Half century
July 1st 2008 The Scotch-Brite brand from 3M
celebrates its 50th birthday this
year and is a favourite with many
metal working professionals across
the globe.
The Scotch-Brite brand began in
1958 with a range of finishing
discs. In 1960 hand pads were
introduced for the reworking of
wood and in the 1970s, Clean &
Strip discs were developed for the
cleaning of welds and the removal
of paint. These were followed by
Roloc Surface Conditioning Discs,
to remove light coatings, rust,
oxides and paint, and EXL, SF and
XR wheels, to make polishing
easier. The 1990s saw the Radial
Bristle Discs, Film-Backed Surface
Conditioning Belts and Purple and
Blue Clean & Strip Discs.
In 2000 3M introduced hand
pads, pre-cut on a roll to reduce
wastage. In 2006, it added the
Centre Pin system to its surface
conditioning discs to help reduce
vibration by centrally securing the
discs to the back-up pad. In 2007,
Heavy Duty and Super Duty
grades were added. More articles from 3M Abrasive Systems: | 
