Mirka Abralon Sanding Discs

[JustJesus]

In an ongoing effort to hone/improve my skills, I picked up some Mirka Abralon sanding discs. I`ve tried using, by hand, 3M`s Trizact and Meguiar`s Unigrit. Both excellent products. I would have gone that way for the discs as well, but the Unigrits are discontinued(?) and the Trizacts are a bit too pricey for me. Never really having heard of Mirka before (well, I don`t do sanding, no body shop experience, etc etc), I felt it wouldn`t be too risky at the price point. Again, the Trizacts were really out of reach for me, given that I don`t do this professionally, or much at all. Just couldn`t justify that cost.

Here`s some of the Abralons I bought. I bought both in 3" and 6" versions.



It was interesting to see the texture of the abrasive. It looked different from what I was used to seeing. Old school sanding paper, these are not! More like a very fine mesh. How do they work? I have no clue.

Here`s one showing the thin foam backing



I noticed they were flexible, and soft. Cool stuff, and good to know for curved panels.

One 6" disc at 1000 "grit" and one 6" at 2000. They look about the same




Closer inspection, you`ll see one has a finer mesh to it.



Back sides (hook n loop) are red and easy to read. No trouble knowing which grit you`ll be using




*** IN USE ***

To test these out, I brought out my trusty test panel. It`s a door from a `91 Honda Civic Si. I`ve used this panel before, during my compound comparison.
(I purposely left one "section" alone, as that was my "control" for another test)



The tools:

GG3 for the edgework
PC 7424xp w/ 6" backing plate
DIY "sun gun" for inspecting the progress
Milwaukee infrared thermometer for keeping tabs on the temps
H2O in a bottle. Distilled
Misc MF towels, tape, etc



Making some passes. I found I liked the PC set to speed 5. I forgot what I set the GG3 to. oops. With a light misting of the panel and of the sanding disc, i experienced a smooth glide across the panel. Slurry (is that what`s it called?) was coming off. A pleasant aroma filled the air, but I`m not sure if that was the Abralons, or the clear coat being removed.



Made a handful of passes. Wiping down with water and MF towels (or in some cases, the rubber/spongy sanding block). I was rewarded with a nice dull finish. The sanded surface was consistent throughout. Things were looking good.



I sprayed the Abralons with water after each section pass. At times, I also brushed it off with my pad brush. Sorry, no air source here. When I was done, I was a little surprised to see some of the slurry ON THE backing plate. But this makes sense. It`s my understanding Mirka designed these to be able to flow air, water, and dust(?) through the disc. If used with one of their sanding systems, complete with vacuum extraction, I`m sure all of this would have been sucked through and I wouldn`t have that residue.








Conclusion:

I like. I really really like. I liked the consistency achieved. I liked the speed in which it was reached (versus hand sanding). I like the price (compared to 3M or even Megs when it was avail).

The bad? Well, for starters, I wish Autopia had the 3000 grit in stock. I`ve been checking almost weekly for about 4 months. Always out of stock. I still love Autopia Car-Care, but I hope they stock it sooner rather than later. I`m not sure when I`ll buy it, though, as compounding the 2k grit is easy enough. Also, I *do* have 4k if needed. Just have to skip the 3k.

Also.... it makes me wish I could afford the Mirka Ceros system, or similar, along with their air extraction system (vacuum?) But, as mentioned before, I don`t do much detailing, paint correction, and definitely no wet sanding, for me to seriously consider getting the system. Down the line, sure.

So in seriousness, I can`t really think of anything bad about the Abralon discs. The more I learn about this, though, I think I`ll use Mirka`s Autonet for levelling, and Abralon for finishing.

Bottom line, the stuff is great. I wouldn`t have any trouble recommending it to someone. I`d buy again in a heartbeat.

Thanks for reading.

[RaskyR1]

I do like them as well. Not the best for leveling but great for finishing. Kevin should have them in stock for every size and grit. The abranet are nice too.

[JustJesus]

I do like them as well. Not the best for leveling but great for finishing. Kevin should have them in stock for every size and grit. The abranet are nice too.

Yeah, he does carry a great selection! I also like that he can sell individual discs, or in bulk.

And don`t think I never noticed that you have the Mirka sander, Mr. Rasky! haha. I`ll pretend I`m not jealous.

