Gidday Lads,

I am unhappy with the finish on my EVA grips after shaping. It is too smooth and there are spots which are more shiny than others leaving an inconsistent poor surface.

I am considering using a heavier abrasive to put some texture back into the grip.

Has anyone got a suggestion as to what I could use? I have shaped the grip with drywall sanding screen 150 grit and this has resulted in this shiny inconsistency.

Thank you
Chris

Could be the sanding screen has gotten a little clogged and is burnishing the EVA, rather than cutting. Especially if done at high speed on the lathe. Try dropping the speed a bit, and change pressure, clearing the screen often. Or try fine sandpaper.

For the $3 per peice of EVA, buy some more and figure out which grit you like it sanded to best. I prefer that shiny polished look myself, I use regular sandpaper - best is strips of belt sanderfrom 40 down to 180, for less than that I use wet paper.

Thanks Guys.

Billy, I wil try some diffent grits on some scrap. problem I have is that the grips in question are already mounted so I want to be right in my methods.'

Ted, the screen was clogged so thnaks for the tip. I will ensure it is clear and the lathe spinning a tad slower.

IF it's already glued up, I strongly suggest buying some scrap and practicing. Why make your actual rod the practice stick? Once you make a mistake, there is no starting over.

80 grit will leave a coarser surface, but will also tend to leave small cuts or lines around the grip. Not at all bad looking depending on what you're after, however.

Give it a try - you can always use finer paper to smooth things back down if you feel the coarser paper leaves it to rough for your tastes.

.............

I like to mix my grip finishes up. Some of them are burnished smooth with 400grit , some of them I leave cut up with 60grit. the rough grips eventually smooth out anyway.

Anthony

I sometimes do the same thing I do with cork and wood, that is, stop completely, and hand sand with finer grit. Almost like how you'd rub sude in one direction and see a different effect to rubbing the other way, reverse direction of the sanding and hand sand to lift the surface a bit.