There are many sanding paper types or sanding disc in the world. Some sandpaper are made for wood, some sanding disc are used for car. And also there are hand use sandpaper or sanding disc for orbital sanders. Now we bring 4 general tips to show you how to choose the right sand paper.
- Choose the right material for sand paper
Synthetic abrasive grains such as alumina Oxide, zirconium carbide , silicon carbide and ceramic corundum are commonly used in current production. Synthetic abrasive grains not only offer significant advantages in hardness and toughness compared to natural abrasive grains; they also have greater uniformity, which allows them to make and use abrasives for harsh industrial applications. Here’s the brief introduction of those materials and may help you choose the right one for sand paper, which is much important for production.
- Alumina Oxide- This synthetic grit is durable and ideal for deburring metal and for initial rough sanding of wood. Aluminium oxide sandpaper uses when sanding metal with alumina, the grit actually gets sharper, so you don’t have to change the sandpaper as often. The most commonly used specification is 5”allumina oxide sanding disc, and 6”allumina oxide sanding disc.
- Silicon carbide – Silicon carbide is the hardest and sharpest of the manufactured abrasives. It is perfect if you want touse sanding paper for wood or furniture. Also good for soft surface like plastic or stone. The most popular choice is 100 grit wet dry sandpaper.
- Ceramic – Ceramic corundum is a high performance, man-made abrasive material. It is suitable for big stock removal, best in rough grinding paint off the car body or rough finish on the wood. . The most commonly used specification is 5” cermaic sanding disc and 6” cermaic sanding disc..
- Zirconia alumina – Zirconia alumina is an ultra-tough, synthetic abrasive which provides a free, cool cut for high stock removal applications. It is tougher and sharper than aluminum oxide. It is suitable for abrasive planing of wood, plywood and particleboard grinding fiberglass, rubber and plastics.
- Choose the right grit for the Sand paper
In the production process, we must select the right grit of the abrasive according to the surface quality, processing efficiency, durability, and other requirements of the workpiece. How to ensure that you pick an appropriate sandpaper grits?
- Ultra-coarse sandpaper has a particle size range of P24 to P36 and is used to remove hard-to-peel paints and varnishes.
- Coarse particles are usually in the 40-50 particle size range. This strength of grit sandpaper is to roughen wood and remove finishes, such as light-colored polyurethane coatings.
- Medium grit sandpaper, with a gritrange of P60 to P100 , suitable for the last sanding before painting. Usually we also use medium-grit sandpaper to do preliminary sanding.
- The particle size of fine sandpaper is P120-P For most home workshops, this sandpaper is sufficient for the final sanding.
- Superfine sandpaper is often used between paints or varnishes. P240, P320 and P400abrasives are known as very fine abrasives, while super or ultra-fine abrasives up to P600 are best for polishing.
NOTE: On many projects, we usually use different grits of sandpaper during work, like start with a coarse grit and then switch to a finer grit for a smooth finish.
- Use right tools when sanding
You can fold a sheet of paper into a palm-sized square, sand until the grit darkens, and then refold it to get a new sandpaper finish.
However, if there is a lot to be sanded, it is best to use sanding tools. It is still important to choose the correct grit and type of sandpaper for the job.
- Hand sander: This cheap tool usually consists of a rubber pad with side clips holding the sandpaper and just requires you to move the handle. Hand sanders are suitable for sanding large areas.
- Sanding block: Made of a flexible sponge covered with sandpaper, the softness of the sandpaper sponge allows the user to press the sponge against the edge while sanding to rounded edges
- Orbital Sanders: Depending on size and brand, orbital sanders can be fitted with sanding disc such as aluminum polish pad for sanding flat areas.
- Sanding belt machine : In large production, the selection of abrasive belts can improve work efficiency. At this time, the Sanding belt machine is the most suitable choice.
- Keep safe when use sanding paper
- Protective masks (or protective face shields) and glasses must be worn when working.
- Before working, check whether the safety protection device is in good condition, and whether the ventilation and dust removal device is effective.
- When grinding and polishing with a hand-held electric grinder, there must be a solid protective cover and a protective zero line, or a leakage protector.
- When more than two people are grinding and polishing at the same time, they are not allowed to work in the same direction at the same time to prevent accidents.
- After the work is completed, the power supply should be cut off, and the machine should be stopped before leaving the work.
Conclusion
When you learn how to choose the right sandpaper, you will find that starting with various coarse-grained alumina papers for initial sanding, to fine-grained papers for fine sanding, a variety of works can be found in a very smooth surface is formed in your hands, which eventually “comes back to life”.