Material
Mohair
Fine animal hair
Choose Mohair based on its stiffness, recovery, wear, wet-service, chemical, and temperature behavior. For brush stiffness, do not give only the material name. Filament diameter, free trim, density, grade, and service conditions must be specified together.
Datasheet values
- Fill construction
- Fine natural hair bundles; soft dense fill
- Temperature range
- -20–80°C
- Stiffness
- Very soft
Mohair is a fine animal hair used as brush fill or a cleaning-contact element.
What is Mohair, and what makes it different from other brush filaments?
Mohair belongs to the fine animal hair group, supplied as fine natural hair bundles and soft dense fill, drawn in natural irregular cross-section sections and set in straight rows, helical, staggered, zoned, wavy and random fill patterns.
Mohair is used in custom cleaning brushes for polishing, coating, dusting and optical or decorative surface cleaning.
The realistic alternatives are goat hair and fine horsehair, or a fine Nylon PA where a synthetic is required. A synthetic has to be flagged or tapered before it comes close to the tip fineness of a fine animal hair.
Use a softer polymer or natural fiber for lower marking; use abrasive or metal wire for greater cutting action.
What stiffness and contact pressure can I expect from Mohair?
Mohair is very soft.
Published ranges for the filament itself. A finished brush runs below them, because the fill carries load and heat at the same time.
| Property | Mohair | Nylon PA | PBT | Polypropylene PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shore hardness | Very soft | Medium to firm; filament diameter and trim length control bending force. | Shore D 80–90 | Shore D 65–75 |
| Continuous temperature (°C) | 80 | 93 | 120–140 | 80–100 |
| Peak temperature (°C) | 110 | 121 | 160–180 | 120–140 |
| Water absorption, 24 h | 5–20% (Natural Fiber; industry reference range) | 0.3–9% by PA grade and conditioning | 0.05–0.20% (24h, ISO 62/ASTM D570) | ≤0.03% (24h, ISO 62/ASTM D570) |
| Filament diameter (mm) | 0.05–2.00 | 0.08–2.50 | 0.03–2.00 | 0.08–3.00 |
| Flexibility | Medium Flexibility(Natural Variation) | Medium to High Flexibility | Medium to High Flexibility | Medium Flexibility |
The part people get wrong: stiffness is not a property of the material on its own. A 0.50 mm filament on a 15 mm trim is stiffer than a 0.30 mm filament on a 25 mm trim in the same grade. Fix diameter and trim first, then confirm the material.
How does water affect Mohair performance?
Mohair holds roughly 5–20% moisture depending on grade and condition, so it softens in use and has to be dried before it is put away.
Suitable for the wet or dry conditions stated in the application list; wash and dry retained-residue constructions after use.
What this means for your application: the filament grows and softens as it takes on water, and tip pressure goes with it. The reach you measured dry is not the reach you get wet.
A practical check: soak a sample for an hour and re-measure the trim. If it has moved enough to change the contact band, the grade is wrong for the duty.
What temperature limits apply to Mohair?
-20–80°C.
Where it stops working: If the filament takes a permanent set under load, step up to PBT or Polypropylene PP, which hold a higher continuous temperature.
The usable limit also moves with diameter, trim and contact pressure. A fine filament under light load tolerates more than a thick one under heavy scrubbing.
What chemicals attack Mohair?
Use the grade-specific chemical profile and confirm it against the actual chemical, temperature, exposure-time, and load conditions of your application.
The same cleaner can be harmless or destructive depending on how strong it is, how hot it runs and how long it sits. Quote the concentration and the dwell time, not just the product name.
Before you commit to a quantity: Specify Mohair form, diameter or grade, trim, density, working temperature, cleaning fluid, and surface finish.
What is the practical lower limit for filament diameter?
About 0.05 mm. Below that the filament turns fragile and breaks under ordinary contact pressure, so 0.05–2.00 mm is the working range.
Free trim runs 3–300 mm, and the two interact: a finer filament needs a shorter trim to keep useful stiffness, while a thicker one carries a longer trim and still lands pressure on the tip.
Split the range by duty: roughly 0.05–0.54 mm for light wiping, dusting and surfaces that mark easily, and 0.54–2.00 mm where residue is packed on and point pressure matters more than surface risk.
Tip treatments available on this filament: cleaning, carding, bleaching and setting.
In practical brush terms: reaching deep into a bore or crevice is a diameter problem before it is a length problem. A thicker filament on a moderate trim pushes further in before the tips fold over.
What applications typically use Mohair?
Polishing, coating, dusting and optical or decorative surface cleaning.
The applications that keep coming back to this grade:
- Ceramic Glaze Line & Tile Brush Use
- Automatic Shoe Polishing & Footwear Surface Brushing
- Textile Dyeing, Printing & Finishing Brush Use
- Leather & Shoe Processing Brush Use
- Industrial Machine Cleaning
- Dust Removal
The constructions that usually carry it:
- Custom Handheld Detail Brushes
- Custom Roller and Conveyor Brushes
- Custom Strip Seal Brushes
If the sample comes back rejected: Absorbs liquid, wears in aggressive service and is not used for high-temperature or sanitary washdown.
How do I specify Mohair for a custom brush?
A usable specification carries the construction, the filament diameter and free trim, the density and contact setting, and the service conditions: wet or dry, temperature, and what the cleaner actually is.
The mistakes that most often send a sample back:
- Selecting Mohair without setting diameter, trim and density
- Using the material on a surface that cannot accept its contact level
- Ignoring temperature, liquid, motion or residue retention
Reference standards behind the figures on this page: ISO 139; ISO 5079; ISO 20743.
Source: International Wool Textile Organisation — Wool Notes — mohair and speciality fibres. Mohair is the fine, smooth end of the animal-fibre range, chosen where a finished surface must not be scratched. It is weak in abrasion, so it is an applying and finishing fibre rather than a cleaning one.
What else does the datasheet specify for Mohair?
| Electrical behaviour | Insulating |
|---|
Questions this page is asked
How should mohair brush fill be identified and graded?
Specify the animal-fibre identity, source region or supplier grade where controlled, fibre diameter and distribution, usable length, medullation or coarse-hair limit, color, washing or finishing treatment, blend percentage, and lot. Verify the conditioned material microscopically or by an appropriate animal-fibre method because softness and appearance alone cannot distinguish mohair from another hair or a synthetic blend.
Guides that go deeper on this
We have not written a guide specific to this one yet. The material that covers selection, filament, dimensions, maintenance and sourcing is collected in the technical resources library.
No catalogue item for this yet
Every brush here is made to order, and this one has no catalogue entry so far. Send the working surface, the residue, the access opening and the quantity, and it is quoted through the same specification route as the rest of the range.
Custom Manufacturing RFQ
Discuss This Material
Share the working surface, residue, dimensions, material direction, interface, quantity and drawing or sample photo.
Custom Brush RFQ
Request a Custom Cleaning Brush Quote
Upload a drawing, product photo, or sample photo and provide the core dimensions and cleaning conditions.
“We need a brush to remove wet residue from a stainless steel conveyor, about 800mm wide. The current brush wears quickly. We can send photos.”
“We sell drinkware and need a cleaning brush to include with the product. Quantity around 5,000 pieces.”