Velcro backed sandpaper rolls

Noreen1

We're thinking about restoring an antique pine staircase. The OH is keen on DIY, and there are more than enough types of sanders around the house. There's quite a bit of decorative detailing, so, it's going to be a pretty major job for the detail sanders.

He's looking to buy a couple of rolls of velcro backed sandpaper, (various grades) but can't find any locally.

Does anyone have any idea where we could buy online? (Preferably in Ireland).

Any help appreciated.

Joey the lips

Velcro backed sand paper does not come on rolls. its expensive to produce and the trade wont buy it. They are the one's who use the rolls. Them and saw mills.

Can he not use sanding discs on a grinder and the detailler in the corners.

It sill save a bit of money.

fergal.b

Hi Noreen, You can buy packets of velcro back sand paper in any B&Q, Woodies and even Lidl had some I haven't seen it on a roll as they are made to fit the sander like a mouse that would be handy for your type of work.



You can also buy sanding pads that I find handy for things like a banisters

slowburner

Lidl sell a random orbit disc sander from time to time and sell the velcro backed discs more frequently (5" discs I think). The last time I bought one it was about €30. It's a great machine for getting through stuff quickly and it has lasted and lasted. It would definitely be worth the investment if you can wait for it to re-appear.
If you are set on getting rolls of velcro backed paper, plug Hermes Abrasives in to google - they have an office in Ireland but i couldn't find it. They, and 3M are the main manufacturers.

Drake66

Try and get the ones that come on offer in Lidl and Aldi from time to time. The packets you get in the diy chainstores are a rip-off. I saw a packet of 5 40 grit discs for nearly 8 euro in B&Q the other day. I have just completed revamping an old pitch pine staircase.

slowburner

Drake66 wrote: »

Try and get the ones that come on offer in Lidl and Aldi from time to time. The packets you get in the diy chainstores are a rip-off. I saw a packet of 5 40 grit discs for nearly 8 euro in B&Q the other day.

Agree 110%

Noreen1

Thanks, everyone.

The main reason I want the roll is because the OH has three different detail sanders, and I can only get discs locally for 1. It's not that the sanders aren't standard, it's just that living in a small village does come with some disadvantages.:D

Agree totally about the Lidl/Aldi sanders and paper.

I managed to find a phone number for Herman Abrasives, in Ireland.
Apparently, "Norman", in the Dublin office is on holidays until Tuesday. However, a very pleasant lady in the UK assured me that A: They do sell rolls of velcro backed sandpaper. Apparently, though, they make it to order, according to your specified width.

I'll ring him on Tuesday, and see whether we can come to some arrangement.

Thanks for all the help.

I'll let you know how it goes.

slowburner

Sounds as if it could be pricey. I am interested to hear how you get on

Noreen1

Drake66 wrote: »

Try and get the ones that come on offer in Lidl and Aldi from time to time. The packets you get in the diy chainstores are a rip-off. I saw a packet of 5 40 grit discs for nearly 8 euro in B&Q the other day. I have just completed revamping an old pitch pine staircase.

I'm nearly afraid to ask, but, how long did it take, and was it worth it?

There's a painted strip on each side of the treads and risers that is proving seriously hard to get rid of. The gloss lifts easily enough courtesy of Nitromors, but whatever kind of undercoat was used is proving nearly indestructible.

And I thought the main problem would be raised grain/grime on the treads, coupled with about 30 odd years of grime soaked nail marks.....

Did I ever get it wrong.

slowburner

Noreen1 wrote: »

I'm nearly afraid to ask, but, how long did it take, and was it worth it?

There's a painted strip on each side of the treads and risers that is proving seriously hard to get rid of. The gloss lifts easily enough courtesy of Nitromors, but whatever kind of undercoat was used is proving nearly indestructible.

And I thought the main problem would be raised grain/grime on the treads, coupled with about 30 odd years of grime soaked nail marks.....

Did I ever get it wrong.

Would a heat gun be of any help?

Noreen1

I don't think so, though he's going to try one tomorrow. I've honestly never come across anything like this stuff - even the belt sander takes a while, and it's actually a really good sander.

Drake66

Noreen1 wrote: »

I'm nearly afraid to ask, but, how long did it take, and was it worth it?

There's a painted strip on each side of the treads and risers that is proving seriously hard to get rid of. The gloss lifts easily enough courtesy of Nitromors, but whatever kind of undercoat was used is proving nearly indestructible.

And I thought the main problem would be raised grain/grime on the treads, coupled with about 30 odd years of grime soaked nail marks.....

Did I ever get it wrong.

For me over a week of evenings to prep it and a couple of days to put the finish on it. The prepping was monotonous. The same as your own one, the threads and risers were painted either side of where the runner used to be. It was a real layer cake of paint going back a long, long time.

Many applications of nitromors were needed: literally dabbing it on, waiting 20 mins, dabbing more on, waiting some more and then scrapping it back. The worst stuff was the paint at the very bottom: a sort of a green or turquoise paint with a near chewing gum consistency. I got off all I possibly could and then left the rest to the sander; which clogged up the sanding disks rapidly. I was half thinking of using my blow torch but I didn't want to poison myself with all that lead paint.

The sides and the back edges of the threads had to be manually sanded which was a pain but worth the effort. I didn't strip the risers: I painted them white along with the spindles. I used an antique pine wood dye on the threads,the newel posts and the stinger; and put three coats on clear diamond coat on the threads, sanding between each application. The bannister was of a darker wood than the staircase to I just clear varnished it. I think it turned out quite nicely; I really like the contrast between the varnished threads and the white risers/spindles.

