Environmental and safety concerns
The most hazardous substance is the dust produced during sanding. It is recommended that you wear a mask at all times, and that you use a PM mask when working with high-grit sandpaper.
Furthermore, for products such as copper, lead, carbon fiber, glass fiber, and so on, sanding dust can easily irritate the skin. Wear rubber gloves and, if necessary, rubber protective clothes.
During the sanding operation, dust is flying everywhere. The use of a water mill will reduce dust and damage the water quality. It is advised to use a separate bucket for each grit.
Sandpaper grit selection
The grit count often begins with the surface finish and progresses to the desired level of polish.
It is difficult to get a very high sanpaper grit number with fiber materials such as wood and leather. You can start with 200 grit and work your way up to 800 to 1000 grit.
Higher grit wood leather polishing necessitates a tight and oily original material. Use smooth and hard surfaces such as glass, hardwood, brass, and so on at this time to dip in chemical fillers and bond the fibers for further polishing.
Start with roughly 80 grit for metal objects, multiply by 2, and the impact is good when it reaches 1500 grit or 2000 grit.
Metal polishing with a higher grit sandpaper can be done with 3000 or 5000 grit sandpaper, but the result is little. Polishing paste should be applied at this time, cleaned with a clean cloth, paper, etc., or treated with a wool wheel; chemical polishing agent, the effect can reach the mirror surface, but it is bad for personal health.
The initial surface of plastic, carbon fiber, glass fiber, and stone items is typically matte. Sandpaper grits are limited, such as 800 grit, 1200 grit, 1500 grit, 2000 grit, and so on, and polishing paste should be used for higher grit.
When dealing with scratches, first determine whether the surface can be evenly thinned to the scratches and depressions. Otherwise, local sanding, which produces a rough feeling, is not recommended. To lighten the marks, use polishing paste all over and polish with a wool wheel.
Sanding technique
Begin with a low grit number, which makes it difficult to block the sandpaper and makes the powder easier to collect, eliminating the need for a water mill. Remove the powder after each dry grinding and check to see if the sandpaper markings on the surface are uniform and straight. If the result is good, the following grit can be used. The grinding direction should now be at a wide angle with the prior mark.
When the grit count is large, such as 800, it must be polished with water. The most important thing is to clear the sand on the workpiece’s surface with a clean cloth or paper after each water grinding, in addition to cleaning the sandpaper. Use high-grit sandpaper if the grit of the grit size contaminates the surface. To reduce pollution to the environment, it is nevertheless suggested to have one bucket per grit and leave it standing after work every day.
When the number of grit is considerable, such as 2000 and 5000 grit, it is vital to monitor the sandpaper’s status at all times. Sanding after blocking the sandpaper is pointless and may result in local overheated bonding; once blocked, the sandpaper must be properly cleaned with water or oil.
Summary
Sandpaper can be used in conjunction with sanding blocks to swiftly and consistently handle big surfaces, and it can also be used by hand to polish curves and bumps. Sandpaper is not expensive, and a small piece of sandpaper can be useful by cutting it.
