The TIG Brush®, invented by Australian product development company, Ensitech, is a safe, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly way of removing ‘heat tint’.

Its invention provides the alternative for ‘picking paste’, the highly toxic acid mix that, until now, has been the most common method of heat tint removal. Simultaneously, it completes the ‘passivation’ process that restores stainless steel’s corrosion-resistant properties after welding.

The TIG Brush® will have its UK launch at the MACH 2010 show at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre, 7-11 June 2010.

The TIG Brush® works by using heat and electricity to paint a non-toxic cleaning fluid on the weld.  The fluid is activated as it is heated by the brush and removes the discolouration.  The brush’s high temperature also removes iron oxide residue produced by the welding process and restores the steel’s protective chromium oxide layer – therefore removing the need for a separate ‘passivation’ process.

The brush doesn’t affect surface finish – unlike pickling paste which leaves an etched ‘tidemark’ – so can be used on mirror finishes.

The TIG Brush® has taken six years to develop.  Ensitech General Manager, Clive White, says: “Developing the brush was the most difficult part.  It had to conduct electricity, withstand high temperatures and last a long time. The machine is easy to use, highly portable and offers the first really practical solution for cleaning welds”.

The TIG Brush® has been on sale in Australia for two years.  For its UK and European launch, Ensitech has partnered with Leeds-based chemicals firm, Vickers Laboratories, which will provide the fluids.  CEO of Vickers Laboratories, Julian Driver, says:  “We are hugely impressed with this invention.  Pickling paste, which is a mixture of hydrofluoric and nitric acids, is an extremely unpleasant and dangerous chemical.  Our fluids, working with the TIG Brush®, provide a much better alternative”.

Finding a cost-effective alternative to pickling paste will be welcomed by a range of industries. Construction, furniture, food, transport, automotive, marine, science and medical are all sectors that require fabricated stainless steel.

Anyone interested in the TIG Brush® should visit www.tigbrush.co.uk  or contact the UK distributor Julian Soulsby, Engineering Utilities, Ph: +44 (0) 113 255 8887 Email: julian@engineeringutilities.com for a demonstration.