[Stokdgs]

Jesus !
Great write up and pics - the sanded door panel looks very flat and even..
I am so glad you are learning how to do this..
At some point, you can get more experience compounding and finishing that paint back up too..
Great work !!!
Thanks for the post -
Dan F

[JustJesus]

Jesus !
Great write up and pics - the sanded door panel looks very flat and even..
I am so glad you are learning how to do this..
At some point, you can get more experience compounding and finishing that paint back up too..
Great work !!!
Thanks for the post -
Dan F

DAN!

Thank you for the kind words. And just so you know, I did exactly that! I used a rotary, DA and 3D AAT . But, that`s for another write up (coming soon).

[Justins00ss]

Love the 3000grit Abralon disks too. Use the same setup as you for sanding work.

[Raymoche]

I wonder if they would make a 2" version to be used with the Rupes Nano? Just wondering if that would make quick work spot repairs.

I don`t know how the Rupes Nano sanding interface works at this moment... I will tonight tho.

[XxBoostinxX]

I wonder if they would make a 2" version to be used with the Rupes Nano? Just wondering if that would make quick work spot repairs.

I don`t know how the Rupes Nano sanding interface works at this moment... I will tonight tho.

I believe the included sanding "discs" just stick on to the included sanding BP. It would be nice if I could find a sheet of sanding paper with the same backing adhesive. I would just make my own.

[JustJesus]

... It would be nice if I could find a sheet of sanding paper with the same backing adhesive. I would just make my own.

Mirka makes them in sheets as well. 3.7" x 9" - though, not sure if they have the hook n loop backing.

[Accumulator]

JustJesus- Glad you like the Mirka disks (I got my Abralons from one of my painters). How did the GG3 work for you? I`ve never found any real use for mine, but I didn`t try wetsanding with it either.

[Mr. Slick]

I was just thinking about getting the 3 inch ones for headlights. Maybe if I do another headlight job I`ll use that money to get some of these. How many headlights do they do before you have to switch em out?

[JustJesus]

JustJesus- Glad you like the Mirka disks (I got my Abralons from one of my painters). How did the GG3 work for you? I`ve never found any real use for mine, but I didn`t try wetsanding with it either.

Accumulator - Painters? As in car painters? My first thought was home. Don`t know why. - The GG3 worked okay. I might have a chance to get it on video on Sunday. - For polishing, I`d either use my Megs DA Power System drill attachment and Dewalt 20v max drill, or, the GG6 which is currently outfitted with the 3" backing plate. - haha - Now I`m curious. How much correction can I actually get with the GG3?!?!

I was just thinking about getting the 3 inch ones for headlights. Maybe if I do another headlight job I`ll use that money to get some of these. How many headlights do they do before you have to switch em out?

Mr Slick, Can`t say how many. I`ve never tried it on headlights. The Megs Perfect Clarity Headlight Restoration Kit, which is what I plan to use eventually, has some 3" discs in the kit. The price of the kit, versus the price you can charge, makes it a good choice IMO.

[Accumulator]

JustJesus- Heh heh, yeah...I meant "car painters".

My GG3 is the original model. The first example worked for a few minutes before quitting. The replacement arrived about the time they announced a *new* GG3 (the one they sent me was the old one) and AFAIK they won`t replace that older one with the new version if/when mine dies. I`ve only used it a few times and it wasn`t satisfactory with regard to correction. Might work OK with the Mirka/etc. sanding disks but I sorta doubt I`ll ever do that stuff again.

If you have their newer model (which I`d assume is the case) it might work fine. Their 3" pneumatic works OK and is what I reach for when doing spot-correction.

[Mr. Slick]

Mr Slick, Can`t say how many. I`ve never tried it on headlights. The Megs Perfect Clarity Headlight Restoration Kit, which is what I plan to use eventually, has some 3" discs in the kit. The price of the kit, versus the price you can charge, makes it a good choice IMO.[/QUOTE]


Yeah I got that kit. The wool pad lasts a long time, also comes with a foam grip for 3 inch sanding. the foam disks were high quality but they`re worn out.

[hacadacalopolis]

Back when I used to work at a collision shop we had always gone through several brands. Mostly we stuck with 3m, but Mirka has several great products too.
Eagle was probably the worst to work with and Norton was probably the best imo. As a matter of fact I fell in love with the Norton Dry ice and black Ice line.
A thing I was allways on the line for was watching out for the discontinued products showing up on ebay. It takes time but you can really save yourself some money getting great 3m hookit discs boxes if you watch for it carefully.

probably the best foam disc I have used for most shop urethane clear was Sia abrasives... I could use the disc for a very long time while still cutting very good