A grinding sponge made up of abrasive materials is designed to handle almost all materials. By processing is usually understood the grinding and polishing of the surface. Since in some cases a different degree of processing is required, the sponges come with an abrasive of different hardness, with different grain sizes, different shapes.
General description of sponges
If we talk about grinding sponges, then among all abrasive materials this type is considered the most soft, sparing. As the starting material for the manufacture of such products use soft porous materials that are coated with abrasives. The main application of such devices is the easy grinding of wood coatings, varnish, soil, paint. It is worth saying here that the abrasive layer can be one-sided, two-sided and four-sided. Silicon carbide for sponges is usually used as an abrasive.
Sponges with different layers
Let's start with a sanding pad with a single-sided layer. It is considered the easiest to use. Its main advantage among others is a sufficiently small layer thickness, which makes its use more convenient. This is the most relevant property if it is necessary to process surfaces with strong cuts, bumps and other imperfections.
The next type is an abrasive sponge with a double-sided layer. Experts note that it will be convenient to use this type of grinding sponge, regardless of what surface needs to be treated. It is best suited for working with a profile surface from virtually any material.
The last type is a four-sided sponge. This type of abrasive is widely used if it is necessary to work with wood. Sanding sponges for wood with a four-sided abrasive are excellent even for intermediate types of work, during priming or varnishing of wooden surfaces. Most often, a sponge with medium hardness is already used for such work. Its advantage over stiffer is the presence of a small ductility, which greatly simplifies the process.
Using sponges
To date, grinding abrasive sponge is most widely used in the manufacture of cabinet furniture. Without the use of such a device, it is impossible to obtain a perfectly flat surface, which should have furniture. This is very important, as currently the requirements for the appearance of furniture are quite high. The use of a grinding sponge allows you to get not only a perfectly smooth surface, but also save time and improve processing quality.
The service life of the sponge and the simplicity of its use have led to the fact that they are used almost everywhere. To date, any finishing treatment cannot do without using such a sponge or without abrasive that is similar in quality and parameters.
Properties and structure
As for grinding tools, they usually consist of three components: an abrasive, a substrate, and a bonding element. We talked about abrasive material, it's time to pay attention to two other important components.
The second element is the substrate. As it is usually used paper or fabric base, on which abrasive material is glued. The use of fabric is more common for sanding belts, rolls and more. Paper is used for sandpaper or discs. It is also worth adding that periodically there are other bases, for example, polyester. The ZUBR company has become a good representative of a quality product. The grinding sponges of this company are of high quality. As a basis, elastic EVA is used. Alumina and synthetic resin are used as a binder.
A binder for a sponge is a layer of some sticky substance that can hold an abrasive substance.
Another very important parameter is the granularity. When choosing a sponge, it is very important to choose this characteristic correctly for the required type of material. This indicator is the most important, especially when choosing a sponge for wood processing, for example. The ability of a material to qualitatively process any material depends on the granularity and its gradation.