Which budget sandpaper should I buy for my ROS

Yesterday I bought a Bosch Random Orbital Sander - GEX 125-1 AE Professional.

I bought some diablo sanding discs to go with it but I want to stock up now - what do people recommend? I notice there is some cheap ones on ebay 10pc 5" 125mm 8 Hole Hook Loop Sanding Discs 60-2000 Grit Orbital Sandpaper Pad | eBay

Its much cheaper. Would a diablo pad = 5 of these?

OR this 200x 125mm 5" HOOK & LOOP SANDING DISCS PAD DRYWALL 8 HOLE ORBITAL 120 180 240 # | eBay

its about half the price compared to diablo.

If anyone can recommend some much appreciated! (Im happy to keep switching pads if it is ultimately cheaper)

Quality paper is important. Lookup The Sandpaperman. Forum sponsor and supplier of quality products.

:whs:

Get the Sia papers that Sandpaper Man carries. Poor quality cheap sandpaper is false economy in terms of dollars, finish quality, and your time. I find the Sia sandpaper gives more consistent results for much longer than Diablo sheets. Smith and Arrow may be ok but I've never used it

You'll find cheap sandpaper has inconsistent grit sizing, clogs easily, and the abrasive either falls off the paper when you look at it sideways or is worn away in a few seconds.

http://d1r5wj36adg1sk.cloudfront.net...gns/whs0be.gif

The Sia papers are fantastic - better results, and the alox/zirconia grits last 3-4 times longer than other papers. I've used Sia on Festool sanders for ages now in preference to the genuine Festool papers.

You'll find Sandpaper Man is great to deal with, and only stocks quality products.:2tsup:

The new Norton and Sia ceramic abrasives are very long lasting, expensive seemingly, but last for ages, and I mean Ages!!!

Again the sandpaper man.
Or if you can find the thread written by
Fence furniture he did an excellent review on orbital sandpapers awhile back.
Cheers Matt

Yes, "rogue grits" - a larger particle than it should be for the grit declaration - can be very expensive in terms of time (and papers).

With abrasives you get what you pay for. I use a range of Alum Zirconia and ceramic grits on plastic film that are fairly expensive at face value, but last for a staggeringly long time, and are therefore cheap as chips. This also helps in terms of how much abrasive paper I have to store here, and how often I have to change discs on a big job.

I use the Makita white discs but they do not seem to last long. Bought a 50 pack of 80g from Home hardware in Belmont today for 26$ which I thought was a good price.


Edit Geez those ones from Hong Kong are cheap.

Several times I’ve bought sandpaper disks off eBay and it hasn’t really worked out. I’ll give another vote for Sandpaperman. I’ve bought from him a couple of times and been very happy - some of the disks just kept on going and going but sorry but I don’t remember which of his brands it was.

I don’t consider Diablo a good brand, maybe middle market at best. The Sandpaperman disks outlasted the diablos by several times.

Have to say - I know sandpaper is expensive and none of us like paying for it but if you’re chewing through it could it be a matter of technique. Pushing too hard, maybe?

Cheers
Arron

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Arron

Pushing too hard, maybe?

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That'll do it. Decent equipment + decent abrasives = let them do the work for you. You shouldn't really be pressing too hard at all - just enough to guide things around securely.

Also clogging of the paper through poor or no DE is a big killer of discs. They get hot, which leads to more clogging, so they get hotter.....

Another thing that too few people do is use the speed control. TURN IT DOWN if you can, especially on lacquers/paints etc. Paint loves to melt and clag the papers.

Thanks guys. Is there any promotion at sandpaperman for being a forum member?

Im not chewing through it as such - the diablo pads are only the second time in my life ive bought sandpaper! I am a newbie.

Another alternativem if you want to save money on sandpaper disks, get Abranet. They will cost you a few times more than you are planing to spend, however the disks last a very long time. In the end you will save money. You will need to get a Mirka "pad saver" as well (as otherwise the hook and loop pad will wear).

Regards from Perth

Derek

thanks derek. Just on the pad saver - how does it work? Is it just an intermediate layer that goes in between?

Here is a link to the pad protector: Mirka 77mm, 125mm, 150mm Abranet Pad Savers / Pad protectors **ALL SIZES**

It is placed on the sander pad, and the disk goes onto this.

Regards from Perth

Derek

As others have said above.

Reminds me a little of the analogy of the motorbike rider, if you value your head at $20 then buy a $20 helmet.

If you value your time, effort and material then go with the best you can afford. I understand and agree that $ spent do not necessarily equate to quality but quality does cost more than, "She'll be right or That will do," which appears to be the attitude of some of the cheapie manufacturers.

