Best brush for cleaning up choss

Long story short, I’m putting up some new boulders in my local area and my toothbrush won’t cut it.  What brush/cleaning tools do you use and recommend?

Edit: Rock type is sandstone and possibly granite

Choss is mostly Moss, dirt, and vegetation 

Men Boon wrote: Long story short, I’m putting up some new boulders in my local area and my toothbrush won’t cut it.  What brush/cleaning tools do you use and recommend?  

I agree! That’s why I always use my roommates tooth brush. Works much better 

BBQ brushes work well...not metal ones though.

Scrubbers in Squamish use the red handled wire brush for our granite. Wire brushes however are bad for softer sandstones and limestones. They scratch those stone types up. Plastic is best for them. 

For boulders, it’s important to make it easy for those who come after you to identify your route.  That’s why I recommend this:

What kind of rock? 

1. IMO it really depends on the stone. In western Washington (aka the rainforest) almost everyone uses steel wire knife brush on bullet hard granite and basalt. You really should specify “choss” and the rock type. Are you removing lichen, moss, kitty litter or blocks?? You should never use metal on sandstone and probably limestone as well, all tough I have no experience with limestone.  

1. Best tool for moss dirt and vegetation is a paint scraper on a pole. Or honestly just hands with gloves 

I've spent many hours scrubbing with a bunch of brushes and these ones take the cake. I can't believe how well they hold up.
I use them on granite and gneiss. They could definitely damage a softer sandstone. 

lucas funkhouser wrote:

1. IMO it really depends on the stone. In western Washington (aka the rainforest) almost everyone uses steel wire knife brush on bullet hard granite and basalt. You really should specify “choss” and the rock type. Are you removing lichen, moss, kitty litter or blocks?? You should never use metal on sandstone and probably limestone as well, all tough I have no experience with limestone.  

People like to lump all sandstone into one group, but the stuff I've been playing around on is absolute bullet, and I use metal brushes all day and it works out great. The Red proper is a case by case basis, depending on the line, but the routes I've put in there were also perfectly fine to use metal, and actually trying to use plastic on those would not have gotten them clean.

Drunk Tammy wrote:

the bristles fall out of those and the pick on that one breaks off pretty quick, i've used those too. sub optimal.

OP: you need to tell us what kind of rock, sand stone is way dif than granite.

What's your favorite? I've been trying out different metal brushes, and they all seem to shed pretty fast.

This is my go to, HD special, but it only lasts 2 routes before I've chopped it all the way to a nub.

Ma Ja wrote:

What's your favorite? I've been trying out different metal brushes, and they all seem to shed pretty fast.

This is my go to, HD special, but it only lasts 2 routes before I've chopped it all the way to a nub.

I've used these ones a bunch and the bristles fall right out. The wooden ones I posted last WAY longer. Also, the wooden handle seems a little more environmentally friendly. 

Drunk Tammy wrote: i've yet to find a metal brush that doesn't lose bristles, it's annoying af, and it's sure as shit not LNT.

Luckily those little dudes probably rust away pretty quick.

For rock hard enough you won't damage with metal bristles, this is the best general brush I've found. Been using these for a long time now and they work great. Just tape the handles on, as they will fall off at the most inopportune moment if you don't. Also, beware, they'll bite you on occasion.

https://www.harborfreight.com/steel-bristle-brush-38491.html

nbrown wrote: For rock hard enough you won't damage with metal bristles, this is the best general brush I've found. Been using these for a long time now and they work great. Just tape the handles on, as they will fall off at the most inopportune moment if you don't. Also, beware, they'll bite you on occasion.

https://www.harborfreight.com/steel-bristle-brush-38491.html

TY! I was going to go there today to see what they had going.

nbrown wrote: For rock hard enough you won't damage with metal bristles, this is the best general brush I've found. Been using these for a long time now and they work great. Just tape the handles on, as they will fall off at the most inopportune moment if you don't. Also, beware, they'll bite you on occasion.

https://www.harborfreight.com/steel-bristle-brush-38491.html

I’ve tried over a dozen different brushes and these are in fact the best. This coupled with an Estwing geologist hammer (the flat one, not the sharp pick version) and a good whisk broom and there’s nary a rock that can’t be cleaned.

I have additional tools for cleaning out trad cracks, but I never need them on boulders.

Ma Ja wrote:

TY! I was going to go there today to see what they had going.

They're great in weird pocketed stuff too. Once the bristles splay out with use, it will clean multiple sides of a crack or pocket at the same time. I also flip it over and use the metal back side to clean debris out of finger-size cracks.

Shower pole. With a dozen tooth brushes taped to the end.

You lazy f*cks and your wire brushes! Yeah yeah.... "its okay on granite"....sure, but you know how many noobs peruse this site and might not read the comments thoroughly and then head out with a fricking wire brush.  Over the last few years I have encounter about a half dozen people scrubbing with wire on rock that isnt up to the task and seen evidence just as many times. The funny thing is granite is one of the easier rock types to clean so it's kinda zero sum to use wire on it anyways.  

 Get a couple grout brushes like the grout demon and a few HDX brushes. It might take an extra stroke but I know you guys like pulling your puds anyways.

Not everyone needs to know how the sausage is made.

Chris Small wrote: Scrubbers in Squamish use the red handled wire brush for our granite. Wire brushes however are bad for softer sandstones and limestones. They scratch those stone types up. Plastic is best for them. 

what is that hook tool?  I use a 5 in 1 painters tool like this and it works pretty good for lichen and scraping out cracks, but that looks better.