Flap disc recommendation

[Onthespotwelding]

Hi everybody,

I’m running low on flap discs,

What brand flap discs do you use/ recommend?

Links to suppliers would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Tigman]

Reca
Thats who I get mine from !
Get a good price and if you buy wholesale they throw in grinders

 

[hotponyshoes]

What are you using them for?

 

[Onthespotwelding]

I’ve been doing car body type repairs of late.

The type 27 flap discs are better for butt joints.

 

[hotponyshoes]

If you like the type 27 have you thought about trying the fibre discs?

 

[Onthespotwelding]

If you like the type 27 have you thought about trying the fibre discs?

I must admit I have not. I guess there are pros and cons with them?

 

[hotponyshoes]

I must admit I have not. I guess there are pros and cons with them?

Yes there are.
If you like the flatter type 27 flaps I expect you will like the fibre discs though.
For butt welds on car body work they are good, they take down the weld quickly but don't conform/bend to the weld bead like a flap disc so they don't dig into the panel either side of the weld like a flap disc can.
They are better at blending welds in as they don't suffer from leading edge wear/distortion.
Faster material removal with a fibre disc and less heat, so less distortion, not really a massive benefit on body work as most of the distortion has probably already occurred from the welding.
The fibre discs (with the right backing pad) will withstand more heat than a flap disc so high-turnover body shops like them as you can start grinding the weld down before it's completely cooled.
Potentially safer than a flap disc as they can not get damaged/shatter so easily but I've never had a problem with flap discs doing that anyway.
Fiber discs vibrate less, are more controllable and need less pressure to use.
They don't glaze over like flap discs can (although if you glaze a flap disc you are not using it correctly)
They maintain the flatness at all times, so if you grind a rounded edge they won't take up a profile like a flap disc. That means they work better when you go back to a flat surface again.
They work out cheaper than flap discs (based on the amount of material removed) if you compare like-for like.
Another useful thing for car body work is you can turn the disc over and use the plain side of it for heat-shrinking thin metal.
The spark trail from them is straighter than flap discs. Normally this is handy as you can direct it all one way. It does mean that more sparks will be flying at you if that is the only position you can get the grinder in though!
They are generally less sparky, and certainly less dusty than flap discs. And you don't have all the little shredded bits of disc to clean up afterwards.
They don't trap/store dust/metal particles like a flap disc. Primarily useful if you are working with stainless and don't want contamination but does mean you won't get the dirty/rusty disc issue if you leave it sat in a damp workshop for a month between use.


Downsides,
You can only really use the fiber discs at a low angle, maybe 0-5deg whereas you can use a type 27 flap at 0-15deg or so.
They don't leave as smooth a finish as the same grit flap discs.
They don't follow curves/contours as well as a flap disc. You can get soft/medium/hard backing discs. Personally, I'd only reccomend using the hard one. Then use a flap disc where you might want a medium backing disc and probably something else entirely when you might use a soft.
The soft/medium pads are good for something like hiding welds on handrails but not a lot of use for car stuff unless you are trying to remove minor dents over a whole wing or something.
Higher initial cost as you need to buy the backing pad. In theory the pad will never wear out but if you damage it or drop it when running then you'll need to buy another one.
The discs normally come in packs of 25+ (of the same grit) whereas you can buy flap discs individually.
Not as easy to clean the fibre discs. If you run over seam sealer or wet filler and clog up a flap disc you can run the flap disc over a sharp bit of metal and remove the clogged up outer layer. With a fibre disc you'll have to get a belt cleaner rubber and do it all manually although as they are cheaper than the equivalent flap disc it's not so bad to just put a new one on.
Storage is a bit harder for the fibre discs as well. If they get too damp (or too dry) they will curl up which makes them difficult to fit.
The instructions do warn that they should not be used if they have curled.
Technically, a flap disc stored in the wrong conditions should also be discarded but the ones I use in the van often get soaked by rain and I've never chucked one out yet!

 

[hotponyshoes]

If you want to try some I've got the 3m cubitron's in stock and can do you a couple of different ones to test out but the backing pads are £18 so it's not exactly cheap to try them
I've also got the cubitron flap discs.
Without spending stupid money the cubitron stuff is about as good as you are going to get.
I've only got them in 5" though.

