scotchbrite

There are many types available. Try a Google search for "non woven abrasive" I found these pages.

Scotchbrite is a commercial product with many grades of abrasive, and the abrasive material itself comes in many different types to suit applications. We use lots of the stuff at the PCB factory for cleaning laminate before etching or printing.

-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Luton, UK snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk

They're colour coded for abrasive grit. I don't think the kitchen ones have any grit in them, just hard plastic.

Try to find a selection pack of different grades and give them a try, As a furniture maker, both wood and metal, I wouldn't be without the things. They're no substitute for sandpaper, especially the coarse grades, but I've pretty much abandoned wire wool.

I also like the nylon bristle rotary wire brushes, in red or blue (grit size again). They give a nice finish on copper or aluminium and they don't cross-contaminate metal surfaces to give that "brassy" effect you can sometimes get with wire.