Fold Sandpaper

The Problem

Sanding a skim-coated wall burns through sandpaper, and a sheet folded casually in half fights you the whole time: grit rubbing grit dulls both faces, and the loose layers slide against each other instead of staying put in your hand.

The Technique

A painter's version of the classic fold:

1. Fold the sheet square — in half, and in half again — to crease it into quarters.
2. Slice along one fold to the center with a putty knife (his 4-inch knife doubles as the cutter).
3. Fold the panels over each other so a grit face always lands against a smooth paper back. The rough face bites into the smooth one, so the folded pad holds itself together and doesn't creep while you sand.
4. Sand with the exposed face; refold as each face loads up or dulls — four working faces per sheet.

The Problem

A flat sheet of sandpaper is an awkward hand tool: folded in half, the grit faces grind against each other and dull the paper from the inside; used flat, it slips around and only one patch ever wears. Most of a sheet ends up in the trash with its grit intact.

The Technique

1. Fold the sheet in half, then in half again, and open it back up — you've creased it into four quarters.
2. Tear or cut one slit along a crease, from the edge of the sheet to the center point. One rip, no further.
3. Fold the panels over each other around the slit so the sheet stacks into a quarter-sheet pad. Folded this way, every grit face lands against a paper back — never against another grit face.
4. Sand with it. The pad locks together instead of sliding apart, it's a comfortable hand size, and both outer faces are working grit.
5. When those two faces dull, open the pad and refold it the other way around — two fresh faces come to the outside.

One sheet, four usable faces, nothing wasted — and no grit-on-grit contact wearing the paper out between them.