Thread: can I get a little clarity and of course opinions

First off thanks for all the responses. I am hoping not to really start a debate but just more of a better sense of what to use.
I have read a tremendous amount of material here about restorations and it has been really quite informative but there what I am about to ask really seems all over the place.
If you could help me understand just a couple of things.
Sand paper..I have used it for wood of course but do you use it for any other parts of the razor.
Emery cloth..I know it is used for metals

But then there is micro mesh I read about.
Now the first two for me it's pretty straight forward. Wood and metal.
What do you use for celluloid and horn..g10 and micarta.
When you want to polish a razor there is emery cloth..wooden scales call for sand paper..but what about the other items.
Also where does wet dry sand paper come into play?

If you use any or all of these items for things other than what they were meant for..why do you use it.
Once again thanks for all input and opinions.
Anthony

Wet & Dry sand paper will pretty much cover everything you need to do. You can find it at hardware stores and Automotive stores.
I use it wet when sanding blades. I've used it dry on wood and I also use it on horn.
I have sheets from 80 grit to 3000.
The Micromesh is an optional extra that takes you to an ultra high polished finish, but sanding to 2000-3000 grit Wet & Dry and followed by a little buffing or polishing will get you a pretty great finish on blades and scales.
Hope that helps
Grant

Depending on your material your using you don't need to necessarily go all the way past 3K with micromesh. I have a buffing set up with two wheels, one for abrasive medium and the loose wheel for polishing medium (both generic pastes) then another wheel for mothers polish. In the beginning I used sandpaper then to the highest grits of micromesh until I became more familiar with the buffing wheels and compounds. Holy smokes!! Now I try to let the buffing wheel do the work for me. I'll sand til I'm happy, usually between 600-3000 grit (depending on when I'm working on, scales usually lower grits-600-800 and blades a little higher 1500-3000+), then hit it with the more abrasive paste, then the polishing paste, then the mothers. Just be careful because with my experience bone likes to discolor a little with polishing and g10 will a little as well (unless you use black). I polished some black scales and they came out nice, orange ones, I had to resand to get all of the black/gray discoloration out of the scales.

This is just me preference and what I have found that works for me. I don't always follow this to a tea, sometimes I'll do things a little different depending on circumstances, where I'm at, and what tools I have available (ie. school vs. home vs. barn). Hope this helps.