TradeGear stocks sponge abrasives in two families: machine pads built to fit Festool and Mirka orbital sanders, and hand sponges/blocks for touch-ups, edges and detail work where a powered sander isn’t practical.
Machine pads: why these actually work
A flat sanding pad pressed against a profile only ever touches the high points — it bridges over the shape instead of following it. Thin foam interface pads try to fix this but run out of give before they reach the bottom of a moulding. TradeGear’s Sponge Abrasive Pads solve it properly: the high-density foam compresses into the profile instead of bridging over it, so the abrasive stays in contact with the whole shape, not just the peaks — architraves, skirtings, handrails, stair treads, window returns, and reeded or fluted panelling all become machine work instead of hand work.
The abrasive is bonded directly to the foam — one part, no delamination, no re-sticking loose sheets mid-job. That’s a real durability difference against OEM interface-pad systems, where the pad itself tends to tear and costs around $30 to replace when it does.
| Pad | Fits | Pack | Grits | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80x133mm — 12mm Standard | Festool & Mirka 80x133mm orbital sanders | 15-pack, $44.00 | Very Fine / Fine / Medium / Coarse, or Mixed | Everyday profile work — architraves, door frames, skirting, lightly contoured surfaces |
| 80x133mm — 18mm Thick | Festool & Mirka 80x133mm orbital sanders | 10-pack, $43.45 | Fine / Medium / Coarse, or Mixed | Deep profiles — banisters, heavy mouldings, door jambs, smaller-diameter rails |
| 100mm x 150mm Delta | Festool & Mirka 100x150mm Delta orbital sanders | 15-pack, $49.50 | Very Fine / Fine / Medium / Coarse, or Mixed | Larger flat or gently curved areas suited to the Delta shape |
Both thicknesses share the same colour-coded grit system used across the whole XPT range — green is Coarse, yellow is Medium, orange is Fine, blue is Very Fine — so the right pad is identifiable without reading the packaging.
12mm Standard is the everyday choice, and it wins on value even against thinner packs from other ranges: 15 pads for $44, including a Coarse grit some competitors leave out entirely. 18mm Thick exists for one reason — depth. It’s the deepest ready-to-sand pad in the category (most stop around 13mm), built for the profiles where the 12mm pad still can’t reach the bottom — banisters, heavy mouldings, door jambs, smaller-diameter rails. No Very Fine grit in this range, since deep-profile work is rarely a finishing pass.
See it in use on a painted handrail:
Hand sponges & blocks
| Product | Format | Grit range | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 98mm x 120mm Abrasive Sponge | 2-sided flexible sponge | Coarse (P80) to Very Fine (P320) | General edge work, defect removal, refinishing across coatings, fillers and timber |
| 88mm x 98mm x 26mm Beveled Block | Bevelled-edge foam block | Fine / Medium | Precision corners, mitres and profiles — the bevel avoids gouging adjacent surfaces |
| 69mm x 98mm x 26mm Block | Flat foam block | Fine / Medium / Mixed | General flat-surface hand sanding, touch-ups, intermediate coats |
The 98x120mm sponge is the most versatile of the three — two-sided, widest grit range, flexible enough for contours. The beveled block earns its place specifically for corners and profiles where a flat edge would gouge the surrounding surface. The standard block is the no-frills option for everyday flat-surface hand sanding between coats.
Quick pick
- Sanding everyday profiles with a Festool/Mirka orbital sander → 80x133mm 12mm Standard
- Sanding deep profiles, banisters or heavy mouldings on the same sander → 80x133mm 18mm Thick
- Sanding larger Delta-shaped areas → 100x150mm Delta
- Hand-sanding a wide variety of surfaces/defects → 98x120mm Sponge
- Hand-sanding corners, mitres or profiles → Beveled Block
- Hand-sanding flat surfaces between coats → Standard Block