Drake66

Noreen1 wrote: »

was it worth it?
.

It was worth it for me for two reasons. The pitch pine came out really well when it was finished; it is really beautiful wood. Second money is tight and I wasn't going to put a carpet down on it.

Wertz

Drake66 that green paint you encountered under all the gloss sounds like it was lead chromate in a primer. The most toxic of lead coatings. I hope you were well masked up and removed the dust. Any duds you were wearing should be bagged and binned too.

On topic: +1 on lidl detail sheets when they have them...the price woodies and the like ask for is laughable.
Heat gun is best bet for removal of any paint...including lead, at a low heat setting.

Drake66

I had some asbestos grade overalls and mask. I vacuumed the dust as I went.

Wertz

Good stuff then...nasty crap to have flying around especially if it's a house with kids in residence, but main exposure risk is for the worker.

Drake66

No kids in the house. I wouldn't of gone near the old paint myself if there were kids in the house. I believe lead is especially toxic to children alright. Twas a good job my dad used to work on aircraft maintenance: a good store of ppe gear.

Noreen1

Quick update:

As suspected, the heat gun is of no help. It scorches the paint, but that doesn't make it any easier to take off, unfortunately.

Looks like it's going to be as much as possible with the belt sander, plenty of nitromors to take as much paint as possible off, then at least a week with the detail sanders - if we don't run out of patience first.

Right now, we're both very tempted to throw a carpet on it, I can only take so much white paint sanding particles floating around the house - the stuff is getting into every corner.

Trouble is, the four stairs that are done look really nice..........

slowburner

Noreen1 wrote: »

Quick update:

As suspected, the heat gun is of no help. It scorches the paint, but that doesn't make it any easier to take off, unfortunately.

Looks like it's going to be as much as possible with the belt sander, plenty of nitromors to take as much paint as possible off, then at least a week with the detail sanders - if we don't run out of patience first.

Right now, we're both very tempted to throw a carpet on it, I can only take so much white paint sanding particles floating around the house - the stuff is getting into every corner.

Trouble is, the four stairs that are done look really nice..........

Could you connect a vacuum cleaner to the sander?

Drake66

Noreen1 wrote: »

Quick update:

As suspected, the heat gun is of no help. It scorches the paint, but that doesn't make it any easier to take off, unfortunately.

Looks like it's going to be as much as possible with the belt sander, plenty of nitromors to take as much paint as possible off, then at least a week with the detail sanders - if we don't run out of patience first.

Right now, we're both very tempted to throw a carpet on it, I can only take so much white paint sanding particles floating around the house - the stuff is getting into every corner.

Trouble is, the four stairs that are done look really nice..........

Keep soldiering on then.

But take it one step at a time! .

antiskeptic

Noreen1 wrote: »

Quick update: As suspected, the heat gun is of no help. It scorches the paint, but that doesn't make it any easier to take off, unfortunately.

I wonder are you having the same problem I had stripping paint in an old house.

The top layers came off with a heat gun no problem but there was this residue left on the wood which turned to 'glue' when hot and gummed up the scraper. It was impossible to remove it with sandpaper when cold as it gummed it up in no time

The solution involved heating the stuff with the heat gun and then wiping of the residue off with some wire wool whilst it was still hot. You were left with a completely smooth finish - even in those hard to reach places.

The issues to hold in mind are:

- respiration protection / ventilation

- hold the air intake of the heat gun above the direction of wiping (wipe downwards away from the heat gun). Otherwise particles of the wire wool dropping off will get sucked into the heat gun and, being metal, will short everything in minutes (it cost me two bust heat guns before I copped on)

- don't get the molten residue on your hands when it's hot. It sticks like I'd imagine napalm would and causes bad burns.

- do a small patch at a time. You get a system of dab-of-heat / gun away / wipe / dab-of-heat... up and going so progress quite quickly.

Noreen1

slowburner wrote: »

Could you connect a vacuum cleaner to the sander?

Never thought of that! I know tha belt sander, and at least one of the detail sanders have dust bags - so, probably worth a try. Thanks.

Noreen1

antiskeptic wrote: »

I wonder are you having the same problem I had stripping paint in an old house.

The top layers came off with a heat gun no problem but there was this residue left on the wood which turned to 'glue' when hot and gummed up the scraper. It was impossible to remove it with sandpaper when cold as it gummed it up in no time

The solution involved heating the stuff with the heat gun and then wiping of the residue off with some wire wool whilst it was still hot. You were left with a completely smooth finish - even in those hard to reach places.

The issues to hold in mind are:

- respiration protection / ventilation

- hold the air intake of the heat gun above the direction of wiping (wipe downwards away from the heat gun). Otherwise particles of the wire wool dropping off will get sucked into the heat gun and, being metal, will short everything in minutes (it cost me two bust heat guns before I copped on)

- don't get the molten residue on your hands when it's hot. It sticks like I'd imagine napalm would and causes bad burns.

- do a small patch at a time. You get a system of dab-of-heat / gun away / wipe / dab-of-heat... up and going so progress quite quickly.

Thanks. I'll try that.
I just plastered some nitromors into the corners, to get as much as possible off there, before the OH starts with the belt sander again. (I'll try most things, but that belt sander is well beyond my abilities, unless the aim is to carve a hole in the timber.:D)

I'll give it a try later.