The maroon and grey 3M pads are both rated “fine” but the maroon has aluminum oxide as its abrasive, and the grey has silicon carbide. What tasks are appropriate for each one? What to stay away from? Thanks!
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
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The gray are a lot finer than the maroon. Rub each over some shiny steel or tin and you'll see this immediately and clearer than by rubbing on wood.
As an aside: I've had tiny bits of maroon pad stuck in some finished wood. Probably I've had the gray in there also but it sort of blends in whereas the maroon says, "HEY, LOOK AT ME!"
Another aside: I like steel wool a lot better for rubbing out finishes on wood. But I use the 3M pads on the metal work I do.
"I've had tiny bits of maroon pad stuck in some finished wood. Probably I've had the gray in there also but it sort of blends in whereas the maroon says, "HEY, LOOK AT ME!" Ooooo, not good. I'll try and avoid this for sure. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I use the gray pads for rubbing out finishes (with 220 0r 320 for the flat surfaces). That way, you avoid rubbing through the finish on corners, curves, etc.
I always keep the maroon stuff around, but don't use it as much; I will use it for rubbing down painted surfaces (corners and curves)or for stripping.
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"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
"I always keep the maroon stuff around, but don't use it as much...." Wouldn'tcha know, I ordered more maroon than grey. Had a vague memory that people are always referring to the maroon pad. I did use some grey to work on a painted surface yesterday. Yesterday was frustrating. Put the first coat of paint on our entryway coat rack/cubbie thing from the Wood plan. Had wanted to use Milk Paint, but our store doesn't carry it anymore, so rather than wait for an order, I had them mix up a similar color.
The sheen I liked the best came in a base called "Metal and Wood" by Benjamin Moore. Big mistake. Darned stuff doesn't flow out and level at all. Had horrible brush marks in the first coat, so I took a board in to the store "help!" So they gave me a couple ounces of extender, and sold me a very short-nap (maybe foam?) roller. So I used the grey pad to take down the first coat a bit, then rollered on a 2nd coat.
Certainly went on better than with a brush, but the in no way is the paint levelling to be a flat, uniform surface with a low sheen. Fortunately, it's won't be very visible, given our incredibly small entry. When we get into a different house, I'll sand it down and repaint it I guess. Grrrrrr.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
That's latex, right? I painted the trim in my place with latex paint and I don't think I'll ever use it again for anything but walls. I had major brush marks, used Flo-Trol and it was a bit better but finally tried a foam brush. The foam brush was the best way to get it on with the smoothest finish. I tried to paint a pair of sliding doors at my folk's house when I was getting ready to sell it but had little bubbles all over, no matter how slowly I rolled it with the grey foam roller. I haven't done it much with latex but the Benjamin Moore sheet says it can be sprayed. After talking to several painters on different jobs and hearing that oil based flattens out better and their other reasons for using it, I tried it and will only use that or some kind of lacquer for trying to get a really flat, durable surface when using a brush. I painted the first floor rental unit here and used oil based with a good China brush. There's nothing like the first coats of oil based on fresh wood. Schmooooth!For some odd reason, I think I remember you asking about buying a spray rig. If you have one, I would try it. I sprayed all of my trim here before installing it and it went on nice and flat. I also sprayed my upper kitchen cabs with poly, thinned with naptha, also with excellent results. I had avoided using oil based because I remember my dad using it as a kid and all of the cleanup needed plus, I'm not a big fan of the smell. Now, I want results and that's all I'll use.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Jim
Try the blue foam rollers. I had the same issues with latex until I watched a real pro painter laying it out perfectly on raised panel doors with the blue foam rollers. I repainted 2 doors in my house with them, and they look sprayed. Frickin perfect, if I do say so!
Jeff
Where did you get them? I'm not sure I really like latex for some durability issues, though. I like a harder finish on trim and doors. Still, being able to lay latex on that smoothly would be a bonus.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
I got them at Menards, if you can believe it. It's gotta be the only thing they sell there that actually works. I asked the painter, and that's where he buys them. They sell them in several different shapes and sizes.
Thank goodness he didn't buy the paint there. LOL.
Jeff
Blue foam rollers from Menard's, ya say? I'll have to go there and get some before they do something bizarre like realize how good they are and discontinue carrying them.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
I think you got some bad advice on that paint. I've used both the latex and alkyd version, but only for metal. In the Ben Moore line, their Satin Impervo (alkyd)is a truly great performer on anything wood.********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
I think the use for each color is on the back of the package. Grey is mainly for metal, red, green and brown are for other materials. Not that they won't work on others but the green doesn't do much with bare metal while the grey gets right into it.
Mine didn't come in packages....I ordered it from Lee Valley, just my 5 pads in a plastic bag.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
There are a lot of different 3M pads for all sorts of different applications. The color of the pad is a general indicator, but the number is really what's important.
My maroon pads are #7447 and are labeled as "general purpose" pads. My grey pads are #7448 and are labeled as "Ultra Fine" pads. My white pads (I stock all three) are #7445 and are labeled as "Light Duty Cleansing Pads." The white is super fine and is roughly comparable to 0000 steel wool. The box says that they are for scuffing basecoat/clearcoat finishes and light duty cleansing. I very rarily use them.
Where I was first introduced to using 3M pads was the maroon pads in a furniture factory. We used them to handsand any turnings like turned legs on chairs and posts on headboard/footboard sets. They worked great for that. We also used them for stripping when repairing something. The downside of using pads is that they are not well suited to leveling anything. They'll debur or smooth out a surface but won't flatten it.
Edited 3/18/2007 1:14 pm by Kevin
I use the white for rubbing out wax with good results.
forestgirl,
I had a similar question, but managed to fumble around the 3M website enough to find this: http://tinyurl.com/ynksnp . It's a PDF that describes what 3M had in mind for each grade of pad.
Dan
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