Thread: Wet/Dry Sandpaper

What would you recommend as a brand of wet/dry sandpaper to use for lapping stones? I've had enough of my DMT D8C so, I'm selling it and going for this option instead.

Steven

I use 3M Imperial Lapping film on a ThorLabs glass lapping plate. No complaints from me using this setup.
Regards,
Alex

Originally Posted by nerobot

What would you recommend as a brand of wet/dry sandpaper to use for lapping stones? I've had enough of my DMT D8C so, I'm selling it and going for this option instead.

Steven

Really? What's the problem? That seems like a step backward to me.

Originally Posted by joke1176

Really? What's the problem? That seems like a step backward to me.

Surprised me to when I first decided. The main reason is that I don't like the finish from the DMT when honing or lapping. When honing, it seems far too low a grit and leaves a nasty edge, and since I now have another, higher grit stone for setting bevels, don't need it for that. I don't really like the finish it gives when lapping either, and end up using 600 grit paper, on top of the DMT, to lap the hones off. I'm sure I have done all I can to ware it in, but it's just not for me. So, hopefully I can sell it far near what I got and use either granite or glass with wet/dry paper.

Also, I find it too small for lapping my Norton 8/4.

Steven

I have been using the Halfords own label product in the yellow packaging.
They go up to 1500 grit and the price is good as well. I used some much more expensive German made product, but to be honest, I couldn't tell the difference. Just remember to dust off the paper before you start in case there is any contamination on the surface. It only takes a couple of bits of grit to damage a smoothed surface.

I use whichever one that I can find the cheapest! Unlike regular sandpaper, I've not found a difference in quality of the wet/dry sandpaper. I don't have a lot of sandpaper purchasing experience, though, so maybe I've just been lucky.

Originally Posted by nerobot

Surprised me to when I first decided. The main reason is that I don't like the finish from the DMT when honing or lapping. When honing, it seems far too low a grit and leaves a nasty edge, and since I now have another, higher grit stone for setting bevels, don't need it for that. I don't really like the finish it gives when lapping either, and end up using 600 grit paper, on top of the DMT, to lap the hones off. I'm sure I have done all I can to ware it in, but it's just not for me. So, hopefully I can sell it far near what I got and use either granite or glass with wet/dry paper.

Also, I find it too small for lapping my Norton 8/4.

Steven

Interesting... I never got much actual honing improvement out of using high grit paper or stones for "finish" lapping. I do see your point about the size of the plate vs the Norton though.

Originally Posted by A_S

I use 3M Imperial Lapping film on a ThorLabs glass lapping plate. No complaints from me using this setup.
Regards,
Alex

Is the glass plate that you use the same one as near the bottom of this page?

Thorlabs.com - Fiber Polishing Supplies

I just traded my Norton lapping plate in for a granite tile and some Norton 3x sand paper. I like the finish the 150 grit leaves on my 4k/8k, but I want something a little more coarse for my 1k. I think I am going to try 80 grit paper and see if that makes a difference. It is easy to give the stones a smoother surface by lapping with a higher grit paper.

Originally Posted by nerobot

Surprised me to when I first decided. The main reason is that I don't like the finish from the DMT when honing or lapping. When honing, it seems far too low a grit and leaves a nasty edge, and since I now have another, higher grit stone for setting bevels, don't need it for that. I don't really like the finish it gives when lapping either, and end up using 600 grit paper, on top of the DMT, to lap the hones off. I'm sure I have done all I can to ware it in, but it's just not for me. So, hopefully I can sell it far near what I got and use either granite or glass with wet/dry paper.

Also, I find it too small for lapping my Norton 8/4.

Steven

I've had the same experience with the DMT. It leaves deep scratches in my hones, even after break-in. I'm done with it. Now I just use it as my lapping plate and cover it with sandpaper.

Jordan