Custom

[CJOttawa]

I've seen these things for years but never knew what they were good for.

I got a few of these in a Dremel brand combination kit and found out how easily they remove paint and rust from metal.

These discs are basically flexible plastic impregnated with an abrasive grit. Different colours of disc represent different grit size.

The best value seems to be to be 24 packs of the 3M brand discs; they come with a mandrel that will hold 3-6 of the discs at once or one at a time for more precision work.

Apparently you can get these in larger sizes to fit a bench grinder.

Words of caution: don't run them over 20,000RPM or install them backwards - the fingers with rip off. Wear goggles when using as chunks do come off in normal use.

Project #1 with these has been stripping down a Nelspot.

[Blue60]

I have a bunch of these and always wondered what they were for

[CJOttawa]

Yeah, me too!

I don't have access to a media blaster and don't have the space for a bench grinder (apartment) so this turned into a great little tool for me to strip paint and rust off small items.

One thing I've noticed: pressing too hard will cause the radial fingers to flex beyond their breaking point and they'll separate. It's best to go easy and let the tool do the work, moving it back and forth to cover a larger area.