# Extraordinary Abrasive



## builtinabarn (Feb 17, 2009)

How about cost difference between the paper or film back and the Abranet?

OOPS, I wrote before I read the entire post. Thanks for posting


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## builtinabarn (Feb 17, 2009)

Five years ago, a Mirka rep. brought some prototypes of this to my shop to use. It was defiantly an awesome product. I have asked my sandpaper dealer about the production of and the introduction of this product for years, and know body could answer me. Im glad you posted this so I can search out a source .


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## ND2ELK (Jan 25, 2008)

Hi Tony

Every sight I looked at tells me about the product, which is fine. How much does it cost and where can we buy this product in the USA? Please advise?

Tom


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## Tikka (May 14, 2007)

Hi Tom

Sorry I cannot really help you as I live on the "wrong side of the pond",

*I have just spoken to Mirka USA 800 843 3904 * about the availability of their products in the USA. They said if individuals would like to call there free phone number - they will be more than happy to give you the details of the distributor closest to you.

I must admit the Mirka-USA website is less than helpful, with regard to contacting them (except for telephone)or listing their main distributors, but I guess with 50+ states and 1000's of big towns, they would need a website just for distributors.

If you still have problems getting the product, let me know and maybe I can start an export business selling the Finnish made product in the USA, because you cannot find a retailer there to sell you the same US manufactured product - now that is good for the recesion (for us anyway)


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## depictureboy (Jun 5, 2008)

Google is your friend.

Woodcraft

Amazon


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## jwicks (Jul 9, 2008)

They sell them at Woodcraft:
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=5922


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## LonelyRaven (Mar 11, 2009)

Funny this thread came up…I saw this stuff at Woodcraft, and had trouble finding anything about it online except for Woodcraft and Amazon (as listed above).

I bought the bulk pack and the protective layer thing just this Monday, and I'm eagerly awaiting it's arrival. They don't make a backing pad for my Bosch palm sander, so I couldn't get that, but it looks like it would help with the dust removal because it probably double the amount of air holes in the backing pad to improve the air flow through the Abernet abrasive sheet.

Doing a little research, it appears they also make sanding blocks with a vacuum port, but they were only 2 3/4" wide or something like that…I really wanted a 4" X 7" sanding block for larger projects where I would want to do them by hand, but need to cover a lot of surface as evenly as possible….so I didn't order it.

I can add my own report later if anyone cares…I'm hoping to receive the shipment and start using the pads this weekend!


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## Tikka (May 14, 2007)

Lonely Raven

Mirka do make larger sanding pads, up to 4.5" x 9", but you may have difficulties in finding a supplier, following the comments of the thread so far - Call Mirka, I am sure they will be able to help you.

The *extra *holes in the protective pad will not help you remove more dust, it is a function of the holes in you ROS pad. The extra holes allow the pad to be rotated to a new position should one are become warn.

I am off to pick up my next batch of disks and pads tomorrow (500 disks, 10 boxes), the price here for one disk is about $1.59, but when you by a box of 50, the price comes down to $1.03 each and the backing pads are $20 for 5×3 mm pads, which includes a 22% sales tax on all products.

I look forward to hearing you comments on this product, I am sure you will not be disapointed


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Excellent review , Tony . I hope you're getting a good commission from Mirka : ) LOL


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## Tikka (May 14, 2007)

Dusty, I only wish I was getting a commision from them. It would save me a fortune


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Hahahaha, I can see your smiling face on one of their advertisements already ! LOL


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## YorkshireStewart (Sep 20, 2007)

I bought some sample packs of the small rectangular sheets at a woodshow last November & just this week 'discovered' them hiding in my 'shop! I, too, am very impressed and will be ordering some more. Thanks, *Tony*; I didn't realise this stuff available as discs too.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

I picked up 2-sheets of 400 grit on ebay for about $20.00 It seemed to be great. I did use the product with a 1/4" foam back for my Corian countertop. I went to 3000 grit for a semi gloss finish. I used it wet with dish soap in some water.


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## cabinetmaster (Aug 28, 2008)

Thanks for the post Tony. I did not realize they had so many different grits. We use the 400 in our shop all the time. Great stuff.


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## Radish (Apr 11, 2007)

Thanks Tony. I'll have to give it a try. I swear by the *Abralon* pads by Mirka. They come in grits 500 - 1000 - 2000 - 4000 for final rubout of finishes, and they work fast. I was going to recommend Jeff Jewitt's homesteadfinishing.com site as a source - but it looks like it might be down permanently…


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## Grampa (Dec 30, 2008)

First of all, Thanks for the review.

I just got off the phone with Arturus, at Supergrit, who handles the abranet discs in all sizes, and was able to answere most of my questions. Also much better prices than Woodcraft.

Woodcraft: 10 (6" discs) any grit are 17.99,
pad protector 6" are 19.99 for 2,
interface pads 6" are 14.99

Supergrit: 10 (6" discs) are 8.25, 80 grit is 9.00 for ten

6" protector pads are 7.00 ea,
6" interface pads ( mirka) are about 5.00 ea

The website is www.supergrit.com

Hope this is useful to all of you Thanks 
Doug


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## LonelyRaven (Mar 11, 2009)

Homestead is here now, Douglas:

http://www.homesteadfinishingproducts.com/


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

I am looking forward to trying it too!Alistair


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## FlWoodRat (Sep 12, 2007)

You can find even Mirka higher grit wet/dry at automotive refinisher/paint shop supply stores
I got a couple of half sheet 50 packs of 400, and 1200 for around $15 dollars each.

