Hobby Arsenal - The "Other" Brush

So you've gone hog wild and spent tons of money on some nice sable brushes. And you still scrub your models with a toothbrush. Let me tell you a secret - toothbrushes are for teeth. A toothbrush is engineered to be softer and less abrasive - you want to remove the burrito you had for dinner, not the enamel from your teeth.

So what's the other option? You could use a brass brush, and while it works for metal, it's going to tear up your plastic and resin models. No, you want something in between the toothbrush and the wire brush.

Enter the AP brush:

For Long Fangs, not your fangs

The AP (All Purpose) brush is a standard in rifle-cleaning kits throughout the military and civilian world. It is compact, like the toothbrush, but has tougher bristles that will stand up to hard scrubbing and still be able to remove that tough paint. As an added bonus, some clever person added the tiny bristles to get into hard to reach areas.

So do yourself a favor and pick one up - you can get them from Amazon or the interwebz (look for "receiver brush" or "rifle cleaning brush") or your local gun store. Your scrubbin' arm will thank you.