Micarta not sanding evenly?

spketch

spketch

Joined
Jan 28, 2011
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I've recently started working with micarta, and overall I'm loving the results.

I've been having trouble with small pieces of maroon linen micarta. The larger pieces sand to pretty even dark color, but these little LBS tabs show stripes of varying color. I'm hand sanding from 60 to 1500 grit, and the lines are present at every step. Is this a quirk of the material or am I missing something?

Thanks
-Steve

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Micarta is a layered product. It has a grain and an "up" side. Make sure all pieces are on the same orientation. When it shows stripes, it is probably on the side grain.
 
Thanks for the response Stacy.
I'm using the precut slabs from one of the major suppliers, so it's not from the side. I don't suppose top vs bottom makes a difference?
So the bottom line is the stripes are inherent to the material and unavoidable?
 
As a layered material, stripes are part of the deal....just like Damascus. Some colors show this more than others, and the coarseness of the Micarta is important, too. Paper Micarta shows almost no grain.
Most folks like the lines in Micarta.
 
One thing I didn't touch on is color. Don't go by the color on the outside of the block. It is usually darker and shinier than the actual color within.
 
The only way to avoid the lines/pattern is to use paper based Micarta.

There are 3 basic types of Micarta: paper based, linen based, and canvas based. Canvas is the strongest of the 3, but has the most noticeable pattern--- which I like. But if you don't want a pattern showing, you definitely don't want canvas based.

G10 would be a nice choice for what you're doing here as well. :)
 
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