How often do you find you need to touch up the coverstock?
I intend to try it in the near future and wonder.
I have a urethane I use for spares that I finished to 1500 grit. Even though I wipe off the ball religiously AND urethane absorbs oil 20 times slower than resin, I find I need to touch up the ball every 2 months or so. Remembering that this is ONLY my spare ball PLUS it is plain urethane, that seems quite often, to me.
I almost dread trying to keep a ball at 2000 or 4000 grit.
On the subject of the price of abralon pads -
Got some inexpensive abralon pad boxes, but not in that precious 4000 grit size. Toolpeddler won't discount box purchases of 20 or more. The price is the same whether you buy one or 20. Darn. People on EBay don't sell the 4000s anymore.
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"...for advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise...."
J. R. R. Tolkien