a barbell collar to enhance the angle of brushage   

[Johnny Brown]

The best sticks used to be sold as golf-ball retrievers at Decathlon. The cup head unscrews, and you an M-16 will slot perfectly in the end, or you can tape a Lapis etc on. £10, choice of compact (~50cm extending to 2m) or long (1m ex to 3m).

Not sure if they do them anymore though... though this looks identical but dearer, and this similar-but-cheaper.

[benpritch]

just go t o b&q or similar and get an extendable decorators pole. about £3.99 or something. tape some brushes (lapis or similar) onto end and away you go.

i said.

[SpanishJuan]

just go t o b&q or similar and get an extendable decorators pole. about £3.99 or something. tape some brushes (lapis or similar) onto end and away you go.

i said.

WHATS THAT............£3.99 For an extendable Decorators Pole, that does everything that you want

[robertostallioni]

"I'd buy that for a dollar."

[Paul B]

You can get painters poles with adjustable head angle, take a pipe clamp or two and attach a lapis. These days the brush will probably set you back more than the rest of the kit. Does it really cost anywhere near over a fiver to make a brush? For that it should be made out of some hot celebs special hair.

[StefanH]

I know of another well designed and useful little tool. This site is so fresh even google has yet to find it.

www.thestickler.se

[Carnage]

For the ultimate travel stick brush, I got one of these and stuck a denture brush to the end:



Unfortunately the QLD Blind Association wouldn't sell me one unless I could give them proof of my blind status. As I couldn't give them this and they wouldn't accept a short video of me walking into a few doors as evidence, I had to resort to good old fleabay to obtain the goods. The pole is plenty rigid enough and works like a charm and is small enough to fit in the pack

[Stubbs]

I would refute that brush X is too harsh for rock Y.  It's all in the way they are used.

OK how about the less brief version:  'M16 brushes are shit at getting chalk off grit and sandstone unless you brush hard with them, at which point you are more likely to damage the rock.  They are however great for cleaning M16s.'

I find old toothbrushes to have the right amount of flew in the bristles.  I've got an extendible broom handle with a brush on at the mo, but I generally climb with tall people, so I get them to brush the holds I can't reach (ones above about 6 foot).

[GCW]

Grit I admit I tend to use a Lapis.  I have got an M16 which I find is often helpful for getting into awkward places and the backs of cracks.

I don't remember ever having to forcefully scrub a piece of grit to clear chalk because I was using an M16.  I usually brush holds gently, or give them a whack with a towel rather than scrubbing away.  It's always worked fine for me.

May Dad used to use "smokers" toothbrushes, which were far stiffer than the M16 (less flew I suppose).


However, my point was more that an idiot can cause damage using a toothbrush/ bottlebrush/ lapis/ boot shiner/ broom if they use it wrongly.  I think M16s have a place, but people need to be aware of when to use them.

[GraemeA]

Used a couple of brushes from johnny foreigner out there which were a lightweight extendable alloy tube with a double sided plastic head accomodating two brush types. Anyone have one?

Do you mean the Geckosport brushset. Double sided brush at an angle (sorry can't find a piccie but page 11 of the catalogue shows it http://www.geckosport.at/produktkatalog2010.pdf)

We got some at the Works. Good but has its faults and at £33 you don't want any faults. If anyone wants to borrow mine to test it give me a shout (once I get it back from Norton that is)

[Paul B]

They look rubbish, and for £33 

[GraemeA]

They are actually quite good to use but they are not £33 quids worth as you can't turn the head by 90 degrees. And the hand held brush doesn't have curved edges.

They are more substantial than a Beta Stick though

[Paul B]

yep but beta sticks do pretty damn well for travel sized clipsticks. (However in Germany a lady had a homemade pole that collapsed to around 45cm and was just as long  , I tried my best to find out what it was but I didn't get further than 'clipstick')