I blame Ed for my sanding conversion :)

[brownsfn2]

I used to use Abranet all the time for sanding my pens. The stuff I had was getting old and I had to place an order at Exotics for more pen kits. Out of convenience and savings on shipping costs I ordered the pack of Klingspor sandpaper offered on their site. I liked the paper so I kept ordering it.

After a few months now I recently ran out of the Klingspor paper and found that Exotics was out of stock on my last order. I couldn't hold up my pen production so I found a new pack of abranet in my drawer and decided to use that for my next batch of pens. I immediately noticed a difference.

I turned a lot of AA acrylics in this last batch. I usually start sanding with 400 or 320 grit and then work my way up from there. When I started using the abranet I has to look and see if I had grabbed the wrong grit. It seemed like the 320 grit was cutting like 180 or 240. I got some deep scratches and had to cross sand much more than usual. It seems like the abranet is much more aggressive that the klingspor. I also noticed that I would have a deep scratch right next to a shallow scratch and it seemed to be inconsistent.

I guess I wrote all of that to say that it seems like the klingspor just does a better job in providing a consistent smooth finish and is more forgiving if I mistakenly apply too much pressure.

Has anyone else had this experience or is it just me?

I just ordered a box full of all the grits in stearate sheets from the them directly recently and am hoping it is the same stuff Exotics was selling. It seems I am a convert form abranet now that I have experienced both for some time.

I am sure everyone has a different experience and there is no "wrong way" so I would be happy to hear your impressions of the two compared.

 

[Haynie]

Never heard of it but I will look into it. Thank you.

 

[Carl Fisher]

I use 1" wide rolls from Klingspor and start my sanding at either 400 or 600 (wet or dry depending on the material).

Much better than the packaged rolls I've bought from woodcraft or similar.

 

[brownsfn2]

I use 1" wide rolls from Klingspor and start my sanding at either 400 or 600 (wet or dry depending on the material).

Much better than the packaged rolls I've bought from woodcraft or similar.

I was looking at the rolls but it looked like they only went up to 600 grit? I like to take woods pens to 1000 or 1500 to make the grain pop. Have you seen rolls with those grits from Klingspor?

 

[ed4copies]

Thanks for the mention, Ron!!

Honestly, I bought that from Klingspor and just repackaged it. We sell it as a convenience, so if you buy directly from them, you are definitely NOT goring my ox!!!

I have used their products for many years and, a couple years ago I saw a comparison by one of the wood magazines that also found Klingspor the "best" for wear and consistency.

It is ALWAYS nice to have someone confirm my beliefs!!! THANK YOU!!!!!

Buy it anywhere, but try Klingspor!! It IS good stuff!!
Ed

 

[maxwell_smart007]

I don't find that I need much sandpaper...I'll use 400 and 600 grit after turning to size, and then go to micromesh (which is likely a backtrack for my first grit, but it works for me)...

I just use the wet/dry stuff from the hardware store - lasts a long time.

 

[Mack C.]

Thanks for the mention, Ron!!

Honestly, I bought that from Klingspor and just repackaged it. We sell it as a convenience, so if you buy directly from them, you are definitely NOT goring my ox!!!

I have used their products for many years and, a couple years ago I saw a comparison by one of the wood magazines that also found Klingspor the "best" for wear and consistency.

It is ALWAYS nice to have someone confirm my beliefs!!! THANK YOU!!!!!

Buy it anywhere, but try Klingspor!! It IS good stuff!!

I'm not seeing 600 grit in A/O on their web site. I only ever use 400/600, and 400 very seldom!

 

[Carl Fisher]

I use 1" wide rolls from Klingspor and start my sanding at either 400 or 600 (wet or dry depending on the material).

Much better than the packaged rolls I've bought from woodcraft or similar.

I was looking at the rolls but it looked like they only went up to 600 grit? I like to take woods pens to 1000 or 1500 to make the grain pop. Have you seen rolls with those grits from Klingspor?

The 600 actually doesn't even make an appearance that often. For straight wood if I am going to use a friction polish, after the 400 I move to 4 Abralon pads (500, 1000, 2000, 4000)

For acrylic and CA, I wet sand with the 400 and then go through only 4 micromesh type pads and then novus and buff. I gave up the whole 12-step mm thing some time ago and adjusted my technique instead (pressure, time, speed, water, etc...)

 

[ed4copies]

Thanks for the mention, Ron!!

Honestly, I bought that from Klingspor and just repackaged it. We sell it as a convenience, so if you buy directly from them, you are definitely NOT goring my ox!!!

I have used their products for many years and, a couple years ago I saw a comparison by one of the wood magazines that also found Klingspor the "best" for wear and consistency.

It is ALWAYS nice to have someone confirm my beliefs!!! THANK YOU!!!!!

Buy it anywhere, but try Klingspor!! It IS good stuff!!

I'm not seeing 600 grit in A/O on their web site. I only ever use 400/600, and 400 very seldom!

I have their products in 600, 1000 and 1500 (all white, not black). But Mack is absolutely correct--it is not shown on their website. They are sending me information to become a source for those products. Gimme a week or so!!
Ed

 

[brownsfn2]

Do you mean for the 1 inch wide rolls Ed? That would be so much more convenient than cutting what I have into strips.

 

[ed4copies]

Presently, I couldn't find the high grits in any format. Hopefully we will change that soon.

 

[edstreet]

Just recently did I switch to abranet. I had one bowl that the 80 grit 3" pads on my hand drill did very little. Also I did notice that it takes a great deal less sanding. As for sanding softer materials I used some 600 grit on a snakeskin blank and it did a super fast job of it.

 

[Rob73]

I switched from sandpaper to abranet probably six months ago. When I used normal sandpaper I could always see scratches. I never see scratches when I use the abranet. I've never tried klingspor though, guess I'll put some on my list.

 

[edstreet]

Also way less heat build up.

 

[raar25]

I switched to Abranet about 4 months ago and I really like it but the 600 seems to loose it grit pretty quick. I bought the multi pack and hardly every use the 100 and 120 because they really remove too much material. In most cases I start at 220-320-400-600 5 seconds each. But I will have to try the killingspor. I have been putting together a list of stuff to buy from Ed to maximize my shipping.

 

[triw51]

I use the strips also and they last a long time (I will rinse a strip out in water when it is clogged with dust).

 

[Timbo]

I too gave up the many-step micromesh process some time ago. I now finish both acrylic and CA by wet sanding with Klingspor papers. I buy the sheets and cut them into 3/4" strips. Most of the time I start with 800, then 1000, 1500 and 2000. I follow that up with novus 3 & 2, and a final buffing on lathe. Sometimes my CA application is less smooth than normal, or an acrylic may have a little crazing when i'm done turning...in those cases I start with either 400 or 600 grit. But the other steps are the same. This process is faster than micromesh, inexpensive, and my tennis elbow went away :biggrin:.

Tip: I use a spray water bottle to wet sandpaper, blank, and to rinse in between grits. I tried left over bottles from Windex and other household products but the spray pumps wore out within weeks. I picked a spray bottle up from the dollar store and amazingly, it is still working after a year. I just picked up an extra just in case the Chinese decide to change to something else.

 

[edstreet]

What I find interesting is abranet comes in rolls. 2 3/4", 3 2/3", 4 1/2" wide and 10yards or 25 yards.