Ended up ordering the cheap sandpaper from Hong Kong at 24c a sheet. Got some 60g,320g and 1000g which should be interesting.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tony ray

Ended up ordering the cheap sandpaper from Hong Kong at 24c a sheet. Got some 60g, 320g and 1000g which should be inter esting.

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that's a very strange selection of grits. would you care to elaborate on your thinking

I have just stocked up on 80 to 240 g. I'm figuring 60g which I mainly use for stripping gets destroyed very quickly so its not worth quality paper. As for 320 & 1000 they had no in between and I had never seen anything over 400 I thought I would try the 1000g.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tony ray

I'm figuring 60g which I mainly use for stripping gets destroyed very quickly so its not worth quality paper.

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Absolutely on the contrary!

Last week I used one 150mm disc of 60 grit on film, not paper, to sand about 70 rough sawn pine palings, both sides. I can do the same thing (one disc) to sand about a dozen or more 200x100x2400 treated pine sleepers - including pulling splinters out of the pad that are 6-8mm in diameter - without damaging the abrasive disc AT ALL.

At a cost of around $1 I'll bet that's a helluva lot cheaper than you can do it for with those 25c discs (and faster)!

FF - I'm still using those couple of sample coarse grit Jöst discs which you kindly sent me. They have been absolutely hammered, and still keep coming back for more. Much faster material removal than the equivalent Festool discs I had.

The only trouble with organizing a group buy of Jöst discs is that they last so long; nobody will need very many !! :D

+ 1 for Abranet. I've been very impressed with how long this lasts and how clean it stays. Aside from the discs for my ROS i'm also a fan of the Abranet hand sanding pad which has a hose to connect to my CT26. Does a great job of removing sanding dust when hand sanding.

Brian

Regardless of brand, the overriding view seems to be that quality papers are well worth the $$$, and cheapo stuff is just a false economy.....

I'm sure the OP will work this out for himself in due course.

I use the 60g to strip old shellac, poly finishes plus glues like super glue so they clog rather than wear out. I have sia paper( the purple stuff) from sandpaper man for when in ready to finish a piece.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by homey

+ 1 for Abranet. I've been very impressed with how long this lasts and how clean it stays. Aside from the discs for my ROS i'm also a fan of the Abranet hand sanding pad which has a hose to connect to my CT26. Does a great job of removing sanding dust when hand sanding.

Brian

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Never tried the mesh discs, would you recommend them for finer grades for finishing over the 8 hole discs.

Tony,

Yes, I now use the Abranet down to fine grades. Previously using Festool discs which I was happy enough with - mostly. The Abranet just don't seem to clog in the same way. Mirka have a brochure here:

http://www.mirka.com/SharePoint/Mark...%20English.pdf

For any ultrafine stuff, e.g. 1,000 to 12,000 I use Micromesh (from The Sandpaper Man) - although Micromesh isn't mesh in the Abranet sense, just very fine abrasive. I use it sometimes for bringing up a high shine on hard shellac or for polishing scratches out of brass fittings.

Most of my boxes get french polished so there's no advantage to sanding the wood below about 320g as the polish quickly builds a layer above the wood anyway. I'll sand further if using an oil finish or just wax (not usual).


Brian

In addition to the Abranet mesh disks (which need the Mirka pad saver for the ROS), the Mirka hand sander is fantastic. Below is an extract from one of my builds, when I described the hand sander ...

The sanding was quick: I ran through 120/220/400 grit. The Abranet grits are amazing. With the vacuum cleaner connected, it is extremely efficient. There is no waste dust to clog up the sander to slow things down, and an Abranet sheet, itself, lasts and lasts.


http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furnitu...ml_c3d974f.jpg


http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furnitu...l_4a652cf5.jpg


http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furnitu...l_6237eaad.jpg


http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furnitu...l_39efb6ed.jpg


But even 400 grit is not as clear as the scraped finish (below), and the reason why I scraped after refining the surface with sanding.


http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furnitu...l_7f541cdc.jpg


My preference when sanding is to roughly double the next grit in the sequence. Consequently, I went 120/220/400. The Abranet/Mirka mesh really is superb. It lasts many, many times longer than anything I imagine you have used. You owe it to yourself to try out what I show here. I think that you will be so impressed that you will not go back. It is not expensive. The sander was around $25. The Abranet mesh stays sharp, and you can jump grits as I do.


