In the few years I spent sanding floors, I quickly realized that pushing sandpaper to its dull, clogged limit  just didn’t work.

To get that last bit of use out of worn pads, I’d force more pressure on the sander, which resulted in deep swirls in the wood and strain on the tool.

But I’ve wised up. About halfway through my current project, a 6×6-foot bookcase I’m prepping for paint, I upgraded to a Microplane’s stainless steel sanding discs.

Now I’m no longer constantly changing out the hook-and-loop pads—and I’m not pushing the paper, either.

The $14 pack included a coarse (equivalent to 40 grit sand paper),
medium (80 grit) and fine (120 grit) discs that fit my 5-inch sander.

The conclusion? A big time-saver without any noticeable wear-down during
sanding.

Microplane claims you’ll sand 5-7 times faster with these discs,
compared to paper, and that each steel disc replaces 35 paper ones.

I didn’t precisely keep count, but I know I
sanded longer and without adding the unnecessary force.

The disc’s
business end looks like the kitchen cheese grater (which Microplane
also makes, along with rasps and a file for your feet).

But don’t toss away used paper sanding pads just yet.

I keep them
around for light sanding around a countour (try getting stainless steel
to bend around your finger) and straight runs in corners, like where the shoe
molding meets a hardwood floor.

More sanding week:

How a random-orbit sander helps you manage crown molding.

Bosch’s smart new sander has a fine filter and a clear canister.

How the Sand satan makes a better block out of old sanding belts.

Why Craftsman’s new VibraFree sander won’t give you the jitters.

Our gallery of random-orbit sanders.

Black & Decker’s new Mouse: The sensitive sander that shares its feelings.

The Festool LS130 Linear Profile sander hugs the curves.

Grip it and rip it: A quick-change paper tip for a palm sander.

The oldest, dirtiest DeWalt sander we ever did see.

And two sanders that get so badly abused, it’s a wonder they still work.