"Leon" wrote in message
...

"Charlie Self" wrote in message
...

There may not be a consensus, but in my experience, hook & loop is
slightly
more expensive, easier to attach correctly, easier to remove and
re-attach, and
doesn't leave a mess on the pad. PSA is cheaper, reasonably easy to
attach, may
tear on detachment, doesn't re-attach for squat, deteriorates over time
(got
any 6-7 year old PSA discs? Use them for hand sanding in too many
cases),
leaves bits and pieces of paper and adhesive on the pad if left in place
and
not removed for too long.

I have some PSA 3M Gold 5" disks that are probably 10 years old and still
hold like new. Oddly these were orriginally a roll of 250, 180 grit IIRC
with NO protective backing. That said, If I leave the disk on the sander
for an extended number of days, I simply sand with the pad to warm the
paper
up and it comes off with out much effort. I wonder if being stored in a
rather humid envirinment keeps these disks in good shape.

I have to agree with some of what both Charlie & Leon have said.
Instructions with my PSA ROS warned about leaving the paper on the pad after
sanding, as the generated heat makes the adhesive *set* so it is hard to
remove. Never tried Leon's trick of warming it up again to loosen it. I
frequently clean the pad on mine with thinner or alcohol to get rid of old
adhesive & bits of paper.

Leon, not trying to start a war, but I feel comparing *our* needs to
autobody is a tiny bit like apples vs oranges. Autobody you tend to "use up"
the paper & discard it, where with us we have more need to not necessarily
use up the paper before switching to a different grit, and this is where the
H&L really works for us.

My $.02

--
Nahmie
The law of intelligent tinkering: save all the parts.