Maintenance Tips for Cloth Sanding Belts

Today everyone is watching their budget and trying to get the most out of the products they purchase.Here at Sandpaper America, customers are always asking what they can do to extend the life of their open-coat aluminum oxide sanding belts. Over the years, our pros have come across several helpful and unique suggestions that seem to have some merit. 

Continue reading to learn some of the tips and tricks we have collected along the way regarding best practices for cloth sanding belt maintenance.

How to Care for Cloth Sanding Belts:

☛ Always Rinse with Water:

At the end of the day, take the belt off your machine and spray them out with a garden hose to remove any wood fibers that have built up on the belt.After you rinse the belts off, hang them to dry overnight.

☛ Use a Spray Cleaner:

Some customers have told us they have had success using generic spray cleaners they have purchased from the store.Any surface-safe or multi-purpose product, such as 409®, will work well. Simply spray the belts, give them a quick scrub, and then hang them to dry.

☛ Use a Belt Cleaner/Belt Eraser:

Here at Sandpaper America, we sell two sizes of belt cleaners.You can use them on your belts just like you would use a pencil eraser! They are inexpensive, easy to use, and most importantly, effective.

☛ Storing Cloth Belts

Another tip Sandpaper America has recently come by has to do with wide belts and how to store them when they are not in use.Instead of just hanging the belts from a rack, try purchasing some PVC tubing that is roughly the same size of the rollers on your wide belt machine.It is unknown exactly how much of a difference this makes in performance, but many people have reported that their sanding belts ran better on the machine compared to the alternative storage methods.

Sandpaper America

Call Sandpaper America at 1-800-860-SAND for information and advice about buying abrasives and sanding products. We offer a wide inventory of online sanding products at the most competitive prices! Our inventories stay full with the highest-quality abrasives and sandpaper products for any type of project. Online ordering is simple and hassle-free, and we even provide bulk orders, custom orders, and more. Call 1-800-860-7263 (SAND) to order sandpaper products online, today!