# Mesh sandpapers vs regular (Abranet or SandNet)



## sanvito (Feb 26, 2018)

Hello,
I been going through way too many Mirka sandpaper discs, and then when I realize I'm out of a certain grit, I have to wait 2 days for a new shipment. 

I just saw these at Home Deport and was wondering if they are worth the higher cost upfront. Diablo SandNet

Also, I been reading reviews that with these, I may not need to follow the sequence as much because of *LESS SCRATCH MARKS*. For example, to refinish a table, I start with 80 / 120 / 220. Instead of the normal 80 / 100 / 120 / 150 / 180 / 220.

_*Is this true?*_


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

sanvito said:


> Hello,
> I been going through way too many Mirka sandpaper discs, and then when I realize I'm out of a certain grit, I have to wait 2 days for a new shipment.
> 
> I just saw these at Home Deport and was wondering if they are worth the higher cost upfront. Diablo SandNet
> ...


Those pads are really not for sanding wood. They are more suited for something that sands easier and tends to make a lot more dust like sanding drywall mud. 

The sander itself makes a considerable difference. I normally go from 80 to 180 and call it done. Some sanders run at a slower rpm so the 80 grit could very easily make swirls which would be more difficult to get rid of. I get very little swirl marks with mirka 80x.


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## sanvito (Feb 26, 2018)

Steve Neul said:


> The sander itself makes a considerable difference. I normally go from 80 to 180 and call it done. Some sanders run at a slower rpm so the 80 grit could very easily make swirls which would be more difficult to get rid of. I get very little swirl marks with mirka 80x.


I been getting too many swirl marks with Mirka 80, and maybe because I don't change it often enough. 

So in theory, this mesh thing can be shaken out, and which may cause less swirl marks? So again in theory, I can skip 100 and jump to 120, then skip 150, 180, and jump to 220.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

Steve, I’d love to be able to skip all those in-between grits. What kind of sander are you using that allows you to go from 80-180?

Sanvito, if you try these, please report back.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Quickstep said:


> Steve, I’d love to be able to skip all those in-between grits. What kind of sander are you using that allows you to go from 80-180?
> 
> Sanvito, if you try these, please report back.


I use a sander which has been discontinued. I buy one when ever I find one but haven't seen a new one for sale in a couple years. It's a Porter Cable Quicksand random orbital sander. http://www.coastaltool.com/a/port/pr332.htm


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

sanvito said:


> I been getting too many swirl marks with Mirka 80, and maybe because I don't change it often enough.
> 
> So in theory, this mesh thing can be shaken out, and which may cause less swirl marks? So again in theory, I can skip 100 and jump to 120, then skip 150, 180, and jump to 220.


The swirl marks are caused by the grit of the sander, not the dust that accumulates under it. If anything the swirl marks should more shallow the more the paper is worn. If you are having difficulty with swirl marks the problem is with the speed of the sander.


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## sanvito (Feb 26, 2018)

Quickstep said:


> Sanvito, if you try these, please report back.


Ok, so I tested the following on sanding down a walnut table to bare wood. I used a Makita *cordless* sander with 80 grit.

1. Diablo SandNet (home depot)
complete *FAIL*. The sanding dust never went into the sander bag. It just sat on the table. I used the adapter pad, and overall, just useless.

2. Diablo paper
ok job

3. Mirka paper
Yep, it lasted longer and less dust on the wood. And I skipped to 120, then 220 as I saw less swirls marks.

I'm ordering more Mirkas now !


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## Echo415 (Apr 3, 2018)

sanvito said:


> Ok, so I tested the following on sanding down a walnut table to bare wood. I used a Makita *cordless* sander with 80 grit.
> 
> 1. Diablo SandNet (home depot)
> complete *FAIL*. The sanding dust never went into the sander bag. It just sat on the table. I used the adapter pad, and overall, just useless.
> ...


Don't take offense but the sander on its own has worthless dust collection. Thinking that you're collecting anything worthwhile in the factory supplied bag...its more like an exhaust filter.

Old paper doesn't make more marks, it just becomes less effective in removing material as the grit is worn down. How often are you changing paper? I often go several projects on a single piece before worrying about changing it. Are you putting pressure on the sander while sanding? If so, just let gravity and the sander do its job.

IMO, 80 grit is 80 grit regardless of the brand of paper.


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## sanvito (Feb 26, 2018)

Echo415 said:


> Don't take offense but the sander on its own has worthless dust collection. Thinking that you're collecting anything worthwhile in the factory supplied bag...its more like an exhaust filter.
> 
> IMO, 80 grit is 80 grit regardless of the brand of paper.


The tiny makita dust collector works great for the Mirka paper. That bag fills up. But it fails with the SandNet.

The diablo paper 80 grits seems to take longer and pads get clogged up at a much faster rate than mirkas.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

sanvito said:


> The tiny makita dust collector works great for the Mirka paper. That bag fills up. But it fails with the SandNet.
> 
> The diablo paper 80 grits seems to take longer and pads get clogged up at a much faster rate than mirkas.


Eh, theres 'works well', then theres *works well*. Built in dust collection doesnt tell you much on a sander, they all suck in that regard. Well, dont suck. You get the point. The Mirka paper may just have the holes in the paper and pad line up better. The sanding screens will actually give better airflow when used with a vacuum and evacuate the dust better, but they also introduce an obstruction that the build-in collection wont be able to overcome.

Tlr - Try the screens with a vaccum before writing them off


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## Echo415 (Apr 3, 2018)

epicfail48 said:


> Tlr - Try the screens with a vaccum before writing them off


Agreed...I'm the type who refuses to turn on a sander unless it's hooked up to a vacuum. I'm pretty OCD about dust collection. The added bonus is that it extends the life of the paper quite a bit.


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## hawkeye10 (Feb 18, 2015)

This is a great conversation on the latest in sanding and I hope it continues. I have been wanting to try some of the new sanding products but I have been afraid it would be just a waste of money. 

My Milwaukee sander does collect dust better than others I have used but as some have stated it's not as good as I would like. I made a downdraft table and between the two they do pretty well.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

I made this rig for my sander using the bucket head vacuum. It works like a champ. It will come apart if necessary, but I made it to stay together to kind of force me to use the vacuum. I think the sander works better if it’s not just re-grinding the dust it made. With this rig, I never even see the dust on the surface.


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## Echo415 (Apr 3, 2018)

Quickstep said:


> I made this rig for my sander using the bucket head vacuum. It works like a champ. It will come apart if necessary, but I made it to stay together to kind of force me to use the vacuum. I think the sander works better if it’s not just re-grinding the dust it made. With this rig, I never even see the dust on the surface.


Beware of that setup as the filter for the vac is pretty bad. You don't see it but it throws a lot of dust back into the air from the exhaust. Not good stuff to breath in.


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