I bought some sandpapers labeled as 3M Fre Cut paper (or 3M 216U papers). They were cheap, something like 10 cents a paper. I didn't lose a whole lot since shipping from China was cheap. But I think you guys should be aware if someone sells 3M Fre Cut sandpaper on Ebay that there are fakes out there!!
Fake on the left, real on the right (the real one came in a package of 3 papers, labeled "sandblaster sandpaper").
they look identical in the back.
The difference becomes clear when you use them. 3M Fre cut lasts a LONG time and never clogs and takes quite a while before it loses its sharpness. The fake fre cut paper however were dull out of the box and after 2 seconds of using it by hand, it cuts about as well as a piece of kraft paper. If anyone buys fre cut paper and wonder why their quality have slipped, it's just you. You bought fake ones.
Taobao is great for some things but anything branded is 90% fake. Another thing is, fake fre cut papers have a lighter yellow shade than real ones (that almost look school bus yellow especially the coarser grits)
