PSA vs. H&L sandpaper

What type of sandpaper do you use?

  • PSA

    Votes: 2 5.6%
  • H&L

    Votes: 30 83.3%
  • What?

    Votes: 4 11.1%

  • Total voters
    36
Matt,

I have a DeWalt 5in random orbit sander with the Hook and Loop pad. It has worked extremely well for me, and believe me I've beat on that tool. I have had it for about 4 years and only now is the "hook" material on the pad starting to separate from the rubber pad at the edges. I have a replacement rubber pad with new "hook" material, waiting for this one to give out.
Side Note: Whenever this sander dies, I plan on running out an picking another up right away. I have been so impressed with its durability.

I also have the Porter-Cable profile sander. The flat diamond shaped pad uses hook and loop. I have mostly used this flat plastic backed pad. Unfortunatly the hook material is separating from the plastic backing. I superglued it back in place and picked up a replacement, just incase. It is holding OK, with the superglue, but I don't use this sander that much.

I only have on sander that uses PSA. It is a Delta belt/disc sander. The Disc is held in place with PSA. I can't say how it holds up as the sander is fairly new, and I haven't had to change the disc yet.

Overall:
I like hook & loop because it makes changing sandpaper quick, and it is not impacted by dust on the pad. That said, removing hook & loop sandpaper is rough (wear and tear) on whatever the "Hook material" is attached to, be it a rubber pad or a plastic one.
 
I use both types.

I use the H & L on a PC 333. It has the decided advantage that it can be detached from the sander pad and reused at a later time.

I use the PSA on a PC 330. It seems to allow less "give" in terms of movement on the pad while sanding.

Which do I prefer? For preliminary sanding and smoothing the H & L - for final sanding the PSA. How's that for sitting squarely on the fence?
 
All three of my Festool sanders use hook and loop. In particular, I use my 150 mm Radom Orbital Rotex sander a LOT and am fequently changing the type of paper. I seem to wear out a pad every year on this sander.
 
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My little $35 Ryobi 5" ROS came set up for PSA, but also had the H&L pad that could be glued on. I used the PSA long enough to use up the sandpaper that came with the sander, glued on the H&L pad, and haven't looked back since. I've put lots of continuous hours on that poor little sander, and have replaced the hook pad once. (That sander was one of the best $35 I've spent in the shop. I'd buy another one if this one dies.) For my needs, it's been much handier being able to switch grits faster, and reuse partly-used-up disks. My newer 6" ROS has hook and loop, too, and I figure I'll keep it that way. If I were running a production shop where I had different sanders for each grit, and always used up a sandpaper disk before taking it off, the PSA would make more sense.

I'm curious to hear Tod's take on the PSA vs. H&L.
 
i`m in the psa camp for a couple of reasons;
1) there are j and x weight backers available for sanding discs 80 grit and coarser. hence more than double the abrasive life.
2) cost of abrasives finer than 80 grit, at least here in the sticks psa backed discs are about 30% less....given that sandpaper is my largest continuing expence as far as shop supplies goes that`s a major factor.

those are the economic reasons, my seat of the pants reason is that i think i can better feel the work without the extra cushion that h&l provides, in fact my sanders are set up with 3-m medium backers `cause i find the standards to soft for my liking.....tod
 
Saw in this thread here:

http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3628

It was mentioned that PSA sandpaper was better than H&L sandpaper. Unfortunately, no reason was given. I didn't want to hijack the other thread, so I am starting this one.

Which one do you prefer and if possible, post why.

well matt, i use H&L right now and the things i saw while down south, was that the psa appeared to last longer than H&L,Was cheaper and seemed to give a flatter surface.. i am not pro like yourself and am only voicing my opinions from what i observed...sorry for not eliborating earlier, if in doubt or have any questions about what i say or appear to say in any thread or post. pm me in the future and i will do my best to clarify any unturned stones:D
 
with only one sander betwixed ya, H&L is the best answer, but what i was using for my comparison was a one sander operation at the time and only one grit used per operation. ( in my case i do have more than one sander and have them set up for differnt grits there lessning the need to chg grits as often) in that operation i definatly seen a flatter surface with the psa setup compared to what i have seen in my own stuff may have been the methode of use, but when tod mentioned that he felt it gave flatter surface then maybe it was the pad configuration.:dunno: :dunno: :wave:
 
Psa.

I use them due to cost.

I can buy a box of 100 Psa disks for a little more money than what a box of 50 H&L disks cost.
And I also feel like I can get a flatter surface.
And I don't have the problem of replacing worn pads for H&L.
 
To me, the only disadvantage of H&L is that the pad wears out eventually and you have to buy a new one.

Mike

Actually the H&L pad spontaneously converted to a PSA pad!:D :thumb:


Wes

PS - I used H&L because I don't use up a pad before needing to move to the next grit. Economics of a small shop!
 
I do some furniture refinishing and was using H&L till I tried some PSA at a freind's house. Once the H&L is used up I will be swicthing over to the sticky side. Like others have stated, it leaves a smoother finish and feel.

When changeing pads that are PSA my freinds sticks the pad on wax paper if he plans to use it again.
 
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