Sanding blocks.

I appreciate it Chris. I just know from my daily life that negativity has a tendency to snowball. My father is a very negative person, only sees the worst in people, and I work with him every day. It's hard for me not to jump in every now and then, but all it does its makes me angry and what good does that do? I love this forum and have learned so much from so many people while lurking in the backround. I just want to keep things upbeat around here, where anyone can post a question and not worry about feeling stupid. I'm sure I've asked some simply questions, but we all start somewhere!

No hard feelings with anyone, it was just bothering me and I felt I should say something. I am glad all is good!
 
People put to much thought into which block to use to get a panel straight.
The sandpaper you use is more important.
Just about any block will get it straight if you use coarse enough sand paper.
The grit you pick will make a bigger difference than the block.
The flattest hardest block out there won't get it straight using a fine grit sandpaper.
 
My opinion on sanding blocks hasn't changed much over the years.
Whether bought or made, they are just an extension of the user's hopefully skilled hands. A simple paint stirring stick still works great in an appropriate application.
They all need to be checked for trueness from time to time, particularly the black foam.
If you're not skilled enough to make em, buy em. Time is money. Just know how to check & use them. Many of us with a higher skill level in general tend to have an accumulation of stuff to pick from to make things with as we need. Not everyone has that.
I also agree, don't overthink which block & make sure paper is coarse and sharp enough for initial blocking. Sharper paper not pushed too hard will do better at knocking down the higher spots rather than just sanding everything nearly the same amount.
 
Mitch its not that i was trying to be negative. This forum has always been known to give the straight answer to people and not be loaded with misinformation. I felt the need to rant because i hate seeing people sucked in or taken advantage of because of marketing. Now if someone doesnt have any plastic laying around or cant pick up a piece next time they are in the local hardware store or home depot then rock on and buy the set. There is nothing wrong with the product itself.
 
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I understand. It's all good. I was overseas when I started following Tyler Krause and when I got home I looked into building my own, but it just wasn't feasible. I was pretty happy when he started selling them, I knew my Durablocks weren't cutting it, no pun intended. About 2 weeks after I blocked my Durablock flat, I checked and it had started shrinking up in the corners already.

Hell, even the nearest Home Depot is 2 hours away from me!
 
im not a fan of durablocks either. i do like the round one, teardrop one and the small 3/4" thick one they call a scruff pad is really great and the block i use the most but any others are terrible. they are never flat. always warped. afs works great but to really get things flat i will usually use 3m hard blocks. i have some that dont have the thin vinyl faced foam on the bottom. they have a hard black textured rubber. i dont know where i got them but they work great. they might be from the 3m marine catalog. thinking i got them when i worked for the yacht co. if you can find those then they are killer. i have a 7" like that which is great for blocking primer and clear ultra flat.
 
I plan on building my block collection as I keep going. You never know until you try with a lot of things. Some are easier because they are consumables like polish and pads. Others, like spray guns, are not so easy to take a chance on. Another downside to living in the middle of nowhere, nobody has things to try. I'd love to try a Sata 5000 or some Dynabrade tools, hell I'd love someone to just Shadow and see how they do things...
 
i need to vent for a minute...........not sure what the story is with the true blox and what they are or what they are made of. looks like a piece of "T" bar steel with a piece of plastic or foam glued to the bottom. if they work then thats fine and i have no issue with these. in any case first time i heard of this guy was when a buddy of mine bought a set of clearcoat sanding blocks and he sent me a picture of them. so this douche bag gets some acrylic or polycarb he has laying around, cuts them into squares then cons people into buying them at $50 set and makes them out to be the best invention ever while painters and body guys have been already doing this for 30 years. the guy actually responded to my questions and says it includes his book of trix and his knowledge in this book is worth 10 times what he charges. so he is telling me that i need to spend 50 bucks on 25 cents worth of scrap acrylic and a book telling me how to wrap a piece of sandpaper around them and wetsand the clearcoat....really? . if he actually invented something or had some design and engineering into something special then absolutely i would have no problem with this but to just hack up some squares of plex that you can go into home depot and buy then try and sell it at a 5000% markup to unsuspecting people because his name is on it burns me up. guy is a friggin con man as far as im concerned. no different than me selling you empty water bottles full of oxygen for $20 ea.

Sorry you’re so frustrated. To address your biggest concern; they are marked up, however not quite as much as you’re assuming. But, it’s a product that takes a lot of time and money to make, despite them being little pieces of plastic.

The larger blocks are neoprene rubber handles that I have custom extruded just for these, and all the plastic is cnc saw cut, all the edges are polished on a diamond polishing machine (they can’t be flame polished as most plastic is) and then finally the edges are knocked down with a router. There are 9 different thicknesses of plastic, which is polycarbonate and acrylic. There’s a whole lot of time that goes into assembling each set.

