Hand sanding question...

D

deker

Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Messages
3,496
Just a quick question on hand sanding. Is there anything you can do to keep the finer grit papers (1000 grit, etc) from just loading up with metal really quickly? It seems like the first few strokes do a lot of work and then the paper just gets all clogged up...

Thanks,

-d
 
Belive it or not, I use honing oil or cutting fluid, works well to cut better AND keep paper longer lasting. Shawn
 
S.Knowles said:
Belive it or not, I use honing oil or cutting fluid, works well to cut better AND keep paper longer lasting. Shawn
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I'll try that today....thanks!

Any other tricks anybody? :)

-d
 
Always use 'wet or dry ' type and use it wet. I just use water , a light oil works too.
 
As weird as it sounds, when i get wayyyy up, Ive tried a new trick of lubricating the sandpaper with mothers mag aluminum polish. Just a tiny amount.....it seems to allow me to see scratches left much easier while at the same time polishing.....i havent tried any extended tests with it, but its worth a shot...
 
WD40 has always worked best for me, and no worry about rust.

WD40 has kerosene as a carrier and that's been used for many years as a lube in sanding, drilling, and as a cutting fluid, etc.

When sanding, as the lube turns to a dark slurry, wipe it off, reapply WD and keep going. No matter what you use, you will have to do it often. I use paper towels for this.


Edited to add: Make sure you sand in one direction only, in case you didn't know this. If you go back and forth you will get unsightly fishhook turn around scratches in the pattern.
 
I too use WD-40 religiously on carbon steels and water on stainless steels. Really helps alot. I also wrap my paper around a piece of rectangular aluminum block about 4" X 1/2" X 1". Helps keep the flats flat.
 
Mike Hull said:
WD40 has always worked best for me, and no worry about rust.

WD40 has kerosene as a carrier and that's been used for many years as a lube in sanding, drilling, and as a cutting fluid, etc.

When sanding, as the lube turns to a dark slurry, wipe it off, reapply WD and keep going. No matter what you use, you will have to do it often. I use paper towels for this.


Edited to add: Make sure you sand in one direction only, in case you didn't know this. If you go back and forth you will get unsightly fishhook turn around scratches in the pattern.
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Yep what Mike said. WD40 and wet dry paper, although I no longer hand sand blades.:D
Scott
 
I use water as well.
It leaves a sort of 'paste' on the blade that keeps sanding.
 
I use TOOL COOL II to help cut. IT SEEMS TO CUT AND GO TO AN EXTRA FINER FINISH WHEN YOU ARE DONE. Mike
 
I know this will sound odd, but I always dry sand on damascus to save the trouble of removing the solvent later. The odd thing is that I found rubbing the sandpaper down the leg of your pants cleans it up real quick. (My wife always wonders why my jeans are so dirty) hehe
Del
 
deker said:
Just a quick question on hand sanding. Is there anything you can do to keep the finer grit papers (1000 grit, etc) from just loading up with metal really quickly? It seems like the first few strokes do a lot of work and then the paper just gets all clogged up...

Thanks,

-d
Click to expand...

I use water and I put a few drops of laundry detergent in it. The soap breaks the surface tension and the water penetrates the paper better and doesn't bead up on the blade and run off so easy.
 
Windex works great for me....... every few strokes, just wipe the blade with paper towels, shoot a little on the paper, and shoot the blade. Keeps everything nice and clean.

Robert
 
Baby Oil works too. I used to use dish soap and water in a spray bottle until members of this forum suggested baby oil. It's cheap enough and it works for me.

BTW, I hate hand rubbing blades.
 
Joe Cabaup said:
BTW, I hate hand rubbing blades.
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I'm quickly learning that I dont like it much either...I don't have a buffer though, so for now this'll have to do.

Let me see if I got this right now...I should mix water, WD-40, baby oil, Aloe Gel, and laundry detergent together and sand with that right? :D

thanks for all the great ideas folks...I have a lot of stuff to try.

Another question. What do you folks back sandpaper with? I've got some tongue-depressor type things that I'm sticking the paper to w/ a spray adhesive. Seems to work OK, but I'm worried that there may be too much flex to these. Should I use something more substantial?

thanks again!

-d
 
You know I actually love hand sanding....except that 1/3" in front of the plunge that takes easilly as long as the rest of the blade, haha. I am going to start doing the drifted curved plunges I have been seeing around as they would be far easier, or at least it looks that way.

I use a 12"X1"X1/8" piece of D2 with the edge radiused. I made two handles on the end from leather scraps and I use it just like a draw file. I wrap the sandpaper lengthwise, use it till i cant feel it bite, rip off that layer and go to the next. Doesnt take long at all to move up through grits. Then comes the zen meditation before the single-direction high grits. Nothing worse than putting a deep line of fishhooks into an otherwise gorgeous blade. Sure i know the buyer will wreck that finish pretty fast with any normal use, but i want him to do it, not me!
 
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