 

[TEO]

Yes there are.
If you like the flatter type 27 flaps I expect you will like the fibre discs though.
For butt welds on car body work they are good, they take down the weld quickly but don't conform/bend to the weld bead like a flap disc so they don't dig into the panel either side of the weld like a flap disc can.
They are better at blending welds in as they don't suffer from leading edge wear/distortion.
Faster material removal with a fibre disc and less heat, so less distortion, not really a massive benefit on body work as most of the distortion has probably already occurred from the welding.
The fibre discs (with the right backing pad) will withstand more heat than a flap disc so high-turnover body shops like them as you can start grinding the weld down before it's completely cooled.
Potentially safer than a flap disc as they can not get damaged/shatter so easily but I've never had a problem with flap discs doing that anyway.
Fiber discs vibrate less, are more controllable and need less pressure to use.
They don't glaze over like flap discs can (although if you glaze a flap disc you are not using it correctly)
They maintain the flatness at all times, so if you grind a rounded edge they won't take up a profile like a flap disc. That means they work better when you go back to a flat surface again.
They work out cheaper than flap discs (based on the amount of material removed) if you compare like-for like.
Another useful thing for car body work is you can turn the disc over and use the plain side of it for heat-shrinking thin metal.
The spark trail from them is straighter than flap discs. Normally this is handy as you can direct it all one way. It does mean that more sparks will be flying at you if that is the only position you can get the grinder in though!
They are generally less sparky, and certainly less dusty than flap discs. And you don't have all the little shredded bits of disc to clean up afterwards.
They don't trap/store dust/metal particles like a flap disc. Primarily useful if you are working with stainless and don't want contamination but does mean you won't get the dirty/rusty disc issue if you leave it sat in a damp workshop for a month between use.


Downsides,
You can only really use the fiber discs at a low angle, maybe 0-5deg whereas you can use a type 27 flap at 0-15deg or so.
They don't leave as smooth a finish as the same grit flap discs.
They don't follow curves/contours as well as a flap disc. You can get soft/medium/hard backing discs. Personally, I'd only reccomend using the hard one. Then use a flap disc where you might want a medium backing disc and probably something else entirely when you might use a soft.
The soft/medium pads are good for something like hiding welds on handrails but not a lot of use for car stuff unless you are trying to remove minor dents over a whole wing or something.
Higher initial cost as you need to buy the backing pad. In theory the pad will never wear out but if you damage it or drop it when running then you'll need to buy another one.
The discs normally come in packs of 25+ (of the same grit) whereas you can buy flap discs individually.
Not as easy to clean the fibre discs. If you run over seam sealer or wet filler and clog up a flap disc you can run the flap disc over a sharp bit of metal and remove the clogged up outer layer. With a fibre disc you'll have to get a belt cleaner rubber and do it all manually although as they are cheaper than the equivalent flap disc it's not so bad to just put a new one on.
Storage is a bit harder for the fibre discs as well. If they get too damp (or too dry) they will curl up which makes them difficult to fit.
The instructions do warn that they should not be used if they have curled.
Technically, a flap disc stored in the wrong conditions should also be discarded but the ones I use in the van often get soaked by rain and I've never chucked one out yet!

Blimey, hats off, there's a lot of info in that post. Can you link to your preferred fibre discs please.

 

[hotponyshoes]

Blimey, hats off, there's a lot of info in that post. Can you link to your preferred fibre discs please.

My favourite is the 3m cubitron II
Not the cheapest but they remove quickly and they last well.
There are other brands that are probably just as good or, slightly worst but cheaper etc. Some even better than the 3m but more expensive.
I've found most of the cubitron stuff to be the best on a cost-vs-performance ratio.
You want the 987c fibre discs for stainless or the 982c for steels.
I normally buy a bulk load at once and sell them on to other farriers to get the costs down for us all so I've normally got some available at decent prices but mostly only 5" size. Or we order 2-3 times a year so you can add onto our next order if you want large amounts.

The really cheap/unbranded ones are generally a waste of time as they either shred or wear out so quickly you spend more time changing them than grinding.

 

[hotponyshoes]

I use the 5" ones as if you work out the surface area the 5" are about 20% cheaper than the 4.5" in terms of how much grinding material you get.
The bore sizes are the same for both. If you have a branded 4.5" grinder you can normally find a 5" guard to fit it. I keep bosch & metabo 5" guards in stock.

The 7" and 9" also work out cheaper again but it's quite a jump in terms of usability on ones that size

 

[Onthespotwelding]

@hotponyshoes

Thank you for all the info in your posts

I’ve got about 6 flap discs left, so I may give the fibre discs a try.