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Daily Wire Tip Dec. 21: What is Silicon Carbide Cloth?

By on December 21, 2009
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Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip December 21, 2009

What is Silicon Carbide Cloth?

Question:

What is silicon carbide cloth? I’ve seen it suggested in a jewelry-making book to be used for smoothing wire ends.

Answer:

Silicon Carbide Cloth is a type of sandpaper. Similar to sandpaper used for wood, the grit adhered to different paper weight/strength, polyester or a cotton-polyester blend (cloth) is powdered Silicon Carbide (a compound of silicon and carbon that in its natural state you may know as ‘moissanite’). The numbers of this special paper/cloth determine the coarseness where grits from 400 to 1200 are fine (and may be found at auto repair stores) and the lower the number, the more coarse the abrasive (check a hardware store). Low number grits can remove deep scratches quickly but as they remove metal they will leave less-deep scratches that will need to be removed by using fine and then finer grits.

With relation to jewelry making, this product is generally used to polish brass, aluminum and copper. The paper can be used either wet or dry and can be glued to a block of wood, a dowel, pencil or simply used by hand. (I like an inexpensive emery board.)

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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One Comment

  1. avatar

    Allen

    December 27, 2009 at 12:28 pm

    The only wires I ever really need to worry much about dressing are the ends of ear wires. They sell the best tool I have ever used here just for those, a wire rounder.
    I think its product number G14-19. They work great.