Thread: cloth / felt belts

The belts from TruGrit are excellent. For sharpening/power stropping... As a polishing belt, I have had little luck. The cork belts are very good. One grit per belt. As for break in, they are near a 36 grit-ish, too rough to use for polishing. Tried soaking in water, pressing, loading, with poor results. What has worked for me, was to run the belt fast, and "rub" the belt down with the tip of a file, effectively "dressing" the belt. After 15 minutes or so, the belt is fairly smooth, then load it with the compound of choice, use a scrap piece of leather, to rub/press the compound into the belt. Then polish away. Reload frequently, after several uses, the surface will smooth out, and subsequent polishings will be more even. It takes some effort to prep the belts, but well worth it. Remember, one grit per belt!