3M sandblaster paper

[Kevin L. Bowling]

Anybody ever tried this? This stuff is great!

[Creamy Goodness]

One of the latest mags, I think it was Wood magazine, rated it the highest in their tests. Have to get some and try it out!

Mike Rinken

[Jim Wilson]

Funny you should ask. True story:

I just bought some 3M Sandblaster paper about a week ago. Next day I headed out to the shop to start some sanding. I do a lot of sanding. Five minutes, later I came back in and sat down at the table across from the missus. She set her coffee down and looked up from the mail with that "Now what?" expression of hers.

I must have smiled. "You know how I always come in here and complain whenever things go wrong? When advertisers over-rate their products? When reality falls short of expectations?"

"You mean how you view mishaps as an opportunity to take a break? And how you always go on and on whining whenever the slightest little obstacle comes up?" she grinned. "What happened now?"

"See this?" I held up a dusty 1/4 sheet of the yellow paper. "This stuff is golden."

"I can see that," she said.

"No, I mean this stuff is the bomb!" I sounded like a 12 year old gushing over a new pair of sneakers. "Really! It's great! This is the best sandpaper I have ever used. Oh, I've seen the same propaganda before -- cuts 3 times faster, lasts 3 times longer -- but it's never been true. This stuff really works! It's more like five or ten times better!"

She laughed and turned back to her bills. I headed back out the shop. It briefly crossed my mind to step into the office and post a message to the wreck, but I reconsidered. "Nah. Who gets excited about sandpaper?"

Jim

[mttt]

It is the recent version of Wood. But I also thought it was expensive and they rated the Klingspore's a best buy. It was late and I was scanning the mag, but I think that's what they were saying...

[Leon]

You need to take a look at that article agagi. The 3M SandBlaster disk was rated "Most Expensive" and NOT the best. It did about average compared to the rest of the group. Of the 9 disks tested the 3M did not do any better than any other paper when comparing finish quality and hook and loop grip. It scored C+ for agrsssiveness. It did however shine in the catagory of readability of grit. The 3M discs were 3 times more expensive than disks that scored much better.

[Leon]

Jim, you might want to pick up the latest issue of Wood magazine. The 3M Sandblaster was tested against 9 other brands of papers. The 3M did alost as good as the other brands but it was 3 times more expensive than the brands that did better.

[Bob Bonn]

Yes, I've used it. It's excellent. Best sandpaper I've ever used.

[Creamy Goodness]

I too was reading the article late, thanks! Thought it was rated the best, my bad!

Mike

[mttt]

I'm intrigued now by the apparent difference of opinion. Perhaps the only way to solve it is to spend a coupl'a bucks and make up my own mind.

[Leon]

"Creamy Goodness" I too was reading the article late, thanks! Thought it was rated the best,

In all fairness to you, the chart you probably saw in the article leads on to believe that the 3M is the best. Looking closer at the chare reveals that the chart is an indicator of cost vs. performance.

[Kevin L. Bowling]

I didn't see that article. I'd like to know what sandpapers it claimed was better. The 3M stuff saved me about four hours yesterday. Absolutely the best I've ever used. If there is actually something better I wanna know about it. I'd like to make my own comparisons cause I don't believe everything I read.

[Clint Neufeld]

In any case, you guys all suck. I haven't received my copy of that issue yet. What sucks even more is that the news-stands have them already! :(

Clint

[Creamy Goodness]

hehe. I got mine Tuesday. Pretty good stuff this month.

[Fly-by-Night CC]

Did they compare one of the Mirka lines? If so, which one and would you mind relating how Mirka compared?

Thanks.

[brad]

Just got the mag in yesterday's mail (I'm in NH) and read the article quickly. The best rated sandpaper was the Klingspor open coat paper. It was rated the most "aggressive," I believe. The best "value" was the Klingspor stearated disks. The 3M "sandblaster" product rated pretty well, but because it was so much more expensive, it didn't do well overall.

[<mslatter]

Put me down for an agree. It's the only paper I buy. There are more and more Sandblaster products these days. I'm only referring to the basic sheets, and for hand-sanding. With those caveats, I agree, it's the best I've ever tried, and worth getting excited over, pathetic as that may seem.

[Kevin L. Bowling]

The 3-M stuff costs about a buck and a half more (in SW Ohio) for three sheets than four sheets of the regular paper. I've only used a half sheet so far whereas I would used at least three or four (full sheets)of the other stuff by now. I've only used the paper. The sponges etc. were quite expensive and I didn't need any at the time. If I ever see the Kligspor paper I'll have to try some. The extra buck and a half was a great deal considering it saved me about $120.00 in labor. Another thing I thought was cool. I just folded the paper in half and it tore right apart easily. Didn't need to cut it. Thinking about this I'm not sure it would hold up well in an orbital sander. Has anybody tried it?

Kevin

[Jim Wilson]

Thanks for the tip, Leon. I will certainly have to do that. I've been buying and using sandpaper for a good coupla years now (tongue firmly in cheek), and I wonder how I could have missed those other 8 brands all this time.

I seriously doubt an article could change my opinion, formed as it has been from personal experience. However, if the article points me to a brand that I find works better, I'll be nothing but happier and would be delighted to relay the news.

Cheers!

Jim

[Jim Wilson]

Grit 220 worked great in my ROS. The initial experience that prompted my earlier post was for that followed by hand-sanding with 320 and 400. All three grits were remarkable.

The first interesting thing I noticed is the apparent disregard the product has for variations in the hardness of the material being sanded. It easily and cleanly leveled some CA (super glue) seams in hardwood. In general, CA sands poorly, especially with finer grits; it tends to clog the paper, and most papers tend to cut the wood adjacent to the glue joint much faster than the glue itself, so that without extraordinary care, a noticeable hump is left at the joint. Not so this in this case. The paper effortlessly left a smooth, flat, nearly invisible seam.

Some not quite perfectly dry bloodwood did clog the paper a bit, although to a significantly lesser degree than usual, and after much more (literally 3-5x longer) sanding than usual. If you haven't worked it before, bloodwood has a very waxy sap, and although it sands and polishes to an incredible finish, it does use up abrasive paper doing so.

I finished sanded four gaboon ebony chisel handles by hand, grits 220,

320, and 400. This used (but did not use up) approximately 1 to 1-1/2 square inches of paper for each grit, and took less than ten minutes work. In contrast, the same task usually consumes 3-5 square inches of paper per grit, and takes twenty to thirty minutes. Ebony is kind of hard.

In addition, the paper itself is interesting. It's flexible enough to follow gentle contours without cracking or wrinkling. It doesn't seem to tear easily unless I'm trying to tear it. Specifically, I had no problem tearing sheets into quarters or eighths, but it did not tear as many sandpapers do at the seam when used while folded in half, nor did the grit come off the paper at the folds.

Just another couple of data points.

Jim

[Leon]

I have for the last 15 years or so only used PC brand and 3M brand sand paper. I at one time worked for a 3M wholesale distributor and had my pick of any thing that we stocked and got it at no charge. I brought home several rolls of 250 count sanding disks. I agree that 3M makes a good product as far as the sand paper is concerned but there are "just as good products" out there that cost much less. For me cost was not a factor.

The other brands dont advertise as much as 3M does and you simply do not see the other brands being sold in the common Borg's. Norton, Mirca, and 3M are often more commonly seen in the businesses that cater to the trades.