Understand Brush
Useful when…
- Excavate suspicious sand and suspicious gravel to reveal their loot.
- Brush an armadillo to obtain one armadillo scute.
Brushing suspicious blocks
Continuously use the brush on suspicious sand or suspicious gravel. The structure’s loot slowly emerges; after 96 game ticks (4.8 seconds), the item drops and the block becomes ordinary sand or gravel. Each completed suspicious block uses one durability point. If brushing stops early, the partial state remains briefly before gradually returning to its unexcavated state.
Brushing armadillos and durability
Brushing an armadillo drops one scute and uses 16 durability. A full brush with no enchantments can brush an armadillo four times in Java Edition. Unbreaking can reduce durability consumption and Mending repairs the brush when you obtain experience; both are applied through an anvil. Combining brushes in crafting or a grindstone adds their remaining durability plus three points, while an anvil combination preserves enchantments.
Ordinary blocks
Using the brush on blocks other than suspicious sand or suspicious gravel displays a brushing animation and particles, but does not damage the block or consume brush durability. Its function is distinct from the bow’s arrow attacks and the carrot on a stick’s pig-riding use.
Limitations and tradeoffs
- Each completed suspicious block uses one durability point; brushing an armadillo uses 16.
- The four-armadillo-use count applies to Java Edition and a full, unenchantmented brush.
- Ordinary blocks show an animation but are not damaged.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Assuming partial brushing progress remains indefinitely.
- Using the brush on ordinary blocks expecting to mine them.
- Ignoring the 16 durability cost per armadillo use.