If I remember correctly, the stearate glue is used on the white-colored aluminum oxide discs. No offense, but these discs suck! I've just about used up a box of (50) 80-grit discs, and I won't buy them again. The stearate is supposed to be cleaner (less clogging) but it doesn't seem to hold the abrasives well. That, or the abrasives they choose are not very durable.

Try to find the gold colored "Mirka" Finnish-made or red colored "Jisco-Slip/Naxos" Swedish-made discs. Both kinds use a resin adhesive. The red ones are on a cloth backing, and the yellow ones are on a cloth or very heavy paper backing. They cost about twice as much apiece as the white discs, but last about 3x as long, so you really save money in the long run.

Shawn
: I just purchased an ROS for working on my Coho. It is a B&D model (made by
: B&D-DeWalt) and uses a 5" velcro'd 8 hole disk. All of the disks I
: have seen mention a stearate glue or something used to bond the abrasives
: to the actual disk materail. Along with that is a warning that the steaate
: residue should be removed prior to finishing by steel wool or non-stearate
: paper.

: Who knows what this is all about and how cautious shold one (read
: "I") be here?

: If I used the non-hole disks it would be much dustier and they do not seem to
: be available in the velcro variety.