Abrasive Paste Cleanup

[Randy Anderson]

For a while now I've been using abrasive paste on my pieces I can spin (hollow forms, traditional bowls, plates and platters) and really like the outcome. There are lots of discussions here about using sanding sealer, not using, types of pastes, DIY, etc. I don't use sanding sealer. All I see here and online say to spin with a clean towel until it stays clean. A while back I started using the grey scotchbrite pads to do a final cleanup after the towel was coming up clean and I get a LOT of thick residue that still comes off. I keep going until the scotchbrite pad comes up mostly clean as well. The look and feel seem better to me and I feel better about getting as much of the residue off as I can before I apply a finish. Usually walnut oil or danish oil. Not sure if doing this final cleanup is warranted or really makes a difference but makes me feel better to not have that much of the abrasive paste residue under whatever finish I choose.

 

[Doug Freeman]

I would use naptha or mineral spirits before finishing to take off any wax or other stuff, but the scotchbrite probably digs out the abrasive pretty well

 

[Tom Gall]

Here's a thought - if you like the look & feel after using the gray abrasive pad maybe you can eliminate the sanding paste routine. Seems to me that the pad is the final grit. Kind of like sanding to a 1000 grit and finishing up with 400 grit - the final scratch pattern will be #400. Run an experiment on similar wood bowls and compare the results .... maybe you can save yourself some work - or not!

 

[Randy Anderson]

Tom, I often finish with the grey pads after sanding to 400 on pieces where I don't use the paste. Yes, going "back" to the grey pads after the paste is a bit of a backwards grit step but the paste in the abrasive paste adds nice color and tone to the wood that I really like. It seems to do a good job of what I'll call blending of the look. For most everything I do 400 is as high as I sand. Almost never go higher. I don't think going backwards from grit to pads is adding any scratches the human eye could see and getting the paste residue off seems like a worthwhile tradeoff.

Forgot note: I wash the pad pieces out after use a few times so their effectiveness re grit is likely greatly reduced but they still grab the residue well enough.

 

[hughie]

I would use naptha or mineral spirits before finishing to take off any wax or other stuff, but the scotchbrite probably digs out the abrasive pretty well

same here, in my case DNA is the most common

 

[Mark Jundanian]

If someone was concerned about scratches from the grey non-woven pad, you could use a white pad, which is "finer". That would mean stocking two pads.

As I understand the white pads have no abrasive partcles added to the non-woven material. I have seen them described as equivalent to "0000" and 400 grit, but could not find any supporting documentation (or clarification) at 3M. But white is finer than grey.

 

[Randy Anderson]

Mark, I plan to. I usually just keep the grey, green and sometimes the maroon ones handy for misc tasks (cleaning saw tops, bandsaw blades, bedways, buffing after sanding, scrubbing the shop sink, etc). They're handy to have around but never tried the white ones. My friend gave me a white pad a few days ago to try. He uses them to apply his Osmo finishes and buff with. I have a chart, not sure where from, that shows the grit equivalent of the various colors of 3M pads. A bit tricky to order online since there are I think a fair number of knockoff suppliers that provide them.

 

[Dean Center]

Randy, what does your chart say about the grit equivalence of the pads? I'm real curious, as I always thought the gray pads were supposed to be 400, but in use they seem finer. The maroon ones actually seem more like 400.

 

[Randy Anderson]

Dean, here's a chart I've found. If you search online for 3m pad grit descriptions you can get a number of charts that I think mostly agree and some claim the info is from 3M. No idea if true. On this chart the person claims the numbers in parenthesis are from 3M. Again, no idea if true. I'm not sure if the green pad listed here is the same as the one you can get in the cleaning aisle at the store, which is what I use for heavy scrubbing. I've also attached a pdf from the 3M site that shows info about them but does not show a grit equivalent. I've not seen anything on their site that does so I take all the claims about grit equivalence with a grain of salt.

7445 – White pad, called Light Duty Cleansing – (1000) 1200-1500 grit
7448 – Light Grey, called Ultra Fine Hand – (600-800) 800 grit.
6448 – Green, called Light Duty Hand Pad – (600) 600 grit
7447 – Maroon pad, called General Purpose Hand – (320-400) 320 grit
6444 – Brown pad, called Extra Duty Hand – (280-320) 240 grit
7446 – Dark Grey pad, called Blending Pad (180-220) 150 grit
7440 – Tan pad, called Heavy Duty Hand Pad – (120-150) 60 grit

 

[Mark Jundanian]

Thanks for the chart. Mirka makes a similar product line (with there own color scheme). It's called Mirlon Total. The plus for them is that Mirka does label its product with a grit number:
Red = 360; Dark Grey = 800; Grey = 1500; Beige = 2500. And you don't have to know dark grey from grey because the grit numbers are on the product. Nice touch.

I bought a sample pack of three, thinking I would use them to apply Osmo, but I haven't tried them yet. I am wondering if the primary intent of these products is for working on metals, so I harbor some doubts about how they will perform on wood. I mean 360 isn't exactly my idea of a coarse abrasive for wood. Still next time I'm doing a project of lower importance (like something I'm going to paint) I may give these a "whirl".

 

[Doug Freeman]

The non-woven pads are not substitutes for sandpaper. Sandpaper cuts and levels much better. And yes, the primary application is for metal. For bare wood, they are good for cleaning out the negative grain of the surface, and for more intricate surfaces sandpaper would try to level. I use the 3M brand - bought boxes of several different “grits” years ago. I primarily use light grey for wood, on surfaces that have had finish applied and dried/cured, for buffing or de-glossing, depending on the finish. The white pads can add a bit of gloss depending on the finish, but they dont get a lot of use - they are great for cleaning the bathtub!

 

[Randy Anderson]

Looking around on Amazon this morning and found that Dura Gold sells them in boxes of 10 for a reasonable price in various colors and they assign a grit level to them - for what it's worth. Think I'll give them a try. I don't use them for sanding at all but they're great to keep around for buffing, cleanup, applying walnut oil, etc. After sanding with 400 they do a great job of cleanup of the dust residue. I had to remove a failed lacquer finish from some vases recently and after putting on some lacquer thinner they were great at taking the finish off.

 

[Larry Mercier]

Randy, this was a very interesting thread.

 

[David Gilbert]

I like the Mirka's Mirlon pads better than any of the firmer pads from 3M and Norton. I sand up to 400 and then use their maroon (350), then the black (800), gray (1500) and the gold or biege (2500). This leaves a very nice surface. I find that the Mirlon pads have a narrower grit size distribution than some of the others. I have also used these to clean up some of the sanding grit that I have used.