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An Abrasive Topic


Don Silsbe

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I’ve been feeding my Random Orbital Sander a steady diet of varying brands of 5” sanding discs.  I’ve tried Shopsmith, Diabolo, Craftsman, and Norton ProSand blue discs.  I’m not totally pleased with any of them.  Which brand(s) do you prefer, and where do you order them from? Russel Brown prefers Norton sandpaper, but the blue stuff I can get at my local lumber yard doesn't last very long.  What do you use, and where do you buy it?

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I've had very good experience with the Shopsmith discs.  They are gray, available at Lowe's and sometimes at my local Ace.  They seem to last forever.  They are a bit pricey, but my rough guesstimate is that they come out ahead on a cost/disc basis since they last so long.  They also perform well.

 

Recently, tho, based on something I read either here or on WoodenBoat, I ordered a 50 pack Dura-Gold Premium - Variety Pack - 5" Gold Sanding Discs on Amazon.  The 50-pack has 10 each of 60, 80, 120, 220 and 320 grit (180 might be nice, but whatever).  I have used a half dozen so far on ply and 'glas, and they seem to be holding up petty well, or even better than that.  They may be close to the Shopsmith. They certainly do not throw grit like the cheapo discs.  Given that the cost for 50 is about the same as the cost for 10 or so of the Shopsmith discs, I probably will continue with the Dura-Gold. I'm using the lighter-weight Bosch 5" sander, and I am able to get both a quick cut and a fine finish with the grits provided.  

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Klingspor abrasives are excellent, and they make everything. Literally: discs, belts, rolls, etc etc. etc. Their GreenTec discs are targeted for epoxy but I have been using other types too. Some material made in Europe but much in Hickory NC.

 

Check out their website or if in NC you can go to 4 Klingspor’s Woodworking Shops. I am a huge fan. Also, you can buy roll ends and other manufacturing scrap by the pound.

 

FWIW, I agree about Shopsmith abrasives. I still have some of the garnet discs - when was the last time you saw that? Hoarding it ‘cause I still have my Shopsmith. 

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@Nick C— Thanks for the input.  I was given a gift of their 2-3/4” PSA rolls and a foam sanding block.  That paper was made in Poland.  It is pretty poor stuff.  Good to hear that they have other grades that perform better, because there’s a store 45 minutes away.  (I live in the country, so almost everything is at least 30 minutes away.)

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@Paul356 - I have also tried the Dura-Gold and agree they hold up well, and I like the price.

 

@Don Silsbe - I use their PSA rolls on other woodworking projects and think they are OK (doesn't load too bad on raw wood surfaces). Since they have lots of abrasive grains and grits there probably is a good option among them.

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  • 1 month later...

I like the shopsmith brand. One thing to possibly watch out for that I have read about and may have experienced is with sandpaper that touts no clogging. Apparently the stuff/chemical on the non-clogging sandpaper can come off and if it is on your boat surface it might affect your next layer of epoxy - so washing after sanding seems good practice as in getting rid of amine blush.

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I was gifted a Festool RO sander. I would not have bought such a premium product, having been satisfied with a Dewalt. But I believe the cost is justified, it is a great tool. It has a different hole pattern.  I use Granit paper for now.

 

I am definitely going to try 3M Cubitron net disks. https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/dc/v101281248/?gf=true&price=list-low. I think 3M is the leader for good reason. This new product sounds great for exceptional cutting, long life, and dust extraction. 

 

I'd be interested in any reports on this sandpaper.

 

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On 2/28/2023 at 5:45 PM, Reacher said:

I was gifted a Festool RO sander. I would not have bought such a premium product, having been satisfied with a Dewalt. But I believe the cost is justified, it is a great tool. It has a different hole pattern.  I use Granit paper for now.

 

I am definitely going to try 3M Cubitron net disks. https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/dc/v101281248/?gf=true&price=list-low. I think 3M is the leader for good reason. This new product sounds great for exceptional cutting, long life, and dust extraction. 

 

I'd be interested in any reports on this sandpaper.

 

 

Cubitron discs are my new go to for sanding discs. They are much better than anything I have ever used before, and the dust extraction through the mesh is fantastic. I haven't used them on epoxy, though, just metal and wood.

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I use Klingspor, and I love them.     Very good quality and price.   the blue alumina zirconia seems to work well on epoxies without clogging.   Anything worth buying is worth getting the box of 50.  as soon as it gets dull or clogged, rip it off and get another.  Time is more important than money. 

 

I am intrigued by the new mesh abrasives, but I have plenty of other stuff to use up first.  

 

I also bought rolls of various grits from Klingspor for the longboards,   same thing applies here, the minute it looses it's bite, replace it,    It feels so good when paper is fresh and working well.

 

 I have bought their boxes of short ends and pieces,  you get a grab bag of various grits and sizes.  they call it shorts and pieces, and you might picture little tiny pieces,  but their idea of a "scrap"  might be a dozen 50' rolls,  dollar for dollar, it has to be hundreds of dollars worth for maybe 20 or 30 bucks.  Frequently, I find something in the box that is perfect for what I am doing,   but I never would have thought to buy it.  

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had a chance to talk with an abrasives manufacturing engineer about 3M cubitron. It is a ceramic grit. It goes onto the paper as tiny cubes. Each exposed edge is a cutting edge. As it is used the cube breaks along micro fracture lines and a particle breaks off. The newly exposed edges of the break form new sharp cutting edges. Cubitron is sometimes referred to as self-sharpening. The sandpaper will remain sharp as long as there is grit on the paper. In contrast,  aluminum oxide, the most common grit, will wear smooth and lose its bite even while there is grit remaining.

 

Cubitron requires pressure to fracture the ceramic grit and renew the edge. It is for power sanding only, not hand sanding. A random orbital sander works fine.

 

I asked about non-clogging paper. Most sandpaper advertised as non-clogging is "open coat" sandpaper where as much as 50% of the paper is not covered with grit. The spaces between the particles shed the residue. Some non-clogging papers have two layers of grit. The base layer is closed coat, completely covered, and the second is open coat and designed to wear off as it becomes clogged. 

 

I asked about epoxy. The clogging problem, as we know, is from not letting it cure. If the paper clogs with epoxy it is actually buffing the surface, not abrading it. "If there is no dust you are not sanding."

 

Finally I asked about which sandpaper to use. The answer was that for the home project just experiment and see what works best. Industrial users know how many board feet they are sanding per minute and how many total board feet they get per belt. The differences between grit, adhesive, backing and cost become apparent. The home woodworker isn't fine tuned like that. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 7 months later...

I thought it would be good to give y’all an update on this topic.  I bought a 50 pack of assorted discs for my sander, per @Paul356’s recommendation.  IMG_0931.thumb.jpeg.aef59ceda2ffd51060b0ab8138be2acf.jpegMy current trimaran build (see main forum) gave me an opportunity to try out suggestions like this one. 
 

I’m here to report that these new (to me) discs are working very well.  I’ve been using the 60 grit to sand semi-cured epoxy between coats.  They do not clog up with epoxy, and remain sharp for a long time.  These are a winner!  Thanks for the recommendation, Paul!

 

This is the Amazon “link”:

Dura-Gold Premium - Variety Pack - 5" Gold Sanding Discs - 8-Hole Dustless Hook and Loop - 10 Each of Grit (60, 80, 120, 220, 320) - Box of 50 Sandpaper Finishing Discs for Woodworking or Automotive https://a.co/d/aSzhXIe

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