Wire cup brushes fit onto an angle grinder and are used for stripping rust, paint, scale, weld slag and old coatings ahead of welding, painting or repair.

They remove material far faster than hand brushing and leave a clean, keyed surface that paint and weld both take to properly. Knotted wire brushes cut aggressively on heavy rust and scale, while crimped wire is gentler and better for lighter cleaning and finishing.

These need real respect in use. Wires break off and fly at speed, so a full face shield rather than glasses, a long-sleeved overall and gloves are all necessary. Check the maximum RPM on the brush against the grinder speed, keep the guard fitted, let the tips do the work rather than pressing hard, and discard a brush that is shedding wires heavily.