Random Orbital Sander with PSA Paper

[Leon]

Snip

On the flip side of that coin, I don't see the time loss even after using PSA for 15+ years.

Perhaps fiberglass dust is a problem or perhaps you purchased old paper. However I personally have never had a dust problem at all with PSA when sanding wood. Back in the late 70's I ran an automotive body shop and we bought the 3M PSA paper in rolls of 250. Even the bondo dust was not a problem for the PSA papers, as long as the paper was reasonably "fresh" and had not been setting on the shelf for too long of a period. In the late

80's and early 90's I was the GM for a 3M wholesale distributor and had my choice and no cost to me to any of the papers that we sold. I became sold on the PSA paper. PSA out sold H&L probably 10 to 1. On thing that may play a problem with PSA however is the temperature. I live in SE Texas and have not had to deal with a cold environment. The colder temperature might keep the adhesive from sticking well. Personal preference I guess as I so not benefit to either type of paper except for cost.

Humm... I cannot remember the last time that I had to clean the pad. And after several rolls of paper I don[t recall more than 3 or 4 times.

Still a little more than my local supplier for 50 PSA individually backed for $12.88 in 5" or 6" holled or not. I will say though that you are getting a good price on your H&L.. Who are you buying from?

Not really a cost thing to me as I pass the cost on to the customer. I do this for a living now. I just prefer the PSA.

[todd]

Well, it was a little less than clear to me when he responded to my first post what he was trying to say, so I restated it. I even said at the time that I was making his point by providing a specific example. Do you have some need to call attention to yourself by being a jag? Leon and I don't seem to have a problem, so why are you butting in? Go bother someone else.

todd

[B a r r y]

Personal choice.

I prefer H&L , as I change grits often. Others like PSA, as disks are cheaper and they seem to hold slightly better.

You payz your money...

Barry

[Mike Marlow]

I see a lot of comments from guys like myself who do both body work and woodwork.

Right now I don't own a RAS but I've been looking at them in a half hearted way. I do need to replace my DA though which has been a good soldier for a long time, but which leaks more air than a fat man at a saurkraut festival. The whole issue of a new DA is bigger than just buying one because I now only have a smaller compressor which just gets the sh*t kicked out of it by a DA and unless today's DA's are more compressor friendly, this just won't get any better. I've been wondering about the ability of the ROS products that are out there, to do the work of a DA. Haven't really compared anything as yet, but am wondering what you guys who dabble in both worlds like I do might have to think. Will a ROS stand up to the role of a DA for autobody? These days I paint or repair 2-3 cars a year, on average so we're not talking daily use, but you know how it gets when you do pull a car in...

[bridger]

for my needs, yes.

[Lazarus Long]

An individual sheet may be, but what about changing grits before the sheet's worn out? I use PSA, and to be honest, I've discarded good sheets simply because it's time for a grit change.

Hook and loop seems to have an advantage there.

[Lew Hodgett]

No way; however, you do need a fairly large compressor to support a DA.

IMHO, after using a DA, if you bought a ROS and tried to us it for body work, sooner or later you would get another DA and probably the compressor to support it.

HTH

[xrongor]

if you really want the velcro, im sure you could come up with a way to make some velcro 'pads' that you use releasable spray adhesive on in combination with the psa......

couldnt ya?

randy

[Jay Pique]

We've got H&L in our shop. When we have them. Our purchasing agent seems to rarely want to buy them. Of course he's also the owner, shop foreman, designer and payroll manager, so I guess he can do whatever the *&$%$# he wants.

JP

************************* Still sans fingerprints.

[Leon]

I bet he would let you pay for what ever style you want.

[Renata]

Couple more thoughts to those already posted.

PSA supposedly produces a flatter surface (particularly for those who measure things in micro millimeters;-).

A solution to changing grits is to have additional pads (not sanding disks; the pads that hold the paper) for the sander and stick the different grits you need for a project onto each pad. Three is probably a good number, but you might be able to get away w/2 if you tend to fully use up a disk on a project and can replace it with the next grit.

That said, if you're an occasional user, just getting started, etc. and don't want to immediately invest in multiple pads, I'd suggest H&L since you can change out the grits much more easily and avoid wasting the non-restickable PSA that you remove.

Renata

[nospambob]

[Lazarus Long]

Actually what I did was buy a velcro pad for my PC sander. The real purpose is to use buffing pads from Homestead Finishing, not hook 'n loop sandpaper. But since I had the new pad, I got some sandpaper too.

Now I can switch as I choose. PSA most often, but depending on the task at hand, switch to hook 'n loop.

[mttt]

Yepper's 3M "77" Spray Adhesive is at Lowes