Johannesburg, Jan. 8 (AutoNews Africa) – South Africa’s thriving automotive DIY trend has fueled a significant surge in heavy-duty sandpaper sales, with third-quarter (Q3) figures revealing a 17% year-on-year increase, according to industry data released by the South African Automotive Aftermarket Association (SAAAA). The growth comes amid a broader recovery in the country’s automotive sector, which saw 2025 new car sales hit a decade-high, driven by falling inflation and improved consumer confidence.   At Johannesburg’s busy AutoZone and local hardware stores, shelves stocked with heavy-duty sandpaper—ranging from 40-grit for rust removal to 120-grit for surface preparation—are moving fast. “Q3 was a record quarter for heavy-duty sandpaper sales, with most buyers being DIY enthusiasts tackling car body repairs, rust restoration, and repainting projects,” said Themba Ndlovu, a store manager at a leading automotive parts retailer in Pretoria. “Many customers are choosing high-durability ceramic alumina sandpaper, which lasts longer for tough automotive jobs compared to standard options. We’ve also seen a spike in sales of sandpaper packs tailored for DIYers, which include multiple grits for different stages of restoration.”   The uptick in heavy-duty sandpaper demand aligns with a growing preference among South African car owners for self-maintenance to cut costs. With professional auto repair fees rising by 8% year-on-year in 2025, DIY has become an economical alternative for non-critical repairs. “Professional bodywork can cost thousands of rands, but with a few tools and quality heavy-duty sandpaper, I can restore my old bakkie’s body panels myself for a fraction of the price,” said Sipho Mokoena, a DIY automotive enthusiast from Soweto. Mokoena added that online tutorials and accessible supplies have made complex tasks like rust removal more approachable for beginners.   Industry experts note that the trend is also supported by South Africa’s robust automotive culture, particularly around vintage and utility vehicles. “South Africans have a strong tradition of maintaining and customizing their cars, and this is reflected in the demand for heavy-duty sandpaper,” said Lerato Tsolo, an automotive industry analyst at SAAAA. “The 17% Q3 growth is also boosted by the expansion of the local automotive aftermarket, which has seen more suppliers offering specialized DIY products to cater to this growing segment.”   Looking ahead, analysts predict that heavy-duty sandpaper sales will continue to rise as South Africa’s automotive DIY trend persists, fueled by favorable economic conditions and ongoing growth in the automotive sector. “As consumer confidence remains strong and DIY resources become more accessible, we expect to see sustained demand for heavy-duty sandpaper and other automotive DIY essentials,” Tsolo added. For South Africa’s thriving community of automotive enthusiasts, this means more opportunities to keep their vehicles in top condition while embracing the satisfaction of hands-on repair work.  

Rio de Janeiro, Jan. 8 (Newstrail) – In Brazil’s vibrant craft scene, a surprising material is taking center stage: colored sandpaper. Once confined to industrial sanding and repair work, this textured medium has become a favorite among local artisans, driving a new wave of creative expression in the country’s booming arts and crafts market, which is projected to grow from $10.8 billion in 2025 to $18.5 billion by 2033 at a CAGR of 7.3%.   At Rio’s iconic Feira de São Cristovão, one of Brazil’s largest craft fairs, stalls showcasing colored sandpaper artworks attract steady crowds. “Visitors love the unique texture and bold hues that colored sandpaper brings to our pieces,” said Maria Silva, a São Paulo-based artisan who specializes in handcrafted home decor. Silva’s collection, featuring tropical landscapes made with layered red, blue, and yellow sandpaper, has seen sales jump 35% in the past six months. “It’s versatile—we use it for collages, relief sculptures, and even to add texture to wooden handicrafts. It’s especially popular for souvenirs that capture Brazil’s vibrant culture.”   The rise of colored sandpaper aligns with two key trends in Brazil’s craft market: a focus on sustainable materials and growing demand for unique, handcrafted items. Many suppliers now offer eco-friendly colored sandpaper made with water-based dyes and recyclable substrates, catering to the increasing number of artisans and consumers prioritizing sustainability. “Eco-consciousness is no longer a niche concern; it’s a mainstream expectation,” noted Carlos Mendes, a distributor of craft materials in São Paulo. “Our line of recyclable colored sandpaper has seen a 40% year-on-year increase in orders, mostly from small-scale artisans supported by SEBRAE, Brazil’s small business support service.”   Artists are also embracing colored sandpaper for its ability to create striking textural contrasts, a hallmark of Brazilian folk art known for its vivid colors and tactile qualities. In Pernambuco’s Feira de Caruaru, a 200-year-old traditional craft fair, artisans are using fine-grit colored sandpaper to add intricate details to clay figurines and woven baskets. Even contemporary artists are incorporating the material into their work—echoing the experimental spirit of Brazilian art movements like Poema/Processo, which emphasized innovative use of everyday materials.   The popularity of colored sandpaper is also being fueled by the growth of online craft marketplaces like Mercado Livre and Amazon Handmade, which have expanded artisans’ reach beyond local fairs to global audiences. “International buyers are drawn to the uniqueness of sandpaper art—they’ve never seen anything like it,” said Silva. “It’s helping us put Brazilian craft on the world map.”   With Brazil’s craft tourism sector also on the rise, colored sandpaper workshops have become a popular activity in tourist hubs like Salvador and Florianópolis. “These workshops let visitors engage with our craft traditions while creating their own pieces,” said a representative from the Brazilian Craft Association. As Brazil’s arts and crafts market continues to evolve, colored sandpaper is proving that even the most unexpected materials can become a canvas for cultural expression.

