Get perfectly smooth walls or ceiling immediately after putties almost impossible. Even with carefully done work, traces of a spatula and various defects remain on the surface: small depressions, pits, bumps and other flaws. To eliminate them, grinding is performed with an abrasive material. Traditionally, sandpaper was used for this, but recently a more convenient and practical mesh for grouting putty has been increasingly used. Find out what it is, how much it costs and what are its advantages.
Specifications
The abrasive mesh is perforated fiberglass sheets, on the surface of which crushed silicon carbide is applied with the help of glue. Usually it is made in the form of a rectangle measuring 105 × 280 mm, but material for grinding is also in demand in the form of a circle.
The main of the technical characteristics of the mesh for grouting the putty surface is the granularity, which reflects the size of the fractions of the abrasive substance. It is indicated on the packaging and on the back of the sanding sheets.
Grid marking is performed similarly to foreign-made sandpaper (see the following photo). In addition to grain designations, the code may include other characters by which they recognize:
- country of manufacture of the material;
- method of applying the abrasive layer;
- wear resistance;
- moisture resistance;
- appointment.
Advice! Even if the canvas is resistant to getting wet, it is undesirable to allow it to interact with water, since the material may lose its performance.
When choosing a grid for grinding the surface of walls or ceilings, it should be borne in mind that abrasive particles of minimum size correspond to a larger number.
Types and scope
To determine the choice of mesh for grouting the surface, you need to know the conditions of work and the purpose of the material.
The starting coating with a rough structure is ground with an abrasive No. 40–80. For grinding finishing putty before painting or wallpapering, a fine-grained mesh No. 100–120 is used. Material marked No. 180 and above is used for finishing the surface with subsequent application of glossy paints. This finish emphasizes all the shortcomings of the base, so the grout in this case is carried out most carefully.
Walls and ceilings can be processed with a sanding mesh in the following ways:
- Manually. A special grater serves as a holding tool, on which the abrasive is fixed with clamps. The foam padding provides a tighter fit to the sanding cloth. The strength of fixation allows you to evenly distribute the load during grouting, resulting in a flat surface. The smooth sides of the grater ensure the quality of grinding in corners and other hard-to-reach places.
- Using a grinder. Power tools with vibrating nozzles can reduce the labor intensity of work and the time spent on grinding the putty layer.
Advice! To obtain a smooth surface, it is important to properly fix the mesh. It should be located without distortions and coincide with one edge with the edge of the grater. Too wide material should be cut to the desired size with a knife.
A description of the grinding process can be found in this article.
Benefits of using
Compared to sandpaper, an abrasive cloth in the form of a mesh costs a little more, but this is offset by the operational properties of the material. It has several important positive features, including:
- Increased wear resistance.Due to the strong backing, mesh can be used for surface grinding three times longer than paper, which becomes unusable after about 10-20 minutes.
- Minimum labor intensity. The duration of the use of the grid allows you to save time spent on its replacement, and reduce the time of work.
- The presence of two functional surfaces. Since crushed silicon carbide is applied on both sides of the mesh, after the loss of properties during the grouting process, the web is turned over and processing continues.
- Ease of cleaning. Due to the mesh structure, the material is easily cleaned of small debris and dust stuck between the grains of the abrasive coating during grouting. To do this, it is enough to lightly hit the plane of the grinder or grater on any surface or object.
The price of one sheet of abrasive mesh is 15–35 rubles.
Using an abrasive mesh, you can easily grout putty in hard-to-reach places: behind pipes, next to door and window blocks, in the corners of a room. It also helps to clean internal bends made of metal or plastic. To achieve the best result during sanding, it is advisable to use a portable lamp with a reflector, which will help to identify defects and imperfections in the finish.
