stir sticks

shine

shine

Member
it never fails to see someone discover stir sticks for sanding and then preach how great they are on forums. usually some counter clown told them about it.
in all my years of running my shop i had one concrete rule about stir sticks. mix paint with them ! if i found someone sanding a car with them they were out the door. those damn things can cost you a complete redo because of the hundreds of lines they can leave in the surface. if your too poor to buy a sanding block you cant afford the paint anyway . i have just seen too many jobs trashed by the damn things. especially metallic colors. i make all my blocks out of walnut scraps and every one of them is sanded smooth with no edges.
well thats my story and i'm sticking to it.
 
shine;13217 said:
it never fails to see someone discover stir sticks for sanding and then preach how great they are on forums. Usually some counter clown told them about it.
In all my years of running my shop i had one concrete rule about stir sticks. Mix paint with them ! If i found someone sanding a car with them they were out the door. Those damn things can cost you a complete redo because of the hundreds of lines they can leave in the surface. If your too poor to buy a sanding block you cant afford the paint anyway . I have just seen too many jobs trashed by the damn things. Especially metallic colors. I make all my blocks out of walnut scraps and every one of them is sanded smooth with no edges.
Well thats my story and i'm sticking to it.
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roflol
 
not in my shop !
damn we had 6+ inches of rain overnite and it's still pouring. guess my naked rain dance worked.
 
Worked with a guy a while back, wouldn't really call him a bodyman but, he only used paint sticks and rolls of DA paper for sanding blocks. He would stack 3 or 4 sticks together, wrap 3/4" masking tape around them in 3 or 4 places and go to town. Figured that was a good sanding block. Didn't have a single actual sanding block!

Aaron
 
Well that is much better than I've seen around here. I'd like to sell sanding blocks. But I'd have to teach every shop in my area how to use them! Yeah they won't let me judge car shows anymore either!
 
shine;13222 said:
not in my shop !
damn we had 6+ inches of rain overnite and it's still pouring. guess my naked rain dance worked.
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Now you won't have to worry so much about the trains setting you on fire :)
 
lol. I have one that I love to use. Oh well.

How do they put lines in? Just curious? I've never had any issues.
 
you have no control over a stick. when you push it then stop the edge will dig in. leaving a line.
keep using them and you will find out. with all the quality tools out there using sticks and such is just asking for it. i have ran off more than one painter for it. i look at stir stick like 36 grit . ok for car lot hacks but no place for them in a professional shop.
 
I must say I disagree here, to an extent. I have one of those thick ones cut down to fit the size of the paper for cutting and buffing. All edges are rounded off. It is one of those thick ones 3/16" thick..not cheapo ones you get for free by the box load from the paint store. Seems to be working fine for me. It's all about how you use it. I aint one of those types that looks for junk around the shop to sand with....have a fortune invested in blocks...and this little cut down paint stick is the best one I have for cutting.

From the beginner stand point, I see what you are saying. Thinking you can grab one from the store and wrap your paper around it and go to town, you will do some damage. Those sticks aren't true...often have loose wood on them and very sharp edges.
 
cant say i ever use stir sticks but most blocks, if sanding in a straight line repeatedly will leave edges and grooves in primer. i almost never block in a straight line. my block is always turn on a slight angle or i push the block on an angle across the panel.
 
the sticks just rock when you push them. no control what so ever . i only need to see something once. same with chem strip , soda or acid. i'm not about to tear down a 125k build to repaint because of something like that .
 
shine;13225 said:
i hear barry needs some rain.............. maybe me and bubba could go see him .\/.
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We have laws in GA against that!

Ok, I won't tell no one that, I like paint sticks for small runs.
 
shine;13265 said:
so you would use a stick to sand primer ?
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I said above, that I use them for cutting clear. I must say it does a pretty damn good job.

The reason for using the thick one is that you DO have control over the stick. You can grab the edges of it just as you would any other block out there. I guess I'm just a hack...don't listen to me.
 
shine;13269 said:
the sticks just rock when you push them. no control what so ever . i only need to see something once. same with chem strip , soda or acid. i'm not about to tear down a 125k build to repaint because of something like that .
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Whats your preferred stripping method?
 
jeremy, pay attention. guys are using these to block their primer. also they are new and cant even control a block much less a stick. just like they sand through 3 coats of clear with 1000 .
you need to check that attitude at the door. i asked you a simple question but got shit for an answer.
 
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