Cleaning micro mesh ?

[Rob Littleton]

I've been told by several people that you can wash Micro Mesh and use it over and over again.

Anyone ever do that? What cycle do you put it in on? Is it pre shrunk? I don't want to send it out to get it dry cleaned :-) Seriously, how do you wash it?

thanks

[Mark Patoka]

I did try washing mine once. I put the pieces into one of those mesh lingerie laundry bags to keep them all together and they came out pretty well. Haven't used them enough since then to have to wash over for a wear test but it didn't hurt them either. I probably washed them on the normal cycle with the regular laundry. (Just make sure you sort the lights and darks - Ha Ha)

[David Fried]

I wash mine in the sink after the dinner dishes. Just dish soap and the scrubbie brush. Seems to work but I do have to do laundry soon ....

[Earl Reid]

I put them in with work clothes, been using the same bunch about 8 months, still working good on the pens.
Earl

[Wes Bischel]

I was told to put them in the front pocket of a pair of jeans. Not sure how clean they get in the pocket - haven't tried it yet.

Wes

[Jack Wood]

What's micro mesh?

[Cliff Newton]

I washed mine once in, the edges became all frayed. Now, I just use compressed air to clean it.

[Brian Slater]

What's micro mesh?

MicroMeshis(tm) a brand of very, very fine sanding material. The coarsest I have is 1500 and that's equivalent to ANSI 400 carbide wet/dry sandpaper but is much more consistent. ANSI 1200 is equivalent to 4000 MicroMesh. My set goes to 8000 but there are finer grades available.
You need to use regular sandpaper before using the MicroMesh, which then removes the scratches left by 320 sandpaper.
I don’t use my full set on the unfinished wood, usually up to 3200, but all get of them are used on CA finish. Of course we're talking a hard wood here that will take a good polish.

Brian

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I wash mine in the sink using dish washing liquid. It helps lengthen it's life and stops the transfer of one color of dust to another piece of wood.

[Paul K. Johnson]

I've only used micromesh for wet sanding and the same pieces have held up for years. I bought one of the polishing kits with (I think) 3" x 4" pieces, polishing compound and a block of foam. I bought it to polish clear plastic parts of model kits - sometimes it's literally hours of sanding. All my micromesh is still in great shape.

Unless I do something stupid to ruin it then I expect what I have on hand will only need to be replaced once or possibly never.

I always wet sand with a very tiny amount of dishwashing liquid which helps float particles away.

[Brian Tymchak]

Blowing the dust off a 12 year old thread.. Is that a record?

[Barry Richardson]

I've used the sink and the laundry, both seem to work fine. but I put some foam backed micromesh in the laundry and the back detached on some of them, so wouldn't recommend that...

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Hey Brian, welcome to the creek!

[Rich Colvin]

I sneak mine into a dark load whilst my wife's back is turned. She takes them out after the wash cycle and lets them dry, then graciously gives them back with a smile.

A real gem she is, and I give her anything she wants.

Rich