Favorite Sandpaper?

[lesharo]

What is your favorite sandpaper? I'm familiar with alot of them. Like many supplies; I've had difficulty in getting some (or all) supplies in the last year. I haven't been able to get 3M gold 400 grit sheets even from the biggest companies ( Paxton, etc). Maybe Jamestown has it.

I use only the highest quality, e.g. 3M Gold, Norton Champagne, Carborundum Premier Red (very very expensive). Not sure if the Premier Red is worth it. The discs can be gotten for the same as 3M ($50 box 100 I think). Sheets are very high, 75, 80 cents, even a dollar a sheet. Maybe less at right place.

Just placed an order with Online Industrial Supply for some Mirka Royal. Anyone have any experience? I'm not overly optimistic. They also carry Indasa Rhyno: have used some - okay. Used some Klingspor last year: moderately good, wouldn't say as good as the 3M standard, cheaper, but who cares? Easily available though. Warning: do not use the red discs; they look great, but clog and wear out instantly, at leat on paint. I used the white, forget the name, but I think it was aluminum oxide.

Premier Red: I especially like the 80, 120, even 220 in the sheets, very aggressive. I someimes wonder if the aggressiveness isn't just because it's actually a coarser grit then competitors. The discs didn't impress me as much, but would still depend on them. $50 a box is competitive whereas in the sheets; they are definitely more expensive than the 3M. Definitely would rate the Red better than the 3M in 80, 120, maybe 220.

The white silicon carbide seems to leave a silkier smoother finish than the aluminum oxide when sanding for a varnish finish coat. But I usually use the aluminum all around as it's more agrressive and longer lasting. The 320 White 3M does leave a nice finish though. I have used the 3M 400 Gold in place of the White 3M 320. Maybe I should try it. Thanks for any feedback.

[tattooed john]

I like sandpaper that someone else is using.

[MiddleAgesMan]

Many years ago when I was in the cabinet business I did some tests of 5" PSA sanding discs which we used more than any other abrasive. Mirka Gold was fairly new on the market at the time (and cost less than 3M and Carborundum and Norton) but it beat the better known brands hands down. I don't know anything about their Royal product but Gold was all we bought after that. To my knowledge Mirka Gold was the only gold colored paper on the market at the time. Now all of the big boys have a gold paper.

I also tested sheet paper in common use, not to ID the best brand but to find the best procedure for its use. Many old-timers would load up their sanders with several sheets of paper then get to work. When the bottom sheet wore out they would tear it off exposing the next sheet and they would use that until it, too, was worn. Stacking several half-sheets on the sander saved them time.

My tests showed this to be a poor use of paper, however. Sure, it saved time but it also wore down the inner layers before they ever got used. Not completely, of course, but enough to shorten their working lives to unacceptable levels. When you tore off the worn out sheet and ran your fingers across the freshly exposed next sheet you could feel it wasn't as sharp as a new piece. Subsequent layers in the stack were more and more worn and wouldn't last nearly as long as the first sheet.

FWIW and YMMV.

[Bob Perkins]

ok - I'm biased... But Festool sandpaper on a Festool sander is what I use.. Otherwise I'm using wet sanding paper for some fine finish.

[Battenkiller]

ok - I'm biased... But Festool sandpaper on a Festool sander is what I use.. Otherwise I'm using wet sanding paper for some fine finish.

The Carborundum Premier Red is the best I've tried so far. I absolutely love the 2" rolls of PSA. I stick it to strips of Plexiglass and metal rods for impromptu sandpaper files and I am found of cutting off about 4" and sticking it to itself for a two sided hand sanding sheet (works great for inside of turned bowls) or onto a piece of cork or thin rubber for sanding contours. The stuff seems to last forever. I was told that the abrasive particles are heat treated to make them crack and are then sifted through mesh for size. This way, it doesn't fracture as easily and lasts for a long time.

For my Festool ROS I use the Festool paper and it lasts for a long time. Part of that, however, may be due to the superior dust extraction I get with the 9-hole sander coupled with my Fein vacuum. Both of these are top notch tools.

I may try the Premier Red if I can find it for the 9-hole Festool, but not until I've used up all the Festool paper first.