3 replies to this topic

[skoughi]

Just starting a new project and will be using a never-ending amount of the usual various types of abrasives until I get to the painting stage. So I'll be using flapper discs, cutting discs, finger belt sander belts, paint and rust scale discs etc etc. Bear in mind this is a budget home/hobby job although saying that good quality products inevitably end up saving money! Any recommendations on makes and in the case of a paint/rust scale stripping disc type. Cheers!

[Tupers]

Norton, Klinspor and Abracs are all great for strip, flap and cutting discs.

[68+86auto]

3M or Norton. I have tried a few others and they definitely dont last as long. That is definitely the case for the finger sander belts.

I bought boxes of Smirdex 6" sanding discs, once I go through them I will switch to 3M.

[stuart bowes]

I've been buying generic zirconium power file belts from Amazon and to be honest they don't last ages, but then they're also cheap

 

https://www.amazon.c...le?ie=UTF8&th=1  @ £1.15 ea currently

 

whereas the 'good' ones can be like 3 quid each ?   that's what puts me off but maybe they're just so much better that it's worth it

 

they are hit and miss, one belt will do easily 20-30mins of work or even an hour (depending what you're doing with it) the next one will last 2 mins.. if you're careful you can keep towards the longer end of that on average, I tend to knock the tops of the welds down initially with a grinder disc or flap, then do the finishing work carefully with the belt because you can be more accurate with the tip

 

lower grit numbers obviously remove more but don't last as long, higher grit last longer but take longer (or are better for finishing..) swings and roundabouts 

 

I did get one batch where every single one just literally snapped after 10 seconds, I put them all in a bag and sent them back and got the money back, so that's one benefit of amazon, easy returns and credits (other than obviously the hassle and wasted time which was annoying)

 

As I get to the end of the welding and cutting phase and all the 'rough' work is done there will be less sharp corners and edges left and they'll start lasting longer I guess

Edited by stuart bowes, 21 September 2023 - 09:20 AM.