Thread: How long do you sand?

How long at the various grit levels?

Right now with Oldengard's Herder I am working slowly at 60 and will bump to 80, then 100, then 120, then I need something between that and 220, then 300, then 400, then 600, then 800, then 1000, 1200, 2500.

I think I am near one hour with the 60. I am working slowly because the pits and staining are so deep and in delicate places that I am afraid of it cracking. The dremel is put away until polish time. I may get some sisal and finish my sisal wheel for the dremel and use some Emory block to see if I can work some more of the staining out.

Just curious.

Thanks

You have to sand it till you have removed what you want removed with your initial grit. After that you have to sand with each grit for as long as it takes to remove the scratch marks of the previous grit. There is no time limit. Put your watch away and be patient. If you rush it, you will be polishing scratches and you will have wasted most of your time.

I realize that there is no time limit. I was just curious what others have found. I am not opposed to going a week at a certain level. I was just curious.

When I am hand sanding it is more about the sandpaper then the length of time... What I am saying is I completely use up that grit, every side of each piece of sandpaper, then I might use water or WD-40 on that piece and go over it again....
Changing the direction after wetting the paper often helps too, such as if I was going heel to toe on 180 I might spray on WD-40 and go in almost a circular pattern for awhile to get the most cutting power out of that piece of paper...

In the end though it is the razor that decides how long you sand for, either the pits go bye bye, or you back off because you figure that you are done pushing how thin it is going to get....

I generally tire after 5 to 10 hours on a bad wedge that I want to look really good before moving to the second grit in the progression

I've often wondered this too, and I know everyone is hestitant to give numbers because every case is different. I know from my standpoint, I've always just wondered if people are spending 30 minutes, an hour, 5 hours, 10 hours, 24 hours, hundreds of hours? Just some idea of the type of work that goes in, on average. I've spent maybe an hour or two, but I just can't fathom doing 15-20 hours per razor Which is why I'll probably never be a professional restorer

For what its worth. A W&B chopper I rescaled had to be sanded at 100 grit for roughly 14 hours to get the pits removed. THe people above are right about time though, you have to sand with each grit until the previous marks are gone. Even then, you might miss some scratches and have to go back. Take your time, them more you spend on the lower grits the better. The good news is that once you get to about 400, it speeds up. I also find that progressing the grits slower (ie. going 120-150-180-220-320) is better and faster than going 120-22-=320-400. Thats just my limited experience though.