In the last 5 years there has been an explosion in companies selling hard blocks for sanding. Some are very expensive. I am just wondering how much these actually help? I used to use bar stock and wrap paper around it. Anyone ever drop the coin on these?
I use 1/2" thick acrylic. I can cut any size I want. I make sure to radius all 4 sides that will touch the car so they can't "dig in" I mostly use them for color sanding the clear prior to buffing
I bought a bunch from Eastwood and they are holding up well. Weight matters. Oh it may not for a day or two, even a few months, but after 2 years of sanding you'll wish you had bought the lightest blocks on the market. And make sure they don't soak up water, that just makes em heavier.
I have some of the ones with the rods that you can add to depending g on how much curvature on you panel. I also have the lightweight foam blocks that are all different lengths 6”-30”.
Paint sticks Regular and the 5 gallon ones. i rough in body work with commercial blocks. The fine tuning from there is paint sticks.
I think it depends on the cars you are sanding. I am just finishing the sanding of the clear for buffing on my 30 A. There is NO flat panels on an A except the deck lid, which is still crowned. I sanded the filler, primer and now clear coat and could not have used a super stiff, hard block on it. Too much crown on most all panels. That being said, I’ve sanded on many 60’s cars and they and newer are much flatter and would be good candidates for a hard stiff block. I see the posts and pictures on my Fakebook groups on the blocks and I don’t doubt they would work, but wonder if it’s worth all the hype also. Most all the paint jobs I look at at shows are flat after sanding and buffing. I don’t think you could tell the difference unless the car is inside under lighting. ( BTW... I’ve been painting and doing bodywork for 42 years and seen a lot of products come and go).
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