How long sandpaper last

If you want you could try to count strokes but that's not a very good system on a large project. Testing works well if what you're doing is removing orange peel because you can sand for a few strokes and then squeegee the water off the section and then inspect and it will be real easy to see where any orange peel remains in the section you've sanded.

By this I mean, start out sanding a section about a foot squared or so and squeegee off the water and inspect the paint and remember or lock into your brain how long you sanded that area or approximately how many strokes you used to sand that section along with your downward pressure before stopping to squeegee off the water.

Once you've removed the orange peel and the section is flat to your expectations, move to a new section. Repeat the process and inspect the results by squeegeeing off the water.

As your paper wears down, you'll notice that it's taking longer to remove the peel to get a flat looking uniform appearance. Again you'll have to make the decision to either keep sanding with the same sheet of paper or fold to a new side or replace the paper.

Don't know if that helps you at all but that's about all I can share with how to gauge when your paper's cutting ability is falling off. But keep in mind that whenever you're sanding paint you only have so much film-build you can safely remove and if you make a mistake because of lesser quality papers the cost of repainting a panel more than justifies the higher quality Nikken papers, not to mention the time involved in fixing a mistake and the fun of telling the owner of the car what happened.

At some point in the 's Bill sold his rights to sell the paper in North America to Meguiar's, that's how Meguiar's obtained distribution rights. Bill told me that the Nikken paper is actually an electronics grade paper and the quality control as such was much higher than an automotive grade paper. The Nikken papers used a latex impregnated paper for a backing so they won't and don't break down like lesser quality papers and instead of having grit particles dropped onto the paper during the manufacturing process, somehow an electrostatic charge is used to draw the particles up to the paper so the paper travels down the manufacturing process upside down.

Because of this, Nikken finishing papers offer sanding marks with a uniform depth and uniform sanding mark pattern over the paint being sanded. Note I didn't use the word scratches , as in a uniform depth and uniform sanding scratches because the quality of the paper tends to leave the paint just looking dull, not filled with sanding scratches.

The goal is enabling a person to remove the least amount of paint to get the job done, that means more paint on the car for the customer over the service like of the car , while leaving a sanding mark pattern that will buff out faster and with more control on the side of the technician. If you use papers that have little or no control over the particle size or placement of particles on the face of the paper you lose control over the sanding marks and thus the technician looses control over the process.

Of course, given the chance I prefer to machine sand with an air powered DA Sander first and save hand sanding for areas that don't lend themselves well to machine sanding. What's really cool is Autogeek offers people the ability to get a collection of different grits instead of having to purchase entire sleeves of a single grit. You can reuse the sandpaper disc by mounting it on a piece of wood and using it as a hand-operated piece of sandpaper instead. Whether you have been using sheets of sandpaper or sandpaper discs for electrical sanders, you can also clean them to reuse them.

In the video below, you can find a short guide revealing how to clean your sandpaper :. It is not recommendable to reuse sandpaper for important woodworking projects or when you need a more refined result. Indeed, sandpaper that is unevenly used or too worn can cause damage to the wood. At the same time, using worn sandpaper can cause damage to the surface you are working on. If you have noticed that your sandpaper has started to look dirty and it is not as efficient as it usually is, you should consider cleaning it.

Indeed, especially if you are working on softwoods, the wood resin can clog the sandpaper. In turn, this can make the sandpaper less efficient—but it does not mean that you have to throw it away.

Especially in wood preparation, the longest-lasting materials include:. Sandpaper can get dull due to prolonged use. If you are only using your sandpaper just for some minor finishing touches, you will not likely experience dullness for a while. In some instances, you might have to change it just after one hour! It is important to remember that your sandpaper will continue to smooth out surfaces even if it is dull. Nonetheless, you should avoid using it when it has become stale, as this will encourage you to put more pressure on the surface.

Indeed, its lifespan will depend on the kind of project you are working on. Using a piece of sandpaper for touch-ups and finishing touches or using it by hand can last you for weeks or months.

However, if the sandpaper disc is mounted on an electrical sander, it might start to lose its sharpness within a few hours of using it. For example, using it on a blade can make your sandpaper last for over a month. Instead, if using it on an SV, it can last only a few hours. Sandpaper is an economic tool that should be in the toolbox of any DIYer or homeowner. While your sandpaper can last for months with the proper care and maintenance, you should not be afraid to substitute your abrasive sheet when a new one.

That piece is good until it stops doing what it's supposed to. Easy enough.. Possibly it's the Indian not the arrow? Stop sanding from time to time and slap the paper like you would the old lady's butt after she gets out of the shower. Keep that pad clean and free of dust.

Even though you have dust collection, it's a good Idea. Dust off the board from time to time. The work surface must be clean. You may want to try tipping the sander up some so the leading edge is more in contact with the wood. Don't focus so much on keeping it flat to the work piece. This will also aid in evacuate sanding dust and sand paper grit that has fallen off the paper.. I have tried everything , Ace. And I do mean everything. The only thing that fixes the problem is switching to a brand new disc.

I had an ETS sander and it went back to the store. I couldn't get it to sand with out pigtails on brand new paper. I probably spent 12 hours strait one day sanding trying out every technique and setting. I'm glad I'm not the only one that had pigtail trouble with festool sanders. Hate me for the dewlat that i have eric but i don't get pigtails with it period, ever. I'ts a great sander, except for the vibration thing.. I never skip grits either. Love them with butter. It's not the sander, it's the paper.

The Festool is superior in a million other ways, most importantly comfort and dust collection Much less money spent on paper. I use it for 80 grit and sometimes After that I hand sand.

Maybe I am a knuckle-dragger but I am a knuckle-dragger without pigtails. It looks like a series of tiny curly lines looking like pig tails on the surface when you look in raking light. It's caused by some schmutz adhering to the pad describing the orbit of the sander - if the vacuum is too high you see it even more as the pad is pulled down harder. You see it a lot with clogged pads. My vacuum hose has an air bleed on it to reduce the vacuum. Use 2, grit for final sanding to achieve smooth surface.

Wet sanding with waterproof sandpaper is often the best approach to sanding cured epoxy. Cured epoxy is difficult to sand because of its hardness. Generally speaking: and grit papers are used for rough sanding. For heavy sanding and stripping, you need coarse sandpaper measuring to grit; for smoothing surfaces and removing small imperfections, choose to grit sandpaper. For finishing surfaces smoothly, use a super fine sandpaper with to grit. Aluminum Oxide, both fused and calcined, produced from Bauxite.

The most widely used abrasive, generally used for ferrous alloys, high tensile materials and wood. The wet part of wet sanding refers to the use of water or some other liquid as lubrication to help carry away grit particles that are removed. Without the liquid, material can build up in the sandpaper and leave behind scratches that are larger than the particle size, ruining your finish.

How long does a piece of sandpaper last? Category: automotive budget cars. A sheet of sandpaper may last months if you are only using it to do touch ups on a small blade but if you are reprofiling SV that same sheet of sandpaper may only last an hour.

How do you clean sandpaper? How do you change the sandpaper on an orbital sander? How to Put Sandpaper on an Orbital Sander.