Mouse sander pads - how long should they last before the sand wears off and they become "threadbare"

[NY]

We have a mouse sander and a supply of standard pads - not sure what
coarseness of grit.

How long should a pad last before the grit wears off in places and the pad
is smooth and no longer capable of sanding? I've always been very
unimpressed with the life of the pads. I put on a new pad from a previously
sealed pack, and sanded the sides of a length of 4x2" timber (*). Within
probably 1 minute of usage, all the grit had worn off the part of the pad
that had been in contact with the wood and it was down to the bare fabric
backing. Is it a bad batch or a bad manufacturer? What is a good brand of
pads to buy?


(*) Previously used as an imitation "roof beam" in a ceiling, so
bog-standard wood, stained and with traces of foam sealer on the edge that
had been glued to the plasterboard ceiling.

[charles]

It will depend on how much you're trying to deal with and whether you've
picked the appropriate grit size.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

[Paul]

My conclusion is: Belt Sander

For just about anything involving surface cleanup or leveling,
I like a heavy grit (50) on the belt sander, and do the
work out on the concrete patio. Even with the dust bag
on the belt sander, dust goes everywhere if you attempt
to do that sort of work inside.

Once that's done (without gouging the work on purpose),
piddly little sanders will last longer.

If I were to use a higher grit on the belt sander (in
an effort to reduce the work of the piddly sanders),
the belt clogs up too easily. With the heavy grit, you can
give it a whack and a lot of the paint chips fall off the
belt. And it's ready for another go.

They come in good-sized packs. This is enough to do a deck.

https://www.amazon.com/IVY-Classic-43072-Flex-Abrasive-Aluminum/dp/B0052IPKKU

The other thing you want on a belt sander, is a motor.
I used to have a belt sander with a real motor in it. You
could lean on the work, and it wouldn't slow down. But
that was stolen out of my car one day (car window broken
out with a boulder). The replacement (a different model),
wasn't nearly as powerful, and just doesn't have the same
cutting power. That's what I'm using today.

You can also get a heavier grit than that. I would only
go for a heavier grit, if the brand of belt was clogging
up even with 50 grit.

It's not an angle grinder. And it's still a lot of work
to process wood that way.

Now, the 2HP surface planer in wood shop class in school,
now *that's* how you finish off lumber. That thing was a
champ, even with kids running it :-) (Don't take off
too big a bite on each pass... The instructor will show
you how much to crank the knob before the next pass.)
We had a surface planer with the big motor in it, and
an edge planer for doing the narrow dimension of a
work piece. Much less work to do with a fine sander
later (since shop class, you'd be doing little furniture
grade projects to keep busy). We would get four hours
a week of shop class.

Paul

[alan_m]

and how much excessive pressure is being used.

and the quality of the pads (grit quality/ bonding to the backing
material etc.) On one of my sanders I can get 5x the life from more
expensive Bosch branded pads compared to the generic pads sold by Toolsatan.


--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

[tabb...@gmail.com]

A minute! There are some real junk ones out there. I'd take those back as not fit for purpose.

[Cursitor Doom]

Yes, they don't sound right at all. If it's heavyweight crud removal
that's called for, I use a flap wheel with an angle grinder and only
finish off with a pad sander. These work well and you can get 'em down
to 36 grade grit for superior excoriation.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321818310678?itmmeta=01HPXT6XX2GTPG7DCJ17JMZJXS&hash=item4aedddb816:g:pTAAAOSwDQJiRC1n&itmprp=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwHmxgoS83MzC5%2F2%2F1q%2BO8O3iXonuEzF8xB6Dem%2BkctTMALrVf7WdHsUXRygVLzFJaCWsHh7Kb0Dz8KZUDiQ8OZngOdOR9rqwh68wEE3plRf2pGbwFpgGqz699gWcMnW%2F0zKpVVt386JbsQeTpM%2B1QDApKyl2lQVBbdG7uHUUUeQMSLe8qyfC6mhgVWeBIDYDnwWBpeY1ihNN%2FSZ0jEoxMTf36kxxErxax790x%2F4XZPhoymXZJGazoTBzzN0CvzHzKg%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABlBMUIDfm7q3Yw

[alan_m]

On 18/02/2024 09:58, Cursitor Doom wrote:
> On Wed, 10 Jun 2020 13:06:56 -0700 (PDT), tabb...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> On Wednesday, 10 June 2020 13:09:34 UTC+1, NY wrote:
>>> We have a mouse sander and a supply of standard pads - not sure what
>>> coarseness of grit.
>>>
>>> How long should a pad last before the grit wears off in places and the pad
>>> is smooth and no longer capable of sanding? I've always been very
>>> unimpressed with the life of the pads. I put on a new pad from a previously
>>> sealed pack, and sanded the sides of a length of 4x2" timber (*). Within
>>> probably 1 minute of usage, all the grit had worn off the part of the pad
>>> that had been in contact with the wood and it was down to the bare fabric
>>> backing. Is it a bad batch or a bad manufacturer? What is a good brand of
>>> pads to buy?
>>>
>>>
>>> (*) Previously used as an imitation "roof beam" in a ceiling, so
>>> bog-standard wood, stained and with traces of foam sealer on the edge that
>>> had been glued to the plasterboard ceiling.
>>
>> A minute! There are some real junk ones out there. I'd take those back as not fit for purpose.
>
> Yes, they don't sound right at all.

