My question...is all the gray Scotchbrite more or less the same...finer than the usual green stuff sold to scour pots and pans? After reading the article about "water break free" surfaces, I headed off to my local Home Depot and what they had was a 3M product that had "Scotchbrite" written on the pads, not the packaging, and came in green and gray. The product no. on the package of the gray pads was not either of those mentioned in the article. I believe the gray stuff was described as finer than the green. Thats the right stuff, isn't it? In other words, is there a gray-colored product I wouldn't want to use on blanks and seats prior to epoxying? I haven't ventured to the auto-supply stores yet.

i have, Grey and Red the Grey is course and the red is fine..i have used both with no problems

Go to a good hardware store. Not Home deopt or Lowes. A good hardware store will have a few different ones for you to chose from.

I've started using OOOO steel wool in place of scotchbrite and have been getting good results. It's also much easier to find locally.

Lou

Most dealers in automotive finishing products (paints, paint guns, etc) will have the gray Scotchbrite. Locally, our Praxair dealer has the PPG line of paints and all of the Scotchbrite materials on hand.

Putter
Williston, ND

Scotch Brite 7446 (Dark Gray) Coarse Grit.
SKU#: 7446



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Scotch Brite 7447B (Maroon) Medium Grit
SKU#: 7447B



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Scotch Brite 7448B (Grey) Ultra Fine
SKU#: 7448B



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Scotch Brite 97 (Green) Medium Grit
SKU#: 97

Patrick,

Last time I counted there were over 38 types of Scotch-Brite hand pads. I think there were 8 gray and the typical green pad tends to be quite a bit more aggressive than the grays.

7448 ultra fine gray is equivalent to 000 steel wool. 7446 fine gray is equivalent to steel wool grade 2. Some of the green pads can cut more in the range of a 300 grit. There is also a 7745 gold pad that is equivalent to 0000 steel wool.

mark

In some auto parts stores (PepBoys), there exists a gray pad that has no number that I can find, it is simply called "Synthetic Steel Wool". Works nice for the break-free finish on Sensor Tube handles.

This one comes in a plastic bag with a yellow label and 3M logo on it. I'm guessing it would be 7448 if they cared to put it on there, It "replaces '000' Steel Wool" according to the label. Easy to miss if you're looking for the typical Scotch Brite pads in the little cardboard thingy that's so common at hardware stores.

I wouldn't complain if 3M took effort to standardize some of these descriptions, or at least put the number on everything. Kinda ambiguous at times.

Joe,

I agree it can be frustrating and you'd like to know what you've got. Typically the stuff for the consumer market gets packaged and well labeled. What tends to happen is that when some converters get hold material that they'll repackage in bulk, some of the original identification is left out.

mark