‘Sanding’ Metal

[Ian Robinson 4Participant @ianrobinson4]

I understand that you can 'sand' mild steel on a disk sander to round/chamfer edges reasonably satisfactorily [?]. What grits would be best to initially remove metal and then bring it to a finish.

I would just go and buy some disks and try it for myself but the only source for 300mm dia, self-adhesive, zirconium oxide disks (which I am told would be best) and which I can find is £33+ for a minimum order of 10. I would like to avoid the expense of trial and error if possible.

[Ian Robinson 4Participant @ianrobinson4]

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

..probably depends on exactly what you want to sand, A cheap angle grinder and assorted disc options and flap discs, wire knot twists etc all have their place. I bought one from wickes (£15 at that time) about 25yrs ago to cut patio slabs… used 150 stone cutting discs on that project and it still works albeit noisy as heck and vibrates the hands numb. Screwfix (UK) is a good source of cheap discs…

[Roger Provins 2Participant @rogerprovins2]

I use 120 grit – gives a reasonable finish. You'll have to navigate to the page for your size.

**LINK**

Edited By Roger Provins 2 on 31/01/2016 14:44:46

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I also use 120g Zirconium but on a 100mm belt sander works fine on all metals from steel to brass and aluminium

[Ian Robinson 4Participant @ianrobinson4]

Thank you. Is zirconium oxide going to be very much better than aluminium oxide for this? They are a lot more expensive!

[SandgrounderParticipant @sandgrounder]

Depending on the type of weld and how easy it is to work on, when I had the stainless steel fittings tig welded for my boat ( a full size one nor a model ) all butt welds were finished off with flap wheels in an electric drill, changing direction with each change of grit size and finally with a calico wheel and buffing soap. On most of the welds it's impossible to see them.

John

[Author]

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