Electric Wet Sander

[Brooklyn Mom]

I know about the dangers of sanding so how do people get around to sand their finish work?  This is a mystery to me.  I have been searching the internet looking for a wet sander with no luck.  Everything is really heavy and bulky-not suitable for small hands  How do you experienced potters do it other than manually?  Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.

[liambesaw]

Do all your finish work with a sponge when it's leather hard

[oldlady]

do not remember ever using sanding.  damp cleaning as liam says above has worked for me since 1972.  try it.    i just did that with dry greenware this afternoon.

[Callie Beller Diesel]

I just don’t sand. Making sure something is smooth before it dries is a great deal less work and hazard. I smooth foot rims and other necessary points with a soft silicone rib after trimming, and make sure to dry pieces on a clean, smooth surface. No sanding needed. 

[Mark C.]

wet sponge the pots no sanding-no dust

[Min]

@Brooklyn Mom, if you are asking about sanding the bottoms of fired pots a diamond lap disc attached to the wheel head works well. Mine is about 100 grit but they come in much finer grits also. It needs to be kept wet while being used,  a wet sponge works.

[neilestrick]

I just sand finished bottoms by hand with wet-dry sandpaper, 220 grit. If you do a good job of smoothing the foot after trimming, sanding only requires a quick pass to get it super smooth.

[Bill Kielb]

3 hours ago, Brooklyn Mom said:

know about the dangers of sanding so how do people get around to sand their finish work?  This is a mystery to me.  I have been searching the internet looking for a wet sander with no luck.  Everything is really heavy and bulky-not suitable for small hands  How do you experienced potters do it other than manually?  Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.

All the insights above are really spot on but I will mention there are very special times and reasons folks do wet sand bisque, wet to keep the dust down and in the case of sanding  leather hard or fully dried greenware a very few will dry sand (with proper mask and ventilation for all sanding of course)

Often these are very special items to get a very precise look and in the case of bisque ware maybe a last minute touch up or two. When I met Tom and Jen McCurdy , she clearly along with Tom spent an amazing amount of time sanding for a very special amount of perfection. When they do it, they are properly ventilated and properly protected though. .................Definitely not a level of sanding most potters ever need to do.

https://jennifermccurdy.com/

[Mark C.]

I use a glaze eraser to rub finished bottoms of finished pots(sold thru kilnshelve.com ) . As well as a rubbing stone (white fine grit 2x3 stone) sold thru most ceramic outlets

[Min]

For hand sanding I use diamond sanding pads, 100 grit. I find them more economical than wet-dry sandpaper. I usually have 2 or 3 on the go which will last a few years. (used wet)

 

[Mark_H]

As far as electric.  If you already have a 4-5" angle grinder, these can be used on ceramic wet or dry.  I use them to bullnose granite/marble/ceramic (removes glaze and exposes body) https://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Polishing-Backer-Granite-Concrete/dp/B00C46I104

Edit: forgot to mention it is a variable speed grinder I use.  It needs to be slowed down for these to work properly