Blue Dolphin Wire Brush

Wire brushes are graded by rows, and the choice is a straight trade between how much they remove and how much they mark whatever is underneath.

Available in three row and four row, both with wooden handles.

Which to pick

• 3 row — narrower, less aggressive, easier to control. Better for detail: window frames, railings, working into a corner or along a bead. The choice when the surface underneath still matters.
• 4 row — wider and more aggressive, covering more ground per stroke. For gates, larger areas of masonry, heavy rust, and anywhere that's going to be coated over regardless.

Getting the most from it

Let the wire do the work. Pressing hard splays the bristles and kills the brush — a light, fast stroke removes more material than a slow heavy one, and the brush lasts considerably longer.

On bare metal, prime the same day you brush it. Exposed steel flash rusts within hours in damp weather, and priming over that means the job comes back.

The wooden handle

Worth noting for a practical reason rather than an aesthetic one: wood stays grippy when wet, where a smooth plastic handle turns slippery at exactly the moment you're pushing hardest.

Both sizes take the same technique — pick by how much you need to remove and how much you can afford to mark.

Ireland & Northern Ireland — 1–3 working days. Charged by total order weight, VAT included:

• Up to 30 kg — €6.99, or free on orders over €85
• 30–60 kg — €13.99
• 60–100 kg — €27.99
• Over 100 kg — pallet delivery €49.99

Great Britain — 2–4 working days. €13.95 up to 30 kg, then €27.90, €55.90 and €99.90 by the same weight steps. There is no free delivery to Great Britain.

Rest of Europe — non-liquid items only, from €11.75, priced by destination and weight at checkout. Paint and other liquids ship to Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain only.

Dispatch and collection — order before 12pm Monday to Friday and it ships the same day. Click & collect at Ballymount, Dublin 12 is free and often ready within the hour.

Returns — 14 days to change your mind and 14 more to send it back. Tinted paint is non-returnable once mixed.