Seriously good tools

[Gordon]

Not sure whether boaters are familiar with permagrip tools. They are basically made from silicon carbide fused onto a metal base and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They last for ever and can be refurbished with paint stripper or a wire brush.

They rapidly shift old paint, rub down glass fibre or filler or can be used to shape wood. The big blocks come with different grades of silicon carbide on . The blocks have different grades of silicon carbide on each side. face and in varying length. Great tools for the impatient but maybe not for the purist!

http://www.permagrit.com/

http://www.permagrit.com/index.php?cPat ... 244dc6a86e

edited for spilling

[jillR]

hi gordon

they look good

are the fine ones any good for varnish work?

jill

[Gordon]

Hi Jill. Now thats the 64000 dollar question,

If you have flaking varnish yes it will fetch it down to the wood in no time and then allow you to prepare the surface in the ordinary way, If however you are just keying down reasonably good varnish I would consider them a bit savage. I have the block and the finest side of thaat is equivalent to about 100 grit paper

[Mowjo]

:-D Sandvik used to do a similar thing years ago, they were great for rough work, like removing blistered paint or varnish and shaping but I never found them any good for finishing work like varnish, they left far to many scratches, I only ever use Aluminium Oxide sandpaper now starting with 120 then 180 and then 240 grade, then using green sanding pads in between coats, I get mine from Screwfix and it's around £8.00 for a 25 mtr roll of each and the same for the sanding pads which come in packs of ten, which I cut into four pads, they can be washed out and used wet or dry, I' ve tried all sorts over the years but have never found anything as good as sandpaper and elbow grease, but the sanding pads are great, havn't tried the courser grades yet but the green ones are perfect for in between coats, I just have to watch my Mrs dosn't get them mixed up with her washing up ones because they look the same as her scouring pads,, :-D

[Gordon]

Mowjo

Yea I remember the sandvik, infact I still have the tool less the rough bit. I think these are far more savage than the Sanvik, and yeas totally unsuitable for anything other than the first rub down of damaged paintwork, they shift fibre glass or filler at a hell of a rate