• Grinding, Sanding & Polishing Discs

        • Our range of flap discs, cutting discs, grinding wheels and fibre discs, surface conditioning, stripping discs and polishing discs are primarily produced by Eisenblätter in Germany. We focus on providing the highest quality, safety, user friendliness and environmental sustainability. Many products have set the standard since they were introduced and throughout the years have been continually improved to be on the cutting edge of innovation.

        • Grinding Sleeves and Wheels

        • Creating a beautiful satin finish is made easier by using our high-quality, durable abrasives sleeves and wheels. They are manufactured in Germany by Eisenblätter using special processes to ensure smooth operation and increased service life. Our range offers you the right product for a wide range of applications on different metals such as cleaning, satin finishing, removing scratches, industrial grinding or linear grinding, pre-grinding or polishing to a mirror finish, surface treatment of wood and much more.

        • Machines

        • For over 30 years our machines have set the standard for performance and durability. We were the first to introduce the handheld linear grinder (Poly PTX) and the variable speed angle grinder (Varilex) to Australia in 1988. These machines are still made in Germany by Eisenblätter have continually been improved upon and they still are the most powerful machines in their category over 30 years later. We now also have high quality German made handheld belt sanders, belt filing machines, bevelling machines and polishers.

        • Grinding, Sanding & Polishing Belts

        • We stock a large range of belts for a variety of different applications such as grinding, satin finishing, fine sanding or polishing up to a mirror finish. We stock belt sizes 40x780mm pipe machines and 30×600 to suit our PTX machine with optional grinding belt roller. The practical T-Lock fastening system allows pipes on closed pipe constructions and handrails to be finished without cutting belts. Custom belts of any size can also be made up, use our custom belt order form or send us an email for more information.

        • Accessories

        • Accessories to suit our Eisenblätter machines such as backing pads for mounting Velcro discs, spare guards, dust extraction systems and much more. There are also innovative products such as the grinding belt roller that allows belts to be used with either our PTX or Varilex machines. There are also machine holders and flexible shaft attachments for getting into hard-to-reach areas. These accessories add further versatility to our machines and keep them one step above the rest.

        • Polishing & Cleaning

        • Achieve a shadow-free, mirror finish with Eisenblätter polishing products such as BRIGHTEX® polishing pastes. Minimise clogging with the use of Superpolish polishing discs, belts and sleeves. Our range of care products allows you to effectively clean, protect and preserve metal surfaces.

        • Bobbie’s Bargain Box

        • Get great quality abrasives made by Eisenblaetter in Germany for up to 50% off while stocks last. These products are mainly from discontinued lines so get them before they’re gone for good!

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Understanding-Mill-Scale
Mill scale and rust

How to remove mill scale easily

Steel is the most common metal used in industry, from construction, fabrication and many more. Did you know that iron is the 4th most common element in the Earth’s crust? But even though making and working with steel is so common, there is the potentially tedious process of removing mill scale. Mill scale is the dark, flaky coating that forms on the surface of steel during the manufacturing process. However, with the right abrasives you can effectively remove this coating and achieve a clean, smooth finish.

There are many different methods for removing mill scale such as pickling or electro-chemical descaling. These methods are expensive, complicated and dangerous. Abrasives offer an easy way to remove mill scale. Although there are many different methods to removing mill scale we believe the best way is using our range of clean & strip discs and wheels. It is a huge timesaver especially when paired with a variable speed grinder such as the Varilex WSF 1800. Due to the open elastic fabric pores of the CLEAN material, the products do not clog and achieve a sandblasting effect on metal surfaces. We will talk about other methods below:

 
Even the most aggressive discs get clogged when dealing with mill scale. Clean discs are an efficient and time-saving method for dealing with mill scale. Another benefit of using clean discs over aggressive fibre discs are that the fibre discs can dig into the workpiece and scratch it creating more work for refinishing later on. 
 

Fibre Discs; these discs are low cost and come in a variety of grits and type of abrasive. Generally, most would use a grit 36 ceramic for this application and will remove the mill scale quickly however the discs do not last as long and leaves deep grinding marks in the surface. Some discs also come with the added benefit of cooling additives to prevent warping like the Cold Steel Ceramic discs. For more information on our fibre discs, click here.

Flap Discs; flap discs are a very common method to remove mill scale, especially before welding. These discs are available in a variety of grits and types of abrasive. Grit 40 is common for this application and ceramic abrasive is recommended, for example the TRIMFIX Hellfire. Please click here.

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Using a flap disc to prepare for welding

Wire wheels: using wire brushes or wire wheels are good to deal with mill scale on intricate shapes. However, if the mill scale is heavy wire brushes would be a slow option with many passes required. Our wire wheels come either as brass coated or stainless steel. To view our wire wheels please click here.

Clean & Strip discs/wheels are a very efficient and cost-effective way to remove mill scale, provided you have a good variable speed machine. Running these discs too fast significantly reduces their lifespan. These discs do not clog and have silicon carbide abrasive which leaves the metal underneath virtually untouched like a sandblasting effect.  We recommend these types of discs to deal with mill scale and they come with either a hook and loop backing, wheels or with an M14 thread. To find out more about our M14 Magnum Clean+ Discs, please click here.

Gum wheels are fantastic at removing heavy carbon build up and mill scale, leaving a decorative, clean finish. These unique wheels are rubberised making them conform better to the surface and can even be run on curved surfaces. These wheels are used with our POLY PTX 800 machine. To learn more about gum wheels click here.

Removing mill scale is essential to achieve a clean and smooth finish for an effective weld. By choosing the right abrasives you can effectively tackle mill scale removal and restore the steel surface to the desired state. Ready for further treatment or finishing. 

Which machine do I need to remove mill scale?

Depending on the workpiece you need to remove scale on and which abrasive is used. For example the POLY PTX Gum Wheel would require the use of the POLY PTX machine while the MAGNUM Clean+ would use the Varilex 1800 machine.

POLY PTX 800

Varilex WSF 1800

 

Did you know that 30 years ago we were one of the first to develop methods to use clean and strip discs on their face side instead of only on the side of the disc.