DEWALT DW8311 4-1/2-Inch by 5/8-Inch-11 36 Grit Zirconia Angle Grinder Flap Disc

DeWalt

I sculpt with metal, mainly found steel, and use flap discs in the finishing process often on very rough surfaces. These discs are workhorses, work rapidly and produce fine finishes

I have always used these types of grinding discs for cleaning up metal surfaces. They dont chatter and when light pressure is applied the surface is polished. They work better and last longer is pressure is kept to a minimum so the work piece doesnt heat up, even just the pressure of the grinder is enough as these discs remove material quite fast.

Expecting a great flap disc because its Zirc diamonds and its expensive. But it seems just the opposite. The cheap discs cut much faster, leave the same finish, last longer. The cheap discs cut faster. Whether removing paint, mill scale etc or more heavy use removing metal, grinding welds, the cheap discs do it notably faster. With the cheap disc you can run the grinder down the work and make a wide stripe of sanded area. With the DeWalt, you try and run a stripe and you get a really thin sanded spot flanked by a scuff mark. The cheap disc sands a stripe about 4-5 times wider than the DeWalt. The cheap discs last longer. On the DeWalt disc, the area near the edge of the disc becomes worn down and very shallow VERY quickly. The Other discs wear much more evenly. Once the DeWalt is worn, its like grinding with the EDGE of a regular grinding wheel. You no longer get that brushed metal look to the work that you expect with a flap disc. The DeWalts and the cheapies are both China made. Im going back to the cheapies.

These disks work well. Dewalt made a good, solid product

Im writing this review because I tried the alternatives. I wanted to strip the paint off my deck (I didnt paint it), and started with the deck stripper chemical (which did well). For the parts coated too thickly with paint for the stripper to work, I tried various wheels that attached to my drill (ineffective), the random orbit sander (blew through discs and wouldnt fit everywhere), then the angle-grinder sanding discs with a separate quick loading adapter (flat discs were too hard to control). This 120-grit disc took off just the right amount of material (a bit more aggressive than 60 grit on a random orbit sander) without a lot of scratching. It lasted through everything I wanted to sand: especially all the vertical surfaces under the deck and stairs, and between balusters. Really useful and efficient.

Works very well, does not last long though so order plenty. I dont know how I ever did car restoration before without these. Removes paint quickly, removes rust pretty well too. Very fast paint stripping. Also really good for finishing body seam sealer or panel adhesive where you need to level and pretty it up.

I use these for sharpening my lawn mower blades. They dont take steel of they make them really sharp. Like always name brand last ten times longer than harbor freight

Im using it to grind down excess glue off of aluminum tubing, works great for that purpose. Only bit of warning is that if youre grinding dried glue wear a respirator and eye protection. Puts that stuff into a fine mist from the sanding and will get in your eyes. Not pleasant. Otherwise the sanding disc works awesome.

The best polishing disc I ever used