Mesh Sandpaper - which works best for you?

[Brian Horais]

I've been a fan of mesh sandpaper for a while now and began by using the Mirka Abranet product line. After a while, I decided to try some of the other brands, such as Klingspor Klingnet and Festool Granat Net to see which I would like the best. If you do a lot of irregular sanding, especially around complex curves and carved surfaces, I have found that the mesh sandpaper works very well because it is flexible, can be folded into shapes and can really get into the crevices. That said, which of these three brands works the best overall (in my opinion)? I did a quick spreadsheet (shown below) to evaluate the three brands and considered four factors: Cost, Flexibility, Wear resistance, and Overall effectiveness. If you consider cost, Abranet is by far the most expensive (nearly twice as much as Festool) and Klingspor is slightly less expensive than Festool. That said, I find the Abranet mesh sandpaper to be the most effective, with the best wear resistance (it lasts the longest) and has the best flexiblity. I often use only the mesh sandpaper, with no backing, so flexibility is important. The Festool tends to be thinner and does not work well without backing for the higher grits. Klingspor is the sturdiest, but least flexibile and wears out quickly on fold lines. Included is a picture of some 5 inch discs of the three brands of sandpaper. The open mesh allows sanding products to pass through and there is little buildup.

So what is my overall pick? You have probably guessed it by now: Mirka Abranet. It is more expensive (twice as much as Festool) but overall it gets the job done better and lasts longer. This outweighs the higher cost in my estimation.

What is your experience with mesh sandpaper and which brand do you find works best?

P.S. Isn't it amazing the tasks we can create when we have a lot of times on our hands....

 

[Mark Hepburn]

I feel a sharp pain in the wallet every time I buy a roll of Abranet. But every time I need a roll of abrasive I buy the Abranet if it's in a grit I need. It does last a long, long time.

I have no empirical evidence that it is an overall best choice in terms of sanding per dollar spent but I'm satisfied with my experience.

 

[John Torchick]

I have used sheetrock mesh in the past.

 

[Mark Hepburn]

I have used sheetrock mesh in the past.

How did it hold up over time?

By the way, I love your signature line!

 

[Mark Jundanian]

I bought a sample set of the stuff from Woodturner's Wonders and recently bought some more. It seems to be the cheapest out there, but given how much the abrasive particle seem to shed I can't say it is likely to win any longevity contest. However it does cost less and each grit is a different color.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

Tried the Wonder Weave and just do not care for it. It just seems to take longer to sand. Not in the same category but I do like Abralon which is a fabric like surface with sponge backing.

 

[John Torchick]

How did it hold up over time?
By the way, I love your signature line!

Mark, it is decent for rough sanding. Not flexible for curved surfaces as there are others that are better. I have only found it in one grit. Initially, I used it to rough shape cork grips for custom fishing rods then finish with 320 or 400 grit sandpaper. Thanks for the "like."

 

[Brian Horais]

John, I like your idea of using the sheetrock mesh for rough sanding. I can see using it to 'knock down' the turning marks and then continue the finish sanding with Abranet.

 

[robo hippy]

I haven't experimented much with the mesh type abrasives. When I did, it seemed that in grits below 220, the standard abrasives cut faster, and from about 220 and up, they cut the same. I use the blue discs from VincesWoodNWonders. I have tried others, but these seem to be best 'value' as in you get more for your money. I may have to try the Abranet some day.

robo hippy

 

[Jim McLain]

I have tried Abranet, klingnet and wonder weave and prefer Abranet. Always wanted to try Festool’s Granat but it is a little pricy. As far as the cost goes, I purchase my Abranet from 2Sand.com in a 50 pack and it is cheaper than Klingnet and comparable to wonder weave. For the 3 inch Abranet discs no one can beat Steve’s price at Turningwood.com.

 

[Brian Horais]

I have tried Abranet, klingnet and wonder weave and prefer Abranet. Always wanted to try Festool’s Granat but it is a little pricy. As far as the cost goes, I purchase my Abranet from 2Sand.com in a 50 pack and it is cheaper than Klingnet and comparable to wonder weave. For the 3 inch Abranet discs no one can beat Steve’s price at Turningwood.com.

Thanks for the links to the Abranet sources. I agree that purchasing them in bulk is the best way. I taught a class two years ago and provided samples of Abranet to the class attendees. It was much more cost effective to buy the Abranet in bulk for the class.

 

[John Hicks]

Tried the Wonder Weave and just do not care for it. It just seems to take longer to sand. Not in the same category but I do like Abralon which is a fabric like surface with sponge backing.

Same here, it kept de laminating from the h&l backing.

 

[John Torchick]

John, I like your idea of using the sheetrock mesh for rough sanding. I can see using it to 'knock down' the turning marks and then continue the finish sanding with Abranet.

I have never tried it on while the lathe is turning. With the grain, it is good. I got started using sheetrock mesh when I turned cork grips for custom fishing rods. Takes it down rather rapidly. If you stay in one spot, you get grooves. Constantly move back and forth.

 

[Brian Horais]

I have never tried it on while the lathe is turning. With the grain, it is good. I got started using sheetrock mesh when I turned cork grips for custom fishing rods. Takes it down rather rapidly. If you stay in one spot, you get grooves. Constantly move back and forth.

John, I use a range of Abranet grits with the lathe moving at slow speed, but only on the round sections. A number of my works have round base sections and twisted (multi-axis) upper sections. I use the Abranet on the upper sections to smooth the surfaces and shape any carved sections. This is done with the lathe stationary, but the piece still mounted so that I can work on sections around the turning. Here's a piece that summarizes what I have described, showing multi-axis and carved sections on the upper section.

 

[John Torchick]

Unique, to say the least. What wood did you use? Finish? Inquiring mind wants to know.

 

[Brian Horais]

Unique, to say the least. What wood did you use? Finish? Inquiring mind wants to know.

Thanks John, It was a large block of Ambrosia maple (with some spalting and worm holes...). I use multiple coats of Watco oil and then buff the finished piece on the Beall buffing system.

 

[Dennis J Gooding]

An interesting discussion Brian. As a long-time turner who has never tried mesh, I now feel the need to explore it. BTW, in your spreadsheet, the cost should be subtracted, rather than added to the other factors to get the overall value of each product. As it turns out, this does not change the relative ranking of the products.

 

[Brian Horais]

An interesting discussion Brian. As a long-time turner who has never tried mesh, I now feel the need to explore it. BTW, in your spreadsheet, the cost should be subtracted, rather than added to the other factors to get the overall value of each product. As it turns out, this does not change the relative ranking of the products.

Thanks Dennis for your comments. On the cost numbers, I used a reverse scale where the lowest cost (Klingnet) got the highest numerical score and the highest cost (Abranet) got the lowest numerical score. With this reverse scale, I think the scoring logic works. Thoughts?

 

[Dennis J Gooding]

I see, your reverse scale effectively did the same thing as subtracting a direct scale.

 

[Brian Horais]

I see, your reverse scale effectively did the same thing as subtracting a direct scale.

I appreciate different perspectives such as yours Dennis. It makes you think more about what your message or demonstration. Sometimes it even leads to different approaches. Thanks!