The preparation of corrosion sensitive surfaces requires abrasive products, which contain the lowest possible amount of heavy metals. Aluminium based material and the demand from AOEMs for sanding corrosive sensitive materials are increasing and to meet this demand, Mirka is the first abrasive company providing a full range of products from net to paper based and non-woven discs and sheets. The NC product range is formulated using special raw materials containing the lowest possible amounts of heavy metal contaminants, which can cause corrosion. Mirka says theses advanced abrasives not only offer outstanding performance, but also drastically reduce long-term corrosion potential, making them a must for high quality aluminium repairs.

 

Also attracting attention at the stand was the recently launched new generation of Mirka DEROS electric sanders. These have picked up both an IF product Design Award 2014 and the Red Dot Industrial Design Award 2014 and are now proving extremely popular as an alternative to traditional pneumatic sanders.

 

Other Mirka innovations on display included the latest developments with Mirka’s Abranet, dust-free sanding technology and it’s Optimised Surface Preparation System, which can reduce sanding time by 30%.

 

Mirka also used Automechanika to introduce a new development in the often-neglected area of wet sanding technology. Aquastar Wet & Dry is the first product in a new range of innovative-patented flexible film abrasives. It overcomes many of the problems associated with paper based wet sanding using a flexible plastic based backing, and a pattern consisting of multiple abrasive zones surrounded by interconnected channels. The pattern is designed so that Aquastar can be used in any direction on the surface with the same efficiency giving a consistent sanding result. Aquastar is mainly developed for wet sanding of clear coats and primers used in bodyshops.