Thread: Supplies

since no one else mentioned it, and i use it to fix up my surfboards, you can get pretty much any grit sandpaper you want at a marine store. i get everything but resin at a local fiberglass service store and they're pretty reasonable to boot.

damn, widgetsupply.com looks awesome. I've been perusing their site for over an hour now and still haven't gone through all the neat stuff. Another hand that will be dipping into my wallet in the future no doubt

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

Yesterday, I ordered 3x120, 3x240 and 3x400 in 1.5x0.5". How many blades can one of those go through and how long does it take per grit per size on average?

P.S. I'm a BIG fan of satin-finish

I've gone through about 9 blades with a 1.5x.5x400grit flapwheel, and it shows no signs of use, to speak of. They'll last a good long time. For the money, I don't think you can beat 'em. How long per grit's gonna depend on the shape of the blade to start with. One nice thing, too, is that once you get to the 400 grit, if you wanted to go all the way to a mirror finish, it's not that difficult. You just have to hand sand it after that. The way the widgetsupply ones are made, too, helps; they fan out and don't cut too harshly, and it sorta has a fan effect, so heat buildup isn't a problem.
I prefer (overall) the mirror finish on a razor, but the satin finish looks better on some. The big W&Bs, for example, just don't look right with a mirror finish. Most of your larger wedges don't, either. Outside that, I like the bright shiny finish on most blades. (The previous statement is opinion only)

Thus far I have cleaned/restored about 3 eBay razors. My technique going from least harsh to harsh has been to start with Flitz, then some red jewelers rouge, and then down to the 2 grades of dremel fabric wheels available at Lowes (finishing and medium). This has worked to get off all the crud thus far as my razors were in pretty decent condition to start with. I then reversed the process to polish back up.

I believe Bill's cd describes the sequence from less harsh to harsh as polish, steel wool, fabric wheels, and then sandpaper. I'm unsure, however, as to how steel wool and a finishing fabric wheel compare to very high grit sandpaper.

Once I get down to needing sandpaper, which I will want on my next project to get out deeper scratches, I'm in uncharted territory. Seems like the 400 grit flapwheel is highly recommended. Of course I could go coarser if necessary. How high does one need to go in grit to get that mirror finish? Autozone has up to 4000 I believe. Do you go right to polish after the highest grade sandpaper or is a finishing fabric wheel and potentially steel wool a next step?

The highest you really need to go is 2000 before switching to polishing compounds.

2000 is probably the bare minimum paper I'd use for mirror finish before I move to polishes.

It also depends on the quality of mirror finish you want. Inevitably there will be some marks from the sandpaper that will likely show through. However, these marks are usually only noticable at the right angles under bright light. To achieve a nearly flawless mirror finish, it takes almost exhaustive levels of sanding at each grit to make sure you eliminate all of the previous grits striations.

just my 2c

On line check out Foredom website. check out Supplies & Parts along with Accessories. They have 3-M pieces for sale. Good stuff!!

Web Site is: http://www.blackstoneind.com/foundations/store/home.asp

Good Luck!!