Stickit vs hook & loop abrasives

[Figment]

Man I would love to be able to use the cheaper adhesive sanding discs. I've just never had much luck with them. Invariably, the sanding dust makes its way between the disc and the pad and ZING!!!! the disc flies away like a frisbee.

What do you guys do to keep the sander's pad clean enough for good adhesion? solvent wipes?

[CharlieJ]

Just a very occasional wipe down with lacquer thinner. But I sometimes go weeks without that. Only if a disc sticks and won't come off, or it won't stick.

Usually I find that the "no stick" situation comes whenI haven't had a disc on the pad and it's been exposed to dust from another sander.

[Figment]

ah, that might be the thing. My one stickit sander is a pneumatic jobbie that lives in the very nastiest of tool cabinets and sees very infrequent use, so I'm sure the pad is completely covered in other-tool dust.

[Dave]

I do a lot of sanding using an electric random orbital with the hook and loop. It did not take me long to figure out a way to use the cheaper sticky discs. I keep a can of adhesive spray around and occasionally spray the pad before putting on the disc. It works very well as they stay on well beyond the life of the paper. The pad is a little gooie, but it does not seem to bother any. I don't think that I could switch back to hook and loop without cleaning the pad, but why would anyone wish to? I use everything from 600 grit to 50, and have not lost a disc. I have changed the brushes once already on the sander, so that is a lot of sanding without having sanding disc frisbee's.

[Tim]

I've only had trouble with PSA discs flying off when the backing pad is brand new--and then only rarely on my 5". Even when the pad gets dusty, I never have to do more to it than a quick wipe with my sleeve or whatever, and the pads stick just fine.

On my 8" grinder pad (soft pak), I find that the disc heats up so much that it turns the adhesive into a slippery mess, and these often fly off to the corners of the shop. Fortunately, I rarely use this tool.

FWIW, the McMaster-Carr sanding discs that I use seem to have excellent adhesive that sticks to almost anything. I can't remember the last time one flew off my 5".