Alternatively the user hasn't let the sander do the work and had pressed
down too hard. A light touch is often better with mechanical sanding
with power tools.

[Cursitor Doom]

On Sun, 18 Feb 2024 11:01:12 +0000, alan_m <ju...@admac.myzen.co.uk>
wrote:

Still no way it should have worn right back to the fabric! It
definitely sounds like a duff batch to me.

[NY]

"Cursitor Doom" <c...@notformail.com> wrote in message
news:c314titmlku8knlpv...@4ax.com...

I've had a thought. If the pads had got damp through being kept in an
unheated garage over the winter (but not actually had water on them) could
that soften the glue that binds the grit to the pad? Maybe I should keep
them inside the house at cold/damp times.

There is an update: the backing foam that the pads grip to by Velcro action
has now lost its hooks so even a new pad will not stick to the foam. So the
backing foam moves and the sandpaper stays stationary on the work to be
sanded. The sander may be beyond easy repair :-(

[NY]

"Cursitor Doom" <c...@notformail.com> wrote in message
news:c314titmlku8knlpv...@4ax.com...

[Cursitor Doom]

Nothing to do with the storage. You have duff pads. Who made them and
where did you get them from?

[SteveW]

I've used pads that have sat in my concrete panel, unheated garage, that
water comes under the edge of when it rains, for years and the pads have
worked fine.

[alan_m]

On 18/02/2024 16:43, NY wrote:

> There is an update: the backing foam that the pads grip to by Velcro
> action has now lost its hooks so even a new pad will not stick to the
> foam. So the backing foam moves and the sandpaper stays stationary on
> the work to be sanded. The sander may be beyond easy repair :-(

Which is the classic case pressing down too hard on the sander and not
letting the paper do the work. Pressing down too hard generates heat
which melts the Velcro. Once the surface attached to the sander has
melted then no pad will stick to it. Possibly beyond economic repair
unless you can find a replacement pad for the sander side at a
reasonable cost

Example?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crafty-Products-Replacement-Sanders-Adhesive/dp/B09QLJ7FSP/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=sander+velcro+pad+replacement&qid=1708324528&sr=8-5

[Animal]

On Monday 19 February 2024 at 06:38:12 UTC, alan_m wrote:
> On 18/02/2024 16:43, NY wrote:
>
> > There is an update: the backing foam that the pads grip to by Velcro
> > action has now lost its hooks so even a new pad will not stick to the
> > foam. So the backing foam moves and the sandpaper stays stationary on
> > the work to be sanded. The sander may be beyond easy repair :-(
> Which is the classic case pressing down too hard on the sander and not
> letting the paper do the work. Pressing down too hard generates heat
> which melts the Velcro. Once the surface attached to the sander has
> melted then no pad will stick to it.

+1

> Possibly beyond economic repair
> unless you can find a replacement pad for the sander side at a
> reasonable cost

or use glue, it's cheap enough.
And do use TC paper, it cuts faster & lasts longer. aka wet & dry.

[Pamela]

On 09:58 18 Feb 2024, Cursitor Doom said:
> On Wed, 10 Jun 2020 13:06:56 -0700 (PDT), tabb...@gmail.com wrote:
>>On Wednesday, 10 June 2020 13:09:34 UTC+1, NY wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> We have a mouse sander and a supply of standard pads - not sure what
>>> coarseness of grit.
>>>
>>> How long should a pad last before the grit wears off in places and
>>> the pad is smooth and no longer capable of sanding? I've always been
>>> very unimpressed with the life of the pads. I put on a new pad from
>>> a previously sealed pack, and sanded the sides of a length of 4x2"
>>> timber (*). Within probably 1 minute of usage, all the grit had worn
>>> off the part of the pad that had been in contact with the wood and
>>> it was down to the bare fabric backing. Is it a bad batch or a bad
>>> manufacturer? What is a good brand of pads to buy?
>>>
>>>
>>> (*) Previously used as an imitation "roof beam" in a ceiling, so
>>> bog-standard wood, stained and with traces of foam sealer on the
>>> edge that had been glued to the plasterboard ceiling.
>>
>>A minute! There are some real junk ones out there. I'd take those back
>>as not fit for purpose.
>
> Yes, they don't sound right at all. If it's heavyweight crud removal
> that's called for, I use a flap wheel with an angle grinder and only
> finish off with a pad sander. These work well and you can get 'em down
> to 36 grade grit for superior excoriation.
>
> https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321818310678

June 2020?

[Cursitor Doom]

Just an example, but they're still available.