D/A abrasives

[ms fowler]

Is there a difference between brands of abrasive discs for D/A sanders? I have a box of 6", 60 grit self stick discs from HF that cut good, but not for long. Now, I am sanding an old oil tank for repaint, and there is a lot of welding splatter, so that contributes for the short life --like 3-5 minutes -- of the discs. Do you guys find that some brands last longer than others, or not?

 

[HMCFab9]

Absolutely.
3M has always been good (but expensive)
There are some newer abrasives out now that are less costly, but work ok for the price.
Indasa is good. Mirka is good too.
There are different types for doing different things.

You need to grind welding splatter / bb's off first, or it will kill D/A paper almost instantly.

 

[BillK]

ms,
Not sure for discs but I have a smaller belt sander at the shop that I use for balancing connecting rods and other small jobs. I have found that Norton belts are the only thing that will hold up for any length of time. 3M would probably be good too but I get the norton belts from MSC with other things I order. I ran out once and got a couple of belts from HD, cannot remember the brand but they did not last any time at all

Basically like most other things, you get what you pay for

 

[lazer50]

You need the grind spatter off first d a isn't cut out do that and norton products are the best imo.i use on angle grinders 4 1/2 inch Sanders belt grinders etc.3 m is a good product too.

 

[pepi]

Absolutely.
3M has always been good (but expensive)
There are some newer abrasives out now that are less costly, but work ok for the price.
Indasa is good. Mirka is good too.
There are different types for doing different things.

You need to grind welding splatter / bb's off first, or it will kill D/A paper almost instantly.

^

bb's depending how bad or much, two suggestions metal chisel will knock them off, a flap disk is also good.

3m 60 grit greens are damn stout, and last. Will notice they are thick over the junk from hf.

 

[dnschmidt]

Use a flap disc for the spatter. For normal DA discs Klingspor PS36 is excellent. Indasa is the best bang for the buck and 3M and Norton are overpriced but get the job done as they both always do if you're willing to pay the price.

 

[sberry]

7 inch sander first.

 

[ms fowler]

Thanks for the responses. Not having the opportunity to try other products, I had no basin upon which to compare. Thanks for those of you who have had that experience. I'll use up the rest of the HF ones, and then go shopping....see what I can find at Carlisle, or Hershey.

 

[countryroad82]

I'll agree 3M is awesome but costs too much. I've been using Mirka and Inadsa for years. It's good and cheap and lasts well for what it costs. My jobber is going to start carrying Norton and I'm going to give it a shot when it comes available to me.

 

[motofool33]

Are you guys picking zirconia discs or any of the ones that say they last longer?

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[dnschmidt]

It depends upon what you're sanding. The zirconia abrasives last longer on steel and metal but for sanding paint all discs eventually load up rather than wear out. The Klingspor PS73 is a cheaper aluminum oxide heavily stearated disc that is good value for the money when sanding paint. The PS36 is much longer lasting when sanding metal which doesn't load the disc.

 

[ScottsGT]

Oh yes! Many, many years ago when I was a body man the shop owner tried to save a few dollars buy buying sandpaper out of the trunk of some traveling salesman's car. Yea, it was dirt cheap, but it took 3 or 4 times as much to do the same job, and we were wasting time changing paper constantly. It cost him more to do the same work.
He never bought that **** again.

 

[Astro_Pneumatic_Tools]

I'm about 20 different samples/brands in on QC'ing abrasives. Boy is there a range. On paint its even more pronounced, build up can make one sample last a full 5X longer than another.

 

[ilovevocs]

When I was younger and first learned to do auto body work I was taught to clean my DA paper frequently to prevent it from loading up. Running it over your jeans or work paints knocks most of it off.

I've always been of the opinion that typically you get what you pay for with abrasives. Nothing more frustrating than cheap abrasives. 3m is my preference regardless of price.


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