Relative Coarseness

[Doc Smile]

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Simple question but cannot find an answer.

Which is more coarse: 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper vs Flour of pumice?

I am smoothening and polishing my ortho hawley retainer. We all know the shinier a project is, the higher it will score regardless of any other imperfections in other grading areas.

Thanks in advance 😀

 

[tinman831]

Have you felt what 600 grit sandpaper is vs the pumice flour? I think the 600grit is more coarse. Don't quote me on that. 😛

Simple question but cannot find an answer.

Which is more coarse: 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper vs Flour of pumice?

I am smoothening and polishing my ortho hawley retainer. We all know the shinier a project is, the higher it will score regardless of any other imperfections in other grading areas.

Thanks in advance 😀

 

[Doc Smile]

Have you felt what 600 grit sandpaper is vs the pumice flour? I think the 600grit is more coarse. Don't quote me on that. 😛

Yeah, it is really difficult to compare because the flour of pumice feels vary different depending on how much water is added (from mud to water) and the sandpaper has barely any roughness to it.

I just didn't know if pumice had a comparable coarseness rating system that could be transferred to grits of sandpaper.

I ended up doing the following process: Acrylic burs of various sizes --> coarse pumice --> Flour of Pumice --> 600 grit sandpaper --> Acryluster.

Through Trial and Error, I found that 600 grit sandpaper provides a smoother finish than flour of pumice. Or, maybe, it could have been the repeated steps of polishing that just resulted in a smoother surface.

Either way, the final product looks excellent:

 

[doc toothache]

http://www.reade.com/Sieve/grit_conversion.html
http://www.covington-engineering.com/Lapidary_Polishing_Powders.htm

 

[tinman831]

Adding water to the pumice only makes the pumice pasty which allows for ease of use when polishing the denture. It does nothing to the relative coarseness of the material. Take two identical objects, and rub some 600grit sandpaper on it and another with pumice. I'm sure you'll have small scratches and gouges from the sandpaper and the pumice may dull the object a little.

Your original picture shows the retainer with a shiny smooth surface where as your final product was slightly dull and did not reflect light as much.

BTW: nice wires. I absolutely loathe wire bending.