Sanding base surfaces and coatings

This chapter deals with the preparation of surfaces for painting by sanding.

Sanding is a treatment that can be carried out using coarse/or fine sandpaper and with or without the help of a sanding machine.

8.1     Why Sanding?

There are various reasons for sanding, including:

smoothing and levelling out rough/uneven surfaces, irregularities, filler, welding seams etc.

roughing up existing coating layers and base surfaces to ensure better adhesion

rust removal

8.2     What type of sanding machine?

The form, material and any finish present of the object to be sanded determines the type of sanding machine to be used.

A sanding system consists of the sanding machine, the sanding pad, and the abrasive agent (paper, disk etc.). The abrasive agent can be attached to the pad via clamps or Velcro or a self-adhesive agent can be used.

We recommend the use of personal protective equipment in the form of a dust mask. The production of harmful dust can also be reduced by using sanding machines with built-in vacuuming functionality or systems with separate dedicated vacuum dust collectors.

8.3     Particle size of abrasive material?

The table below presents an overview of recommended abrasive materials for various types of jobs.

8.4     Hand Sanding

Hand sanding is very labour-intensive and therefore not an easy job. In addition, the end result is often a surface which is not evenly roughened, leading to uneven adhesion of the paint layer. Although the end result can be acceptable, power sanding remains preferable. The same guidelines apply here as for power sanding.

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