Video Transcript
Lesley: “It's no secret that Red Heat is what many professional floor sanders rely on when sanding a wood floor, but Norton has recently done some upgrading that is going to make Red Heat even better.
We gathered feedback from the field, brought it to our product expert teams, and came back with a new and improved backing and grain upgrades while keeping the same great scratch pattern that Norton Red Heat is known for.
With me today is product and floor sanding expert Greg Mihaich to talk about the exciting upgrades and what this means. Welcome, Greg.”
Greg: “Hi.”
Lesley: “What makes Red Heat so popular with professional floor sanders?”
Greg: “Well Red Heat was launched back in 2005, and since it was launched, it's been known as the industry standard among contractors for performance and for scratch pattern.”
Lesley: “How was Norton able to improve upon the already very popular paper?”
Greg: “So we upgraded from an x-weight poly cotton backing to a full polyester y-weight backing. That full polyester y-weight backing is more durable, tougher, it's more dimensionally stable, and it's going to improve tracking."
Lesley: “What upgrades were made to the grain structure that makes the new version more powerful?”
Greg: “So we made some changes to the design, which actually helped improve grain orientation. So the important thing about grain orientation is the better it is, you're going to have more of the sharp points of the grain sticking straight up. So that's going to help improve life, cut rate, and scratch pattern.”
Lesley: “Can you please just explain what a scratch pattern is and why it's important?”
Greg: “Okay, so scratch pattern is really one of the most important elements of a product to a contractor because that's the finished product on the floor before they put down stain or finish. So that's really what a contractor gets paid on how the floor looks.
So contractors nowadays, homeowners have got much pickier, they really want floors to look like furniture. So the finer the scratch pattern, the less visible scratches you're going to have on the floor, it's going to be much easier to refine those scratches for a contractor.
So you're just going to get a better overall product. So in Red Heat has been known for that since it was launched as offering one of the fine scratch patterns in the industry.”
Lesley: “What does Norton do in their manufacturing process that you think helps give Red Heat such a great scratch pattern?”
Greg: “We use 100% ceramic grain and what that does is provide a very uniform scratch. Also, our grain is a very uniform in shape and size, and so it leaves a very shallow scratch while still being aggressive and cutting fast.
Competitive products out there can be blended so you can have different size grains on the belt so you're going to get a very irregular scratch.”
Lesley: “Red Heat is known for lasting a long time, meaning you are changing belts and rolls less. Are we expecting the same from this new upgrade?”
Greg: “So in our internal testing we've seen upwards of 40% improvement in life and cut rate.
We really went into redesigning with okay how can we make the contractor's job easier, how can we make it so that they can really get the job done faster with these really tough finishes and still maintain a really fine scratch. So that's what we really hope the contractors will get out of this. They'll just be able to get the job done faster and better.”
Lesley: “And on that high note Greg, we want to thank you for sharing the new and exciting Red Heat info with us today. Norton has turned up the heat with their upgraded, strongest, and most durable Red Heat ever. If you haven't tried Red Heat before, go out and pick some up for your next project. Thank you all for watching."