Stripping wheel

Stripping wheel is a non-woven abrasive made for cleaning old coating, rust and paint. It is composed of non-woven fiber as a base, then the base is coated with adhesive bond and abrasive grain. The stripping wheel flexible characteristic allows the wheel to grind the work piece evenly without denting the surface. The open structure can help reduce heat and does not damage and discolor the work piece. Firestone has inhouse machine for coating the abrasive grain on to the non-woven fiber. This offers customers a wide range of custom-made selections.

Depending on the size and the shape of the stripping wheel, it can be mounted on pneumatic or electric tools.

The choice of selection abrasive grain depends on the application. We recommend using brown fused alumina or black silicon carbide. Both abrasive grains are good with at removing paint and old rust. 

In general, stripping wheel made with brown fused alumina excels at cutting bare metal material more quickly. It can be used for aggressive surface application, such as heavy rust, thick paint and coating, and weld discoloration and splatter. 

Whereas stripping wheel made with black silicon carbide excels at working with non-ferrous metal application. 

It can be used for mill surface application, such as light rust, paint and coating. It has a lesser sparking issue. 

Unlike other brands, Firestone allows customers to dye the stripping wheel with their own choice. The popular color choices are black, purple and blue. Other color is also available upon request. Keep in mind that the abrasive grain may affect the final color as it acts as base color. For example, the purple stripping wheel made with black silicon carbide is going to look different when compared with purple stripping wheel made with brown fused alumina.

 Usually, Firestone uses a thickness from 14mm to 15mm. The non-woven fiber’s thickness and density play its role in carrying the abrasive grain. Higher thickness and density fiber can hold more abrasive grain. If a customer is looking for a low initial price, we suggest using 14mm thickness. If the customer requires high productivity and extending life, then we suggest using 15mm thickness.

The topping acts as the holder for stripping material as it is mounted on to the angle grinder. There are two types of material for stripping wheel topping. 

Glass fiber topping is the low-cost option for holding the stripping material. However, it has a lesser shelve life. From the date it is manufactured, it will become more brittle. After 3 years, the glass fiber topping has a lower holding strength against the angle grinder’s centrifugal force and side pressing force. This can be very dangerous to the user when the glass fiber topping is torn apart, and its remaining is sent in random direction. 

Plastic topping is the suggested material for holding the stripping material. Under proper indoor storage conditions (such as protection from direct or indirect sunlight exposure, and extreme temperature) most plastic material topping has shelved life for at least 4 years. It also has higher tolerance to withstand angle grinder’s centrifugal force and side pressing force. Overall plastic topping is the best option when user safety is the priority concern.

 Product made by Firestone are reliable and well built. They are 100% made by Firestone in Taiwan. We inspect the quality from raw material to the final product. We can accept small quantity customized orders to meet the customer’s demand.

 At firestone abrasive, safety is always the first priority. To ensure user safety, we would spot check each lot number with an in-house developed stress testing device. Then the spot check sample is checked manually to ensure the balance is faultless.

Firestone purchases jumbo rolls of non-woven fiber. Plastic such as Nylon, Polypropylene and Polyethylene can be used for base material. We use a punching machine to cut the non-woven fiber into different sizes of diameter. The non-woven wheel is then coated with resin and abrasive grain. After resin is cured inside the oven, the non-woven wheel is attached to topping. Finally, the label is placed on to the topping, then the stripping wheel is ready to be package and deliver to customer.

Firestone has stopped using glass fiber topping. We only have plastic material topping available. Under proper indoor storage conditions (such as protection from direct or indirect sunlight exposure, and extreme temperature) Firestone stripping wheel has shelved life at least 4 years.