Official Luthiers Forum!

So... i read what cumpiano says about sandpaper. he lists 6 types but says to only use garnet paper and "wetordry" however kinkead basicly says you can use all sandpaper that cumpiano says not to use.

so what do u guys use / think i should use?

i also found a load of old tools , some perfectly fine chisels, oilstones clamps plane etc.... but also found my dad's secret stash of power tools. so how suitable would they be? I found a handheld planer. orbital sander, belt sander, jig saw hammer drill and power saw.

thanks for all your help guys, hopefully i will be able to start soon

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"Anything that happens, happens. Anything that in happening causes something else to happen, causes something else to happen. Anything that in happening happens again, happens again. Though not necessarily in that order." Douglas Adams

keep in mind that binding agents and no load additives have changed dramticly over the past decade as have Bill's opinions.

I'm new to this too got the top and back near with a plane and finished with a 1/2 sheet sander and ordinary sanding sheets from Wickes DIY stote no proms yet I think wet & dry is for doing the finish

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Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

Wet& dry is most common in higher grit and has a binding agent and paper suitable for wet sanding with out falling apart. As it states is usable wet or dry. Yes it is most commonly used for final finish leveling and polishing.

Cheaper papers use inferior particles with inconsistent facet structure, binder and paper and may have a no load agent that can cause glue adhesion issues. Stick with a quality paper like 3m Gold and many others and have no issues. Another place you get what you pay for.

Personal thought: Stay away from Harbor Freight and hardware store inexpensive paper.

Quality papers make all the difference; I use 3M gold papers (stewmac has 'em, haven't found a local source for it) for hand/block sanding, and Festool's own paper for the ROS (bought a stupid amount of the stuff, so I'll be set for a good long while, and the papers last quite a while). The pricier stuff cuts significantly smoother and lasts a lot longer than the cheapo hardware store's own brand materials, particularly if we're looking at the 120-320 grit range. I use AlOx machine sanding belt scraps (from the drum sander) for 80 grit, never anything coarser than that, and 3M wet-or-dry (have a local source for those, and bought sheafs of Lots Of Paper a while back) for 400, 600, 800, 1200 and 1500, and then Abralon and/or Micromesh for finer buffing/polishing. The wetordry and abralon/micromesh stuff I only use for finish work. The other stuff is mostly for wood and wood prep (and levelling epoxy grain filler coats).

Mattia!!!! good to hear from my friend

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I think wet or dry should not be used on water based finishes right?

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Jeremy Douglas

Another vote for 3M gold paper and Festool paper. The quality of the paper that you use will be directly proportionate to how comfortable you are.................

Why? I use wet dry wet on waterborne wevery finish. the finish is cured by the time you would wet sand so ther is no issue there. Now if the water was left on the finish for an extended period of time well that can be a problem but you don't walk away and leave the surface wet when wet sanding.

Jeremy--

I think that what you have to watch out for if you are going to do a water based finish are stearated sandpapers. These have a soap-like compound in them to help prevent clogging and sometimes can cause a problem with water based finishes. I think that the 3M Fre-Cut papers are stearated. The 'black' wet/dry papers are not. The wet/dry papers are fine for leveling the finishes.

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

Thanks I guess I had it backwards.

I just looked this up on Stew Mac:
"Fre-Cut™ abrasive papers have a special non-stearated "no load" coating that helps shed sanding residue for better efficiency, and also helps prevent "fisheyes" (cratering) in waterbase finishes. "

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Jeremy Douglas