Brake caliper brushes are made of various materials, each chosen for practical reasons.
Steel
Steel is a strong alloy created by adding carbon to iron. Some brake caliper brushes come with steel wire bristles, which are strong, resistant to corrosion and highly abrasive.
Stainless steel
Stainless steel is made up of iron, nickel and chromium. It resists staining and corrosion and is used for its strength. The wire bristles of certain brake caliper brushes are produced from stainless steel.
Brass
Brass – a yellow alloy made of copper and zinc – may also be used for the wire bristles. It’s not as strong as steel, and less abrasive, but is very corrosion-resistant.
When choosing your bristle type, it doesn’t really matter how strong the bristles are – it’s more a question of using the right bristles for the correct area of the brakes.It is useful to own two brushes with different types of bristle so they can be used on specific areas of the brakes – brass bristles for more delicate areas and steel for robust areas.
PVC
PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is a very commonly used plastic. It is used for the handles of brake caliper brushes because it is abrasion resistant, lightweight, shatter resistant if dropped and has excellent mechanical strength and toughness.Mechanical or tensile strength is the amount of force/stress an object can take before breaking.
