"Leon" wrote in message
...
I have a 22/44 drum sander and I typically use a rubber stick for cleaning
sandpaper but,,,, some times it does not get it all and leaves the smooth
paint-like build up. I was sanding Bocote today and that stuff is
extremely oily. My belt loaded up and I was able to remove 80% of the
build up but the rest will not come off. I have heard of soaking the paper
in thinner, has any one done this? Yeah I know, put a new piece on but
this is 180 grit and it was working fine until I ran the Bocote through and
IIRC these strips are about $8 each.

Has any one bought the longer rolls and cut the ends themselves?


The long strips work fine, and with the Performax they even give you the
measurements and angles to use. I get mine from Klingspor. Measurements is
why you want to avoid water-based soaking if possible. It will change the
dimensions, where non-polar solvents like mineral spirits generally won't.
Keep a brass-bristle brush on hand to give a bit of extra oomph to cleaning
the burned-in areas after you soften them. You might, if that's not
working, try spot-treating with a saturated solution of water-based
surfactant like TSP or NaMetasilicate to develop slime to remove with the
brush. Avoids most of the problems with cloth backing because the resin
that holds the grit will keep it from getting into the cloth if you don't
soak, but work from the front.