What are your experiances with wet vs dry sanding?

I recently worked on a couple of Dukoffs and I was having some 
trouble getting a flat table on them.  My 600 grit paper would not 
sit flat so it kept touching my low spot on the heel of the table as 
I drew the piece over the paper.

I thought wetting it would hold it down.  I then had to deal with 
curling problems.  I weighted the edges down with a couple of files 
and then was able to use it.  I think it worked better than dry paper 
for flattening a table.  The wetness also lubricated the cutting and 
may have created a "slurry" under the table that assisted in getting 
a flat surface.

The paper curled up when dry.  I was able to use it wet again, but it 
is too curly to use dry.

I don't know what's available over there in the US, but in Japan we have small rolls of adhesive-backed sandpaper. I find this stuff perfect for this kind of work because not only does it stay flat, it doesn't slide. But Keith brought up an important point--dry sanding often clogs the paper, whereas that's not as much of a problem if the paper is wet.

Toby
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Keith Bradbury <kwbradbury@...> 
  To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2002 11:08 PM
  Subject: [MouthpieceWork] Wet vs Dry Sanding


  What are your experiances with wet vs dry sanding?

  I recently worked on a couple of Dukoffs and I was having some 
  trouble getting a flat table on them.  My 600 grit paper would not 
  sit flat so it kept touching my low spot on the heel of the table as 
  I drew the piece over the paper.

  I thought wetting it would hold it down.  I then had to deal with 
  curling problems.  I weighted the edges down with a couple of files 
  and then was able to use it.  I think it worked better than dry paper 
  for flattening a table.  The wetness also lubricated the cutting and 
  may have created a "slurry" under the table that assisted in getting 
  a flat surface.

  The paper curled up when dry.  I was able to use it wet again, but it 
  is too curly to use dry.


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You might want to consider using repositionable photo mount adhesive sprayed to the back of your sandpaper. It comes in a spray can and you can find it in most art supply stores. This is a light-tack mounting medium which will allow you to adhere almost any light paper product to virtually any flat surface. 
If your substrate is glass, your sandpaper will remain flat so long as it has no inherent heavy curl in it. Since it is such a light adhesive, there will be little concern for  any unevenness created by applying the substance. Just spray a little to the back of the sandpaper (being sure to cover all corners and edges) and then apply it to your plate glass. You will be able to reposition the sandpaper many times before it loses its adhesive qualities. It will also leave little (if any) residue on the glass. If any remainss, it can be removed with windex or rubbing alcohol. 
3M makes a good repositionable adhesive. DO NOT CONFUSE THIS WITH 3M PERMANANT PHOTO ADHESIVE!!!! The permanant adhesive is extremely difficult to use and will probably stick to the glass longer than you might want. 
TMugwump