Aside from my time and material costs, there’s a tremendous amount of value with these. They really do work, and work very well. The beauty is that you don’t have to buy them.

Also, I very freely give out a ton of information. There’s about 200 tips on my website, and I explain absolutely everything. Folks are more than welcome to read all of it, and ask as many questions as they like, and never give me a penny.

My goal is to make a positive difference in our industry. My hope is that some day I’ll have this grown big enough so the blocks can be manufactured, and I won’t have to assemble them on my nights and weekends and between all the other work.

I hope this helps a little bit.
Best wishes,
Tyler Krause
 
Jim is from New Jersey, Tyler.:p Seriously though Jim is a good guy. I understand the amount of time that goes into making specialized products by hand. And you need to make something on it because that's the point. Hope you sell a lot of them.

Been to your website, you do nice work. Must be pretty cool getting to work with some of the guys that you do.
 
I have a whole slew of blocks, from durablocks, to pvc pipe, to my set of AFS sanding blocks....also my homemade version of "True Blocks" that I use gorilla tape as a handle...

I remember when I ordered my AFS blocks. I ordered just one just to see how they were. Somehow my order got misplaced and forgotten. When I reached out to them about it they apologized and sent out me a complete set on the house! Sadly I think the guy who used to make them passed away.

IMG_20200210_200152510.jpg
 
I guess I am not as demanding as some of you. I have used Durablock for many years for blocking and have never seen a need to switch. On large panels, I use one of those 24" long blocks with the steel rods that can be removed or inserted to make the block less or more flexible. I have never used a hard block for sanding my clear, I always just use the Motorguard SB blocks that are soft on one side and firmer on the other or an orbital sander with a soft interface pad.. I figure that if my body is not straight by the time I lay clear on it, I ain't going to take any waves out in the color-sanding. I am just trying to get the orange peel out without leaving finger grooves. The harder the block, the more likely you will break through the clear on a crown or an edge.

Regards, John McGraw
 
I personally go for comfort....I like the AFS blocks if im sanding something on a stand(horizontal position). The longer blocks are a bit heavier since they have a metal insert, but its definitely easier to let the "block do the work" per say with them, but when blocking a side of a car they do get heavy after a few hours.

Everyone will have their own opinions on blocks, guns or just tools in general. You gotta go with what works for you. If you're happy with the results you are getting from the tools you are using, then so be it! No need to change.
 
I love my AFS long block. Tried to buy a few more and it seems he passed away and his family closed the business.

Don
 
I love my AFS long block. Tried to buy a few more and it seems he passed away and his family closed the business.

Don
I think they are the best too especially for curved surfaces. I purchased some long pieces of acrylic in 3/8 and 1/2" thicknesses x 3" and use 40 or 80 grit paper on them to get large areas flat or perfectly contoured.
 
Simple trick that will ensure your durablock is true. Example take two 17" blocks. 180 grit paper on one, no paper on the other. Sand the bare one with the 180 grit block. Do this a bit then switch the blocks. 180 grit on the other one. Sand the bare block. Do this several times and you have two relatively true blocks.
 
Simple trick that will ensure your durablock is true. Example take two 17" blocks. 180 grit paper on one, no paper on the other. Sand the bare one with the 180 grit block. Do this a bit then switch the blocks. 180 grit on the other one. Sand the bare block. Do this several times and you have two relatively true blocks.
At least for a little while, in my experience with them. I do love the round and teardrop shaped blocks as well as that smaller one. Use them all the time.
 
Take a roll of stick on sandpaper, like 120 grit, cut off about 2' and
stick it on the top of a flat work bench and simply sand your blocks against it.
 
JC I totally agree with what you said at the top of this page. When I first got into this I knew guys who did extremely nice work with nothing more than hand blocks and doubled up (taped) paint sticks about 10-12 inches in length.
Method I described above true up those Durablocks nicely. If someone is really anal you can get granite machinist's surface plates in any number of sizes (18x24 is a good size). I had one given to me by a Machinist buddy. They are usually accurate to under .001. Use some PSA paper on them and true whatever block you are using. Durablock, acrylic, wood.
I've always liked the durblocks and have gotten good results with them. That being said I am going to make some acrylic blocks just to see how I like them.
 
Yes, I use Dura blocks too, 11" is the longest I use, and that's only
for filler sanding.
I usually sand primer over filler with a soft short hand block and get it straight
because I use 150 grit and don't press very hard.
That coarse grit gets it straight even with a short soft one.
Works better than a higher grit with a rigid firm block, which doesn't
do very well on curved or contoured surfaces anyway.
I seldom do bodywork on a truly flat surface.
 
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