The Stickiest Substance On Earth?

[algale]

Hats off to those of you who report being able to remove the PSA sandpaper from the flat sanding disk and reusing the paper.

I had to remove an old 100 grit PSA paper from my 12" flat steel sanding disc. Despite using a heat gun to try to soften/loosen the adhesive, the task required considerable elbow grease and the paper did not come off in anything approaching once piece. Lots of little pieces of paper and adhesive residue were left behind that I cleaned up with more elbow grease and mineral spirits.

Maybe it is an age/usage thing. I put this paper on a couple of years ago and it has seen heavy use. But there was no way this PSA paper was coming off in reusable condition.

I know there is a velcro sanding package available but since I use this disc primarily to sand to length, I am hesitant to invest in it.

Anyway, that PSA is some seriously sticky stuff.

[dusty]

I used to believe (and have reported here on the forum) that a good bathing in the Arizona sun would do the trick. That, however, is no longer the case. Something has either changed or you are correct in your assumption that time does the dirty deed. I was unable to salvage the sand paper. In fact, I was beginning to think that I was going to loose the metal disk.

[wa2crk]

For a 12" conversion disc try WWW.supergrit.com. They are near Gettysburg Pa. They have several different size conversion discs.
Bill V

[jsburger]

I used to believe (and have reported here on the forum) that a good bathing in the Arizona sun would do the trick. That, however, is no longer the case. Something has either changed or you are correct in your assumption that time does the dirty deed. I was unable to salvage the sand paper. In fact, I was beginning to think that I was going to loose the metal disk.

The answer is multiple discs. They are on eBay all the time. Just wait for one in great condition and a good price. I have four flat disks and two conicals.

[reible]

I personally have never had any luck getting the sandpaper to come off clean much less to have it re-stick to another disk or to re-stick to the same disk.

My "new" 520 table still bares the scratch marks from a conical disk sand paper swap that came loose after a swap.

I gave up on the one disk idea years ago and went with a fresh approach back then of having a disk per grit for the normal sanding and a disk for sharpening activities etc. It was expensive when I went from a 500 to a 520 because they gave you one hub to swap out and so the rest was a second investment for the added disks. Still it made since then and still does now if you can afford it in terms of money and space. It is super fast to swap out a disk rather then attempting to swap sticky paper grits.

I also have the Velcro disk so for the times when that is a better choice it can be used. I would not just have the velcro system as it is has it limits of use.

I have only the one conical disk but for the last 5 years or so a second one has been on my list. Seems the money is gone before I get that far on the list so I just keep the one grit on what I have and live that way.

During previous discussions some felt that the paper removal issue might have to do with where you live, the people in warmer places seem to do better then those of us in the colder sections. It seemed like a reasonable premise but maybe in has more to do with how often the paper is changed.

Ed

[algale]

I have two of the flat discs but even if you have a disc for every grit, you need to replace the abrasive when it wears out -- and that's a PITA if you are using PSA discs.

Even though I have a small supply of PSA A/O discs on hand I am thinking seriously about switching over to the ceramic PSA discs immediately. At ~$8 per disc (4 for $31.95) the ceramic PSA discs are twice as expensive as the ~$4 per disc (6 for $23.95) A/O discs, but they last four times longer, according to Shopsmith. If the performance is as advertised I'll gladly pay the difference to go longer between replacing the abrasives and all that job entails.

[benush26]

Tried warming the disc, mineral spirits, acetone and select words of a four letter nature. The words did nearly as much good as the rest. Finally tried "goof off" (yellow can red spout) to some success. Needed to use nearly an entire can soaking the surface - after an half an hour a strong thin blade putty knife and elbow grease removed what was left.

Reuse the paper?!?! Too many tiny pieces to glue back together!

Maybe they should use the same glue to hold the handles and magnets on the quill feed!

Be well,
Ben

[jsburger]

I have two of the flat discs but even if you have a disc for every grit, you need to replace the abrasive when it wears out -- and that's a PITA if you are using PSA discs.

Even though I have a small supply of PSA A/O discs on hand I am thinking seriously about switching over to the ceramic PSA discs immediately. At ~$8 per disc (4 for $31.95) the ceramic PSA discs are twice as expensive as the ~$4 per disc (6 for $23.95) A/O discs, but they last four times longer, according to Shopsmith. If the performance is as advertised I'll gladly pay the difference to go longer between replacing the abrasives and all that job entails.

I bought some of the SS 5" disks for my random orbit sander 6 or 8 months ago on eBay. Those and belts show up fairly regularly on eBay and are cheaper. I have not seen the 12" disks on eBay.

I put a 320 grit disk on the sander when I first got them and just changed it out about a month ago. I don't use the sander every day but it does get used regularly. They do last a LONG time. They don't load up with sanding dust either.

[stephen_a._draper]

You are all doing it the hard way. Just put your sanding disk in your kitchen oven set at 275 degrees for 30 minutes. The heat will melt the adhesive and it will just peel right off. Follow up with mineral spirits on the disk and it will be like new.

[algale]

You are all doing it the hard way. Just put your sanding disk in your kitchen oven set at 275 degrees for 30 minutes. The heat will melt the adhesive and it will just peel right off. Follow up with mineral spirits on the disk and it will be like new.

Thanks for the advice. I used a higher temperature than that with the heat gun and it was still a struggle. But who knows, maybe 275 degrees is the Goldilock's temperature: not too hot, not too cold.