Switched to a 40 grit flap disc on my angle grinder for stripping paint off that wrought iron fence

After 3 hours fighting with a wire wheel that barely touched the rust, I grabbed a flap disc on a whim from the clearance bin at Lowe's and it tore through 15 years of old paint and corrosion in under 45 minutes flat - has anyone else noticed a huge difference switching to a lower grit than you'd think?

2 comments

2 Comments

betty1261mo agoProlific Poster

40 grit is basically cheating and I'm here for it. Ran into the same problem with a chain link gate last summer. Wire wheel just polished the rust, swapped to a 40 grit flap disc and it ate through everything in about 20 minutes flat. Only catch is you gotta watch it on thinner metal, it can gouge pretty fast if you lean on it too hard. I keep a 60 grit handy for cleanup after the heavy stuff.

jake_kelly2429d ago

Man that's exactly it! It's wild how we all learn the same lesson the hard way with rust. It's like life in general - you try the gentle approach first because you don't want to mess things up, but sometimes you just gotta bring out the heavy artillery. I've noticed that pattern everywhere, not just in the shop. Like when you're trying to fix a squeaky door and you start with WD-40 but really it needs a whole new hinge. Or when you're cleaning a nasty pan and start with soap and water but end up busting out the steel wool. There's something satisfying about finally admitting you need the rough stuff and just going for it.