Thread: Sandpaper rant

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Yesterday I ran out of P220 wet and dry (I use it dry) that I have been using to finish off some filler and 'Icing' and had to buy 3M Imperial from my local auto body supplier. This is P220, which supposedly is the same weight paper and grit micron size as the Norton P220 Black Ice paper.

What crap!!

The 3M loads almost instantly and cannot be cleaned by a bench brush - I need a stiff bristle brush. The Norton can be cleaned with a couple of strokes with my bench brush. The 3M gets dull very quickly. The Norton lasts at least 3X longer before I discard it. I have no idea where I got the Norton paper. I can buy the 3M at NAPA, Lowes, KMart or Wally World. The 3M is 94 cents a sheet, the Norton - who knows, but if it lasts 3X longer sure is well worth any price, but my guess is that it is cheaper. I was able to buy some 60, 80 and 100 grit conventional Norton at Home Despot when I stripped the car - and that also lasted much longer then the 3M. Unfortunately, my local HD doesn't carry P220/240 wet and dry.

Since I've been ranting, do others have the same opinion of 3M or do I stand alone (again ) ? I guess my rant is against almost everything 3M as they seem to have generally an OK variety of products, but nothing spectacular but are a big enough marketing factor that they overwhem the marketplace.

Just this week when I bought my paint, I needed to buy some of those little grinding discs that you screw onto a mandrel. She had Norton and 3M, and I bought the Norton because that is what Dan has always had. They were cheaper than the 3M by about $ 4 a box, and we have never had problems with them, other than the mandrel wears out after a while and the disc goes across the floor like a frisbie.

Don

Originally Posted by DennyW

Norton is top of the line for any grinding type materials. 3M is for glue only.

And tape

I just found 2 more sheets of Norton 220

Someone here in the NY Capital district must have Norton - one of their factories used to be just outside of Troy, NY (<10 miles from me)

Amen Dave....... AND TAPE. What happened to 3M? I'm so dissappointed, it was what we all used for years. Now I have to take a crucifix into the store and excercise the demons before I get stuck? So sad.

Originally Posted by nitrowarrior

Amen Dave....... AND TAPE. What happened to 3M? I'm so dissappointed, it was what we all used for years. Now I have to take a crucifix into the store and excercise the demons before I get stuck? So sad.

Must be the same gremlins that invaded Fram, just living on reputation and it's going down hill fast.

Glad you posted this.

I bought some Norton 320 & 400 wet/dry from Home Despair a while back.
Seems ok, but I'm only involved in very short term projects utilizing wet/dry right now so no real info to offer on how long it lasts.

I couldn't find any P designation on the wet/dry, but I did find a P designation on the Norton 3X 150 and 100 grit dry paper I have in stock.
It's used for woodwork and is lasting quite well in my little Makita finish sander and also when used by hand on hardwood. (Also purchased at Home Despair.)

Since you're sanding dry I wonder if the woodwork oriented Norton 3X would work for you?
Pretty sure it comes in finer grits.

I'm with Nitrowarrior, where the heck did 3M masking tape go?
Doesn't seem to be found most places and auto paint stores here seem to come & go and far as I know the last one faded away a few months back.

Well, the green 2" 3M tape is now about $7.00 a roll. Don't near where it went, but I could sure tell them where to put it!!!! I guess some fool in marketing seems to believe in the old marketing axiom of "Load the cart till the mule goes blind". Ain't no roll of masking tape worth $7.00 to me!!!!

Home Depot is doing some goofy stuff. Every time I go into the store (it's two blocks from my shop so I go there a LOT) they are tearing down some section of the tool department and adding or removing some product line.

They finally got some Norton stuff like the rice cake discs we have been discussing on here, and when I went in to get more yesterday, some associate was tearing that section out and putting something else in there. When I asked where the Norton discs were, he said over on that clearance section. He didn't know if the line was gone or not.