Driven by the global push for high-performance and low-energy-consumption automotive engines, the demand for precision machining of auto engine impeller channels has surged dramatically. Against this backdrop, customized tungsten steel grinding heads, which excel in handling complex curved surfaces and ensuring machining accuracy, have become the mainstream choice in the industry. Market data shows that the global market size for automotive-specific tungsten steel grinding heads is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.5% from 2025 to 2030, with customized products accounting for over 60% of the total demand.   Auto engine impellers feature complex structures with highly twisted blades and narrow flow channels, making their machining a challenging task that requires tools to avoid interference while ensuring surface finish and dimensional precision . Traditional standard grinding tools often fail to meet the diverse requirements of different impeller models, leading to compromised machining efficiency and quality. Tungsten steel, with its high hardness, wear resistance, and ability to maintain sharp cutting edges under high temperatures, has become the preferred material for manufacturing grinding heads for this application scenario.   Customization has emerged as the key to addressing the industry's pain points. Leading manufacturers are leveraging digital technologies to develop tailored solutions: based on impeller material (aluminum alloy, titanium alloy, etc.), flow channel curvature, and machining process parameters, they customize the shape, grain size, and coating of tungsten steel grinding heads. A precision tool manufacturer in Ganzhou, a major tungsten industry hub in China, has built an intelligent production line for customized tungsten steel grinding heads. "We can complete the design and production of customized grinding heads for new impeller models within 72 hours, with a machining accuracy of up to 0.001mm," said the company's technical director. The company's customized products have been adopted by several leading automotive turbocharger manufacturers, with annual sales growing by over 30%.   The popularization of five-axis machining technology has further boosted the demand for customized tungsten steel grinding heads. Five-axis machining enables high-precision processing of complex impeller structures, but it also requires grinding heads to match specific tool paths and spindle speeds . To this end, manufacturers are strengthening cooperation with machine tool and automotive enterprises to jointly develop integrated solutions. For example, some tool companies have partnered with automotive engine manufacturers to customize grinding heads optimized for their specific impeller machining processes, resulting in a 40% improvement in machining efficiency and a 25% reduction in tool wear.   Industry experts point out that the shift toward customization is driving a structural upgrade in the tungsten steel grinding head industry. "The surging demand for impeller channel precision machining is forcing tool manufacturers to move from low-cost, standard product competition to high-value-added, customized service competition," said an analyst from a global industrial research institute. With the continuous advancement of intelligent manufacturing technologies such as 5G+ industrial internet and digital twin, the customization cycle of tungsten steel grinding heads is expected to be further shortened, and their application scope will expand to more high-end automotive engine manufacturing fields.   Looking ahead, as new energy vehicles and hybrid vehicles continue to penetrate the market, the requirements for engine impeller machining precision will become even stricter. Domestic and foreign tool enterprises are accelerating R&D investment in high-performance tungsten steel materials and customized design technologies, aiming to seize more market opportunities in the booming auto engine manufacturing sector.

The global silicon carbide (SiC) raw material market has entered a downward price cycle after prolonged volatility, offering much-needed relief to superhard abrasive enterprises long burdened by high costs. Data from Mysteel shows that as of Q4 2025, the average global SiC raw material price has dropped 18% year-on-year, with China’s domestic price falling to around 6,500 yuan/ton, a notable decline from the 2024 peak of 8,200 yuan/ton. This trend is expected to persist into H1 2026, creating favorable conditions for the superhard abrasive industry’s high-quality development.   As a core raw material for superhard abrasives, SiC accounts for 35% to 45% of production costs. Since 2023, tight upstream supply and surging new energy demand have kept SiC prices elevated, exerting heavy operational pressure on superhard abrasive enterprises—especially SMEs. Many were forced to cut capacity or squeeze profit margins, hampering industry technological upgrading.   The price drop is primarily driven by supply-demand rebalancing. On the supply side, Chinese manufacturers like Tianyue Advanced have expanded capacity significantly, with global effective SiC wafer production surging from 460,000 6-inch equivalent pieces in 2022 to 3.9 million in 2025, easing shortages. On the demand side, the downstream market has entered a destocking phase with slower growth, fostering a gradual supply-demand balance and rational price regression.   Superhard abrasive enterprises have felt tangible benefits. A leading Henan-based manufacturer noted that SiC price cuts reduced its production costs by ~12%, lifting core product gross profit margins by 3-5 percentage points. “We’ve resumed full capacity and increased R&D investment in high-precision abrasive tools,” said its operations director. Data from the China Abrasives and Grinding Materials Industry Association shows the industry’s overall profit margin reached 8.7% in Q3 2025, up 2.1 percentage points year-on-year.   Industry experts noted that lower SiC prices will optimize the industry structure. “Low-cost raw materials will accelerate the elimination of backward capacity and drive enterprises to shift from cost competition to technological competition,” said a TrendForce analyst. With reduced cost pressure, enterprises are more willing to invest in high-value-added products like semiconductor-grade superhard abrasives, boosting industry upgrading.   Looking ahead, as SiCSiC supply capacity improvess and downstreamdownstream demand from new energy and semiconductors rebounds, the global market is expected to stabilizestabilize. Superhard abrasive enterprises areseizing this opportunity to strengthen supply chain management and technological innovation, aiming to enhancecompetitiveness in the high-end global global market.