Norton03225 5-Inch 5 and 8 Hole P40 3X Hook and Loop Discs, 10-Pack by Norton Abrasives - St. Gobain

I don't like to go top shelf with my adjectives often; it's unbecoming. That's why deluded, overly optimistic people annoy me crying wolf all day long saying everything is "amazing" or "unbelievable". However, these discs deserve it...seriously.I'll quickly describe my project in case anybody else is looking at these for something similar. We bought a house which obviously had some big beams running through it. However, the previous DYI mental case owner decided to cover them with drywall and then stucco. Covering beautiful wood in a home? With a Tuscany decor theme? Blasphemy. So, I spent a couple days tearing all the material off them and lo and behold not only were there several 4X6's there was a sold 6X18 beam suspended running straight through the house where all the other beams met. For some reason though, they were all covered in some black finish hiding the grain. (WTH?)So I've been using lots of sanding discs and I would characterize those discs (same grit) as an average sanding experience. I was going through about 3-4 per beam depending on issues that arose. The grooves were deep so it was taking a substantial amount of time and effort. They lost their bite quickly and required lots of pressure soon after. When you have to sand the underside pushing up, voluntarily throwing yourself from the ladder suddenly seems like a good idea. I don't want to name the brands I was using, because it doesn't seem fair. Their was nothing bad about them, just average.So I got these. I just did an entire beam with 1 disc. It cut so fast, it was like turning my sander into an eraser. Even after the disc looked beat up and starting to show substantial wear...it still cut ferociously. It took me less than half the time I was accustomed to. If I had these when I first started, I'd be done by now.This is the first sandpaper I've seen that simply refuses to clog...and I'm not even done with that first disc yet.

These are the best I have used. All sandpaper wears out but the larger grits loose their bite more quickly. These lasted longer than anything I have used. P40 sandpaper is always extremely aggressive in its interaction with a wood surface but these seemed more so to me. If you are trying to remove wood VERY fast and you don't mind a "furry" surface, this is a good product. I would highly recommend it for quick removal of stock on hardwoods. I would use it with caution on soft woods.

That about says it. Some wouldn’t stay on for a moment, others would...for a short time. The grit and grab on them was great...on the sanding surface side, so when they did work, they did help quickly get the rough wood down to something manageable for the next level of grit. But that’s of no use if they’re flying off, is it? Time for them to work on the other side of their product. Less than half worked at all, and only for a very short time. ANY sandpaper that actually sticks on and stays on would be better. I had other brands that stayed on until all the grit was totally useless.

Velcro backing did not last too long. The sanding "tooth" of the grit lasted longer than other discs used. Went through several of the Lowes discs. The grit on their discs is crap but it outlasts the Velcro. Overall, used 60+ discs on the house sanding job.

These sanding discs are amazing. We had to sand off our whole house, following stripping of the old finish, and these discs seemed to outlast other brands 3 to 1-- we didn't time them, but they just kept cutting and cutting. The hook and loops worked perfectly and we never had one come loose from the sander. In fact, we had to be careful to hold onto the rubber base of the sander so as not to pull too hard on it when we were removing an old disc. I ordered 4 boxes of 10 but ended up only using two of the boxes, whic shows how well they lasted. I ordered 40-grit for the house sanding as I was unable to find that coarse of a grit locally. All in all, I very was impressed with these.