Sandpapers: Artisan's Guide

The term 'sandpaper' is used these days to cover abrasive grit on flexible backing sheets used to smooth many types of material. True 'sandpaper' (i.e. backing paper covered with grains of sand) is no longer available commercially but has been replaced by backing sheet covered with glass, aluminium oxide, silicon carbide, garnet or other specialist grit. Generally the terms 'sandpaper' and 'glasspaper' are used generically to cover all types of grit attached to a backing sheet - 'Sandpaper' is used below in general terms to refer to the family of sheet type abrasives. Each type of grit has different characteristics which make each most suitable for specific applications, an understanding of the types of grit is essential so that the right type is chosen for a particular job. In simple terms, the abrasive grit is fixed by an adhesive to a backing sheet - the type and size of grit, the type of adhesive and the type of backing material all have an effect on the suitability of a sandpaper for a particular job.
In this book we will talk about general characteristics such as grit size and grades, backing materials such as ordinary paper, waterproof paper, cloth, backing adhesives, forms, types of grit, such as glasspaper, aluminium oxide, garnet paper, steel wool and tips of using sandpaper.