# Red Resin vs Black Zirconium



## BrownsFan (Jul 11, 2011)

What's the difference? What application is each suited for best?


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## pjones46 (Mar 1, 2011)

The red discs are manufactured using aluminum oxide (alumina), a hard and relatively inexpensive compound used in abrasives, ceramics and refractories. They're suitable for sanding and polishing iron, mild steel, wood, plastic and other ferrous metals, but are not suitable for stainless steel or aluminum.

The blue discs are fabricated using zirconium dioxide (zirconia), a much harder material used to create fake diamonds, insulation and abrasives. They must be used for sanding and polishing stainless and aluminum, but can also be used as a longer lasting substitute for red discs

As for, Black Zirconium, the claim is that they also use the same as the blue discs above, zirconium oxide that is known at the jewelry store as cubic zirconium - almost a diamond. It makes these sandpapers, designed for use on power sanders, sharper and harder than aluminum oxide grits, to cut faster and hold the cutting edge longer.

So, all that being said, the blue and Black Zirconium are replacements that are suppose to last longer than the red and they use different resins to hold them on the disk/belts and may or may not have more substantial backing materials.

Rather they work better is up to personal experience?


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