I try to do as much with a plane as possible. If it was possible, all would be done with a plane. Sometimes a scraper is added. Rarely is a sander (I have a Festools ROS in a cabinet that has not been used in a decade. Indeed, mine is called a Festo, the name that predates Festool). The Mirka/Abranet combo is a new addition to the tool chest, purchased at the end of last year, and the plan was to use it for this very situation.


Regards from Perth

Derek

thanks guys. I ended up getting 180 and 240 sia 1950 pads - 100 each. It will probably last a life time for me.

When do you guys go over 240 grit for general wood finishing? I was told 220 or 240 is as high as you need to go when you sand poly between coats.

Agreed with everything here. I used FF's Jost Alum Zirconia disk - hooooolley hell, they are like an angle grinder at 60 grit! Even the 80 and 120 you dont want to use pressure on softer woods like pine. Never tilt the sander, for it will be like using a file :)

I love them.

A good thread, timely, for I need to restock on 80 and 120's. Might give the Abranet a crack - thanks for the ebay links. better pricing than Amazon too (anyone noticing the number of items that no longer ship to Oz, or have their prices going up for Oz visitors (scam!!!), or seeing "Prime members only"... time to find an alternative supplier!!!)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by qwertyu

When do you guys go over 240 grit for general wood finishing? I was told 220 or 240 is as high as you need to go when you sand poly between coats.

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Well here is a piece of non-descript Eucalyptus sanded to 4000 with no other finish applied. Bare wood.

https://www.woodworkforums.com/attach...3&d=1409738461

I have deliberately focused on the things being reflected in the timber, namely the Kapex Mitre Saw (green lever etc to the right), and Aluminium channel on the left, so you can assess the gloss of the sanded finish only. Derek, you might recognise that alum channel.....

Btw, in my experience, a high quality ROS will deliver a finish that is 1-2 grits finer than hand sanding. That is, with my Festool ETS 150 EC sander (The Dog's Balls of Sanders, along with a couple of others) I can get a much better finish with any given grit than I can by hand with the same grit.

First time box maker here.
Been wanting to upgrade my super inexpensive ROS paper to a higher quality.

ABRASIVES COMPARISON - multiple types, grits compared by 4 testers - by FenceFurniture
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f171/a...ive+comparison

Just spoke with someone at The SandPaperMan.com.au

SIA
https://www.thesandpaperman.com.au/1...sc/index2.html

Micro-Mesh
https://www.thesandpaperman.com.au/1...-sanding-disc/

Abranet
https://www.bestabrasives.com.au/pro...-sanders-125mm



Since I'm new and wanted to restrict my financial commitment (I didn't want my first box to cost $600+ LOL!)
So I thought I might trial the 5 packs to begin with.

Current plan is to use a makita 125mm 18v ROS.
I'm not in the Festool league.

Lower grits in SIA brand are $~1.04 each disk
Hight grits in Micro-Mesh brand are $3.40 each

I'm looking at burnishing with the following grits

SIA
100
120
240

400
800
1200

Micro-Mesh
2000
4000


Am I asking too much of my makita 125mm ROS?
Makita bare tools supposed to last a carpenter 15 years and a DIY'r 30. or maybe 10 and 20

Any suggestion on better prices or perhaps someone offers a beginners pack?

Any restrictions on wet sanding with these discs?

Abranet Discs are ~1.70 disk in packs of 10 only
Note: P numbers are NOT the same as grit

Thanks in advance

http://www.psidragon.com/customer/pr...Comparison.pdf


Grit - P
100 - P100
120 - P120

240 - P280 or P320
400 - P600 or P800


800 - P1200
1200 - P2000

2000 - P??? - Micro-Mesh
4000 - P??? - Micro-Mesh

I ended up buying some blue and purple Sia discs. If the quality of the mesh sandpaper is as good as the jump from purple to blue, I would pay extra and get the mesh. The blue stuff lasts ages and everybody says the mesh is better then the blue so it's probably worth it/cheaper in the long run.

Can't comment on the Sia VS abranet mesh would be great if someone has both to compare

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk

Looks like these guys sell singles:
https://www.malleeagencies.com.au/co...nt=36867879105

125mm available in
P80
P100
P120
P150
P180
P240
P320
P400

OK ordered a set of make due grits.
Some were sold out and I'd have to wait a week to hold my order to save on postage.
The box is burning a hole in my work bench.

Anyone know of a place that sells these over the counter here in melbourne?
Preferably in singles.

I'm happy to chase down their stock availability.

I have been using disks supplied by Smith and Arrow for quite some time now and find them to be up to the task and the company is really good to deal with. They are a sponsor of this forum and orders over $30.00 are freight free.


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