Crocus cloth?

I must have been in 10 different hardware stores this last week trying to scare up one sheet of crocus cloth. Even at the place where I got a sheet a few months back, all I get is "wuzzat?" The Ace chain seems to have wiped the stuff completely from corporate inventory and memory. The hole is there where it used to be but no sheets. I can find it online, in big bundles or expensive rolls, but all I need is one sheet. Just another sign of the Decline of Western Civilization...

Stan

Reply to
stans4
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======== Try the paint/body section of your local auto parts store. Most now carry very fine abrasive sheets for use with clearcoats. Not crocus cloth but should be OK.

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-- Unka George (George McDuffee) .............................. The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. L. P. Hartley (1895-1972), British author. The Go-Between, Prologue (1953).

Reply to
F. George McDuffee

Emery cloth is available at Home Depot:

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Another source might be a plumbing supply store.

Reply to
Denis G.

--Would steel wool substitute?

Reply to
steamer

Try NAPA Auto Parts, Stan.

-- A smile is the shortest distance between two people. -- Victor Borge

Reply to
Larry Jaques

You're SUPPOSED to tell him to use wire brushes! No soup for you!

Reply to
Tom Gardner

Oops, sahhhhhhhhhreeeeeee.

Stan, try wire brushes from NAPA Auto Parts.

-- If you're looking for the key to the Universe, I've got some good news and some bad news.

The bad news: There is no key to the Universe.

The good news: It was never locked. --Swami Beyondananda

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Everyone has emery cloth. Crocus is ultrafine rouge on a cloth backing, used for polishing. I use it, in small chunks, for polishing small shafts, holes and finishing gun chambers. 1500 and 2000 grit WoD ISN'T a substitute, neither is steel or bronze wool, all of which are readily available. Crocus has little to do with painting, but WAS, until recently, in the same pigeon holes as the sandpaper at the hardware stores. Has completely vanished. I checked on NAPA's online site, never heard of it. Doesn't mean that some old-timey auto parts place doesn't have it, just not around here. I guess guys don't worry about polishing shafts up anymore before reinstalling, just replace the works and leave it to the parts rebuilders.

Stan

Reply to
stans4

mmmm I've a few sheets of the red stuff ,had it for years ,used to use it for polishing fuel injector spindles .Ive been using it for thelast stage of sharpening my woodworking plabne irons , leaves a nice chrome like polished finish on the cutting edge.

I asked for it at the local engineering supply recently where I got the it before a few years back , and just got a blank stare in return . I hope they still make it as it's good stuff.

Reply to
Kevin(Bluey)

If it had been me, after I'd been to 2 or 3, I would have turned to the web. Yeah, it might take a few days to get, but that beats running all over.

3rd hit from Google:
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Bob
Reply to
Bob Engelhardt

snipped-for-privacy@prolynx.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@v17g2000yqv.googlegroups.com:

McMaster Carr: 10 sheets $19.16

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Doug White

Reply to
Doug White

Hmm, I'm learning a lot of things I thought would be hard to obtain there, are available fairly easily. But sounds like this is something I'll want to stock up on before I head over...

Jon

Reply to
Jon Anderson

Hi Jon , I'm sure it's available here just hard to find , if I can't get a resupply I will turn to the www and purchase on line. I have been using it sparingly ,but will have to look for some more. There is good link to McMaster-carr posted in this thread they have a selection of grits available. There is a guy in Queensland called the "sandpaperman" he seems to have a good supply of abrasives ,I may try to see if he can get it. The shop where I bought it before has changed owners and they seem to need educating as to what crocus cloth is.

Reply to
Kevin(Bluey)

This might be worth a look:

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Reply to
Don Foreman

No crocus to be seen there!

Tried to hit a True Value today, just another empty store front for rent. There's another one thirty miles down the pike that might have it, but before I make that trip, I'll order it off the net. Looks like we're down to Ace and the various big boxes, no independants, for hardware. If they don't have the stuff, it's order it from somewhere else and hope they've got it in stock. I don't NEED a lifetime supply of crocus cloth to store, but it's looking like that's what I'll have to get.

As far as wasting gas, I'm hitting places en route to others. And several Aces I've bought the stuff at before.

Stan

Reply to
stans4

Don Foreman wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

I have some small sheets of this that came in an assortment, and it's OK. I still keep some crocus cloth handy. The cost of the plastic film stuff is about half that of crocus cloth from Mcmaster, and the plastic backing is pretty tough. The abrasive coating is much thinner than on crocus cloth, so it wears away or clogs much faster.

They each have their uses.

Doug White

Reply to
Doug White

No, but there was lots of very fine grit paper.

Stan, buy a bucketfull and sell the individuals on eBay (or to other hopefuls here) to recoup your costs and make a profit.

Have you tried local machineshops and auto repair places? Even if they don't have any for sale, they certainly have a source. I haven't used any crocus cloth since I got out of wrenchin'.

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Indicates that their source is no longer even -making- crocus cloth.

Hey, howzbout a little jar of diamond paste and a strip of old Levi jeans?

-- You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on Earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.? -- Ronald Reagan

Reply to
Larry Jaques

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2" X 3' for under 5 bucks , sounds like a decent deal to me .
Reply to
Snag

"Snag" wrote in news:gykWo.10465$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe08.iad:

Let's see: that 62 square inches for $5 or about 8.1 cents a square inch

McMaster Carr wants $20 for ten 9"x11" sheets = 990 square inches. That's just over 2 cents a square inch.

If you use it with any regularity, I'd say the choice is pretty clear. If you buy from McMaster as frequently as I do, you can also spread the shipping over several items.

If all you'll really ever need is one, the belt may be your best bet.

Doug White

Reply to
Doug White

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