To be honest, I like Lowes better, particularly for stuff like grade 8 bolts and assorted steel pieces. They have a pretty good inventory of 3/16 plate, etc. You pay more for it than if you go to a steel house, but on a weekend it has saved me more than once. Lowes is a little further away from my shop, and traffic makes it hard to get out of it, but I find I am going there more and more.

But Home Depot can't seem to make up their mind on what lines to carry.

Don

Im also in with ya on norton ,stuff is great, but i do have a 3m story. i had a job once cleaning out houses that had been forclosed on, well during one of these jobs i found an old pack of sand paper, the pack cover had minnesota, mining and mineral company on it, it took a couple of days before i realized that was 3m, i dont know how old it was , but im guessing pretty old, well that stuff lasted for years, by far the best sandpaper i had ever used, i wish i could find a case of that old stuff.

The body shop supply store I use for materials started carrying the Norton paper about a year ago. Haven't bought any 3M overpriced overrated stuff since!!!!! Just did some wet sanding on a couple different projects today, the Norton black ice wet sand paper is the best I've ever used.

can't help on the sandpaper but i can say i wont go in the local homedepot ever again. Every time i go i leave angry, last time i went, i waited an hour to speak with the store manager who told me there wasn't anything he could really do to fix the level of service because he dosn't have enough employees. Bull.....it's not that hard to train people or make them care about their job. Anyways, I go to Lowes and OSH for everything now.

Nobody mentioned it but,in the process of redoing my old 54 Ford I have needed misc bolts,wiring,brass fittings,etc and have found that Ace Hardware is the place to go .The prices were better than Lowes and Depot and the people there know the product! usually can get in and out quickly too

I went to Home Depot and bought 6 mini blinds all one color for my house, and by mistake I picked up 1 the wrong color, when I went to return it for the right one, they gave me crap saying this one is not on the sales slip, I said thats because I grabbed one the wrong color, and I wanted to switch it for the right one (It's unopen). She said again it's not on here I can't return it!!! it took about 20 min and 3 people to return it !

Pat

Wow, did I open a Pandora's Box on emotions about Norton, 3M and Home Despot.

Yeah - the 3M tape is expensive, but I haven't found anything else that wont allow paint creep under it - any suggestions? Tuck (or Duck or Harbor Freight and similar) is OK for line definition when cutting steel, putting a form together to 'glass, or to rattle can paint your outside furniture, but not to paint a car.

I'm seeing some improvement at the local HD since they booted out my old GE boss, Bob Nardelli and his $210KK 'golden parachute'. I even got asked if I needed help twice and was greeted at the door - and during the same visit. But they still didn't have what I wanted so went across the road to Lowe's.
Most of Lowe's bolting says Rockwell on the package but are much too expensive so I often end up at Tractor Supply a half mile down the road. Their Gr8 are $3 something a POUND. Though they are most likely Chinese, at least I feel that they are OK where a Gr5 would work - and I only use them in an unstressed situation. High strength bolts come from Fastenal or McMaster-Carr. Ace Hardware has its major NE distribution center about 15 miles from me but the only local store was sold since it could not compete with the big box stores and became a Kia dealership - whoopee!!

OK - gotta go wear out some more 3M paper and hope that the next good spell of weather I can paint

Originally Posted by C9x

Glad you posted this.

................

Since you're sanding dry I wonder if the woodwork oriented Norton 3X would work for you?
Pretty sure it comes in finer grits.

Jay,
I used the 60 and 80 Norton 3X for paint removal. The finest my local HD had was 120. It did a great job compared to the 3M as it didn't load up on the crap primer Brookville uses. Got some left that I'm using on a couple of wood projects.

My local HD also have 320 and higher Norton wet and dry, but I already have lots of fine up to 2000 in both Norton and 3M - some new and some ....

If you've noticed, Lowes has crap paper, I believe from Brazil and India along with some 3M

I believe Mirka is rated about the best automotive paper but no one here has even heard of it - and I have never tried it.