Rubber Diamond Pads & new product Siacarat?

[lostwax]

Hi all..in the search for something better than silicon carbide paper I tried one of the diamond impregnated rubber pads as suggested in Mauibucks thread. Must say I'm very very impressed so far and they look like they'll last a long time.
A set of 8 for around $50 is a steal.

The notches in the pads dont seem to be too much of a problem although i'd feel a lot safer if they could make them flat.

Was asking my sandpaper guy if he stocked them but no luck, so it's off to feebay...
He did say he stocks a new product called "Siacarat velvet"
6" or 150mm dia x 5mm thick with cushioning wetsuit type material, and go up to 3000 grit...has anyone tried them??
They sound ideal..

Been quoted around $18 aud for a twin pack, which puts them about par with the 6" rubber pads

http://www.sia-abrasives.com/industries ... motive.php

when I get my hands on some I'll report back

[lostwax]

G'day all..well I'm not so enthusiastic on Siacarat pads after trying them.
Was also misquoted on the price.. I'm sure the dealer said $18 Aud for a twin pack, but it ended up being each!..not happy

Also, they are supposed to be 3000 grit but cut more like a 600 when new. Of course they may just need to be broken in intitially but so far I'm not impressed.

The other problem is the foam backing tends to create hundreds of tiny air bubbles making it difficult to see what you're cutting.

I'll rough them up a bit more and see if they improve but I aint holding my breath.

Btw, the Rubber impregnated discs mentioned continue to do a fantastic job with very little sign of wear.
They're a great way to get started.

Sean

[azvinnie]

Hmmmm. Am having some difficulty picturing air bubbles coming up through the Siacarat disks. So the material they're made of is actually porous enough to allow air to rise up through it?

Can say the resin disks I use are also more "aggressive" in the way they cut when new than one would think by the grit rating. So that may be a characteristic common to some brands/types of disks.

Shame about the pricing issue you encountered, but do appreciate the updates on the way these things work.

Vinnie

[lostwax]

G'day Vinnie, Yes the discs are fairly porous and have a 5mm thick foam rubber backing. They're designed that way to get as much water flow as possible but once some pressure is used they tend to create a foamy wake making it near impossible to see what you're doing...
Oh well, doesnt hurt to try something different and a good lesson learned.

Cheers
Sean