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Hello I need to purchase wet and dry sand papers in various grits. What is everyones preferred brands? I've been using Norton's and 3M not sure if there is a better alternative out there before I restock up on 25 sheet packs.

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I really like Festool's sandpaper. They're really economical, long lasting, and do really nice job. I have boxes of the Ruben and Platen papers that are a decade old. I remember paying $25-$50 for each.

Tom is a big fan of the Carborundum sandpapers in his Luthier's Edge program.

We use "Gator" in our experience it performs just as well as 3M and Norton -- pretty good savings when buying 25 packs.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

I like Mirka Abranet and when used with their sanding pad connected to the shop vac it is just about dustless too!

http://www.mirka.com/abrasive/Abrasives_By_Name/#/

Bob

I'm looking for Wet and Dry sand paper here fellows.

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http://gatorfinishing.com/products/hand ... aterproof/

The finer grits (800--) are branded Auto Master and Finish First.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

For hand sanding I like Mirka or 3M. For the ROS I use Mirka Abranet.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Bob- Which of the Abranets are you using? I tried it once a long time ago, but it just seemed too aggressive and left scratches. Are you using it in all the grits, or just doing rough sanding with it? Thanks, Bob

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso

I'm sure you can get cheaper but the Norton and 3M brands have been my go to's for many years.
Also widely available.
Ken

I use 3M cuz I can get it at Walfart and any automotive store.
It holds up to wet sanding just fine.

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

3M Gold for dry papers. The Norton brand is less expensive but loads up and dulls faster than the 3M Gold in my experience. For wet sanding, I can't find better than MicroMesh. The stuff is pricey but so are my guitars. It also gives long service.

Mike Franks
www.mjfranksguitars.com
www.facebook.com/mjfranksguitars

3M Gold is good and was my favorite until I tried Sait papers and now Sait gets my by the box purchase order.

What I like best about Sait is the backing, it's paper but very cloth like and much more substantial than 3M and other papers. For applications such as sanding frets to a high polish the Sait abrasive and stiffer backing seems to last longer than other papers.

Bob[/quote]
Bob- Which of the Abranets are you using? I tried it once a long time ago, but it just seemed too aggressive and left scratches. Are you using it in all the grits, or just doing rough sanding with it? Thanks, Bob[/quote]


I bought a mixed pack of Abranet with the manual vac sander. Grits are 80 to 600 over 7 grades (note these are Mirka numberings and do not relate to other makers grit sizes.) the 600 is very fine. I finish using Tru-Oil and use a well used piece of the 600 to de nib between coats but I prefer a satin finish as personally I don't like the high gloss buffed finish. I also use the 600 to buff up my frets. They do a range of sanding abrasives too aimed at the automotive industry, Autonet, which may be what you are looking for. Here is a link http://www.mirka.com/uk/uk/UK_ABRASIVES ... g-Range/#/

Cheers, Bob

For wet sanding finishes I like mylar backed micron and trizact "papers". They are relatively expensive but last a long time and are very well graded so all the "scratches" are the same size.

industrial abrasives in reading pa Has a number of types and a good price the wet sand paper lasts and they have no loading paper that holds up well.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

For wet/dry papers, we use 3M Imperial due to it's durability in service. We have some papers that have been soaked for 2-3 years (water is changed every few weeks and a drop of Dawn liquid dish detergent added to retard growth of bacteria) and are still fast-cutting. We have tried several other brands of papers, including the auto store bargain brands, and none hold up as long as the Imperial papers when stored wet. Just after starting here, I tossed much of the Norton wet/dry paper, which showed delamination between backing and abrasive/glue after just a few months in water.

For dry use at P320/P400/P600/P800, we prefer 3M Gold papers due to their non-loading nature with lacquer and Enduro-Var, but for blocking and other medium grit bulk removal of wood or prep for filling or sealing, (P100/P150/P220), pretty much any brand of quality aluminum oxide paper does well - we use Norton, 3M, and - in a pinch - the big box store stuff from Freud and Gater.

We buy abrasives in full 50 sheet sleeves to get the lowest price per sheet possible at reasonable quantity...3M is usually close to $50 for a 50 sheet sleeve of Imperial from Amazon Prime, but by shopping the best sales and taking advantage of longer shipping times as Amazon aggregates a larger order, we've averaged about $0.80 per sheet for Imperial papers. We buy P400/P800/1200 paper for wet finishing and add P600 to the list for fret polishing (we buff beyond 1200 for final polish, so do not use anything beyond 1200 other than for Scary Sharp demonstration and practice). Sales from both industrial suppliers and stores like Woodcraft can really cut the cost down for quality dry abrasives - we talked the local Woodcraft down a bit for Abranet disks which we have started experimenting with for between-coat Enduro-Var sanding per Mr. John Greven's process and schedule for that water-based finish.

Does anyone know if the Japanese-made wet/dry paper Frank Ford suggested on his Frets site is still available in the States? I'd like to see if there are advantages versus the Imperial papers.

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A constellation only takes shape when one maps the whole.
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I really like the 3m gold frecut for dry sanding. It resists shellac corning and is like night and day compared to other sandpapers I have used,
MIke

Bob-Thanks for the Abranet info. 20+ years ago I was a Mirka dealer for local woodworkers and I got hooked on Mirka Gold, which I still use for all raw wood air RO sanding. I also use Abralon during the final stage of finishing with lacquer. Somehow, I just did not figure out the Abranet, but that's not unusual. Over 40 years of lutherie, I've often found myself returning to try out a product that I had previously given up on. So, for $21 from Amazon I can get that variety pack of Abranet and I'll give it a go again.--Bob

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso

Woodie

If you have the same sheets soaking for 2-3 years, how often do they get used? How many guitars does each grit service before you decide to replace it?

Thanks

Ed

Woodie - are you using a ROS for this? I might give it a whirl. (Notice the pun?) What grit? Are you using them for final leveling as well?

Mike


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We stay pretty busy...three students and another luthier over a few days a week team building a couple dreadnoughts and a 000, plus 6 other new guitars. And that's just the new stuff - lots of repair and refinish work. We have 5-6 full sheets of paper in each grit container, so somewhere between 20-40 or so 1/4 and 1/8 sheet pieces soaking in the P400, P800, and 1200 grit containers. The 1200 lasts forever, while it seems I have to add a sheet of 400 or 800 every few months. Sandpaper consumption when wet-sanding lacquer or polyurethane/polyester finishes is nil; nearly all our wet/dry sandpaper use is on fretwork, where we burn up a 1/4 sheet of each grit on every refret or crown/level/polish.

We have been using the Festool ROS with 400 Abranet disks for between-coat sanding, but have some Abralon coming in to use for final prep on Enduro-Var per Mr. Greven's methods.

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A constellation only takes shape when one maps the whole.
- Beth Brower