How to Fold Sandpaper on a Block for Wet Sanding
Wet sanding is a process of preparing a painted surface for final buffing and polishing. While some technicians use their hands for this operation, it is well accepted in the auto refinishing community that this causes uneven sanding of the paint. The only way to avoid this uneven sanding is to use a sanding block specially designed for use in wet sanding. These are usually polyurethane tools of varying sizes and shapes, around which sandpaper fits.
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Instructions
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Hold the sanding block in your dominant hand, and determine the length of the sanding block. Professional sanding blocks use two lengths. Full length blocks are the length of a sheet of standard sandpaper. Half length blocks use sheets of sandpaper that are doubled over themselves.
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Fold the sandpaper in half width-wise for small sanding blocks. Paper for long blocks does not require folding.
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Hold the edge of the sandpaper on the top edge of the sanding block, where your hand will rest while sanding. Wrap the sandpaper around the bottom of the sanding block, and then draw it tightly up over the top of the sanding block. This will allow you to hold the sandpaper in place, as well as control the sanding block while you are wet sanding.
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Wrap the sandpaper uncut and unfolded around full-length sanding blocks, holding the paper in place -- the same way you would hold it with a half-length sanding block -- except, use both hands to control the block and hold the sandpaper.
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Tips & Warnings
Do not staple the sandpaper to the sanding block, because it will permanently damage the sanding block. Also, folding the sandpaper to simply cover the bottom of the sanding block will not allow you to hold the sandpaper in place during the sanding operation.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
