With any true wet and dry sandpaper the secret is to use the water to clear the sanding from the grit. Soaking should be avoided and is not required. You start with a coarse grade and work down to finer grades. The grit in the sandpaper should be doing most of the work and using too high a pressure will result in hollows and you will have to fill and start again. I use a small container of water and dip the paper in when it becomes clogged. I like the idea of using a fine spray on the surface as this will also wash away the sanding. For final finishing some liquid soap with the final grade will produce a surface ready to prepare for the top coat. It also helps to wipe over the surface with I.P.A. Good finishes depend upon careful preparation and that takes time which will be repaid with the final result. Happy sanding.

Whilst being a different application for wet and dry sandpaper, Alice has been having the same problems with it rubbing down and repainting bits of our camper van. Several different sources for the wet and dry, but it all falls to pieces quite quickly. Years ago it would last for ages, in fact in my 'real' boat days, I never remember having any problems and the grit would wear off before it disintegrated.

Nerys

I'm not sure of the brand you're using Jim, but in my limited experience I've not soaked the sand paper. What I have done is use a small bucket or sauce pan full of water and just a drop or two of dishwashing soap mixed in. I also have a small bottle of water that I can mist the surface that I'm sanding. As the "sanding mud" builds I wipe it off with a paper towel, and rinse the sand paper in the bucket to prevent a build-up of "mud" in the paper's grit. Keeping it rinsed and the work wiped off but damp seems to work pretty well. One caution: very little pressure is required when going for a smooth finish as the paper usually cuts pretty fast when clean.