You can follow this link for some more information http://mirka-online.com/products.html


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## BlueFlamme (Feb 23, 2008)

I wonder how well their Abranet Sheet Sanding System works? Interesting concept having DC with hand sanding.


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## Tikka (May 14, 2007)

*Scott* When I picked up my supply of Abranet yesterday, I had the opportunity to try the sheet sanding system out.

It is worthy of separate review - In summary I found it to be excellent with absolutely zero dust (when used with a vacuum) very comfortable and solid in the hand.

*Bruce (AKA FlWoodrat)* the mesh system that goes above 1000g (and also below) is called Autonet or Abralon (two more products), a very similar and slightly different product, about the same price and equal in performance at the higher grits, but I have never needed to go above P1000 with the Abranet to achieve perfect results on wood.

The link provided by FlWoodrat certainly seems to have extremely competitive prices and well worth investigating further.


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## FlWoodRat (Sep 12, 2007)

*TONY.*
Thanks for the information. FYI, I use the MIRKA high grit Wet/Dry abrasives just for sharpening tools. I seldom go past 220 on wood or over 400 grit on a finish.


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## builtinabarn (Feb 17, 2009)

Woodworkers supply abrasives company is "A and H Abrasives". I found after a little research, that they have the best prices.Their # is 800-831-6066, call and request a catalog. They are a great company to deal with. They also can make many custom things. I had them make some custom size sanding belts and some other custom things for my drum sander. I was really impressed.


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## mattg (May 6, 2008)

I just found these online myself. Went to our local Houston Woodcraft and purchased the 320 and 400 grit. I am not going to final sand with anything else. These discs are just what I was looking for for my 5" P/C random orbit sander. I was told at Woodcraft that they are also longer lasting than paper.


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## jimc (Mar 6, 2008)

I recently purchased the Abranet sample pack (1 disc of each grit) and an interface pad and have been using the system now for a few days. I resawed some QS Sycamore with my table saw this afternoon and because the fence moved, left some rather serious ledges on the cut side. I hit them with the Abranet 80 grit on my ROS and it flattened them out in practically no time. I had the vacuum attached to my ROS and ended up with just a bit of dust at the edge of the board. I am sold on this sanding system and will definitely be purchasing more discs. I got mine from SuperGrit for a very reasonable price - Assortment pack (1 ea of 10 grits, 6" discs) = $9.00; 5 ea of 10 grits = $39. Individual grit 10-packs - $8.26; 50-packs = $36.00.

Jim


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## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

I'm a convert, too. I use nothing else with my ROS.

Great stuff !


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## newTim (Jul 11, 2008)

Sorry guys… I have a different take. Yes, these Abranet disks seem to work real good, BUT only for the limited amount of time they stay attached to the interface pad. I purchased several grit packs after using the 400-600 with great results. Today I bought the pad attachment for my PC 390 at Woodcraft along with the Abranet pad. Everything hooked together as they should, the net pad held a firm grip. Everything was going swimmingly and then the mesh pad flew off having been launched like a frisbee. Afterward it would not stick to the hook n loop. Nor would other pads. I ended up tapping my small stock of Norton paperback disks. They stayed attached and worked well. Is there a problem I should know about?


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## DMIHOMECENTER (Mar 5, 2011)

I don't know for sure, but they may be hook and loop II. I have that with my 3M Trizact disks… that requires a conversion pad from hook and loop standard on the ROS to the II on the disks. Not a problem as long as you know about it. lol


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## Tikka (May 14, 2007)

*New Tim*
I am not exactly sure hat happened, but I am still using the same interface pad, I used when I wrote this review. The disk certainly do become "non-sticky" after a while, but that is usually when they have lost the abrasive.

Make sure you purchase genuine Mirka interface pads and disks - there are some look alikes out there which are vastly inferior.

Do not use the Abranet disks without the interface pads, it will damage the main velcro pad of the sander and they are not cheap to replace.

*TIP*: Do not apply any downward pressure, let the weight of the sander do the work (this will save the motor and your arms a lot of energy), sand with all the grits, do not miss any, left & right, up & down, diagonally.

Keep the sander flat to the face of the workpiece, do not tilt the sander to get that "little mark out", Abranet is very aggressive for a long time.


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## newTim (Jul 11, 2008)

Thanks Tony… the answers are yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. I have the exact same items as shown in the pictures above, and used exactly as instructed. Brand new OEM pad, brand new OEM disk. It was working fine then no joy. Little frisbee's. My first thought was it had filled with dust, but I was using a vacuum and they looked good otherwise. In fact, as they were flying across the room I could see right through them.  Its a mystery I tell ya. A real mystery.


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

these are the best sanding discs youve ever used hands down in my opinion,they work fast and last long,cost more but worth the price,its all im buying from now on.


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