Yesterday I ran out of P220 wet and dry (I use it dry) that I have been using to finish off some filler and 'Icing' and had to buy 3M Imperial from my local auto body supplier. This is P220, which supposedly is the same weight paper and grit micron size as the Norton P220 Black Ice paper.

What crap!!

The 3M loads almost instantly and cannot be cleaned by a bench brush - I need a stiff bristle brush. The Norton can be cleaned with a couple of strokes with my bench brush. The 3M gets dull very quickly. The Norton lasts at least 3X longer before I discard it. I have no idea where I got the Norton paper. I can buy the 3M at NAPA, Lowes, KMart or Wally World. The 3M is 94 cents a sheet, the Norton - who knows, but if it lasts 3X longer sure is well worth any price, but my guess is that it is cheaper. I was able to buy some 60, 80 and 100 grit conventional Norton at Home Despot when I stripped the car - and that also lasted much longer then the 3M. Unfortunately, my local HD doesn't carry P220/240 wet and dry.

Since I've been ranting, do others have the same opinion of 3M or do I stand alone (again ) ? I guess my rant is against almost everything 3M as they seem to have generally an OK variety of products, but nothing spectacular but are a big enough marketing factor that they overwhem the marketplace.