Can I lap a Norton 4K-8K with regular Norton 3X sandpaper?

[DustinNielsen]

I am looking to lap my Norton 4K-8K waterstone. All I have is some 400 grit "Norton 3X" sandpaper, that does not say that it is "wet or dry" sandpaper. Will this be appropriate to lap with, or will it leave grit embedded in my stone since it is not rated for use in water? Or is it not usable for some other reason?

Thanks

[holli4pirating]

Google says it is wear resistant aluminium oxide and highly wear resistant. That doesn't tell me anything, but maybe it will be helpful to another member.

[PA23-250]

Not sure about the wet/dry label being important in this case, but in general Norton or 3M paper should be fine. The cheaper brands do embed grit in the stone.

[holli4pirating]

The wet/dry is important. Dry sandpapers are more likely to degrade when they are wet.

[mparker762]

The norton should be lapped while wet, thus you need wet/dry sandpaper.

600 grit wet/dry is sufficient, going finer doesn't get you a smoother finish on the stone, since the slurry that quickly raises is what does most of the lapping.

[cannonfodder]

Yes you can although 400 grit is a big heavy. I would go with 600-1000. It would have to be kept wet, rinsed thoroughly after lapping. Now for the hard part, how do you plan on lapping it flat with paper? You need a flat surface. You can get a granite slab made for honing film and put the wet paper on it. That will get you a perfectly flat, or nearly perfectly flat, surface to lap the hone. You can also use a sheet of glass. Spritz it with water, lay the paper on (water tension will hold the paper to the glass) and then wet lap your hone. I just use a 600 DMT diamond plate to lap pretty much everything, the Chinese 12, the Japanese 8, the Nortons all get lapped with the DMT.