The right brush makes a hard job quick and easy. But you need more than one. No single brush covers every surface. You don’t need hundreds, but you do need a few good ones - and be willing to swap as you go. If you spend ages trying to clean tight spots on your wheels, or get your fingers in there, then you need more brushes.

We have a huge range of brushes, but if I were starting in detailing I’d get one of each style brush, except boar hair. I’d get 2–3 of those since I use them on wheel nuts, engine bays, interiors, and I want to keep them separate to avoid cross-contamination and mess.

I’d get the toothbrush too. You won’t use it often, but when you do, you need it. I’d also get a soft and hard barrel brush, a soft and hard short wheel brush, a pet hair brush (the neighbor’s cats sleep on my convertible roof), and a pack of wheel woollies. They’re expensive, but worth every cent. They are forged to the rod and work really well. I use the small one a lot in tight wheel gaps. I’d use a stiff short brush on tyres or rubber floor mats.

If I had shiny black interior plastic, I’d use the ultra-soft detailing brush. For carpets, I use the drill brush and the hard carpet and pad brush. I’d also use that one on whitewall tyres. You can clean pads with it, but it’s faster with the pro pad brush.

Those are my go-to’s, but it’s smart to have a full range. Most of our kits include the brushes I use.

With brushes, there’s always a trade-off between aggression and softness. All brushes scratch a little, but aggressive ones like the hard barrel brush clean faster than softer options.

I don’t recommend using brushes on your car’s main painted panels.