# Help Help finishing Sander???



## TheOakDude (Oct 11, 2011)

Please can I have some guidance here. Getting rather confussed.
I am looking for a 1/3rd or 1/2 sheet orbital sander with no more than 3mm orbit.
Please let me know your thoughts...


----------



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I would go for a random orbit instead. The pad sanders leave swirls, even with very fine paper and are slower than the random orbits. The drawback is that the velcro pads wear out and are a bit pricey to replace.


----------



## TheOakDude (Oct 11, 2011)

*thanks Chuck*

Weird, I have been advised to avoid these for exactly same reason???
Now very confussed......


----------



## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Paul, all sanders have their good and bad points; none of them are perfect for all jobs. Belt sanders remove material quickly, finishing sanders usually leave swirl marks and detail sanders are great for close quarters work. An air powered DA(Dual Action) sander can be set to remove material quickly or to function as a random orbit so this is a very useful tool. I own all of these and use them on a regular basis. The most effective tool for sanding is a rubber sanding block which can be used with any grit and lets you choose the sanding pattern. To remove fine swirl marks you can use 000 or 0000 steel wool or Micromesh sanding pads with the grain.


----------



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I have had all of those too except that my dual action sander was electric. True that hand sanding can produce a better finish. Steel wool is good unless you plan on using a water based finish. Any steel particle residue will rust- under the finish. The pad sanders are handy to change paper on and any grit paper fits. I still like the random orbit the best. Fast and better finish in my opinion. For hand sanders I like the gyproc one. The handle is easier on my arthritic hands and also any paper fits.


----------



## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

I use the DeWALT random orbit sander D25453 and I just replaced the pad for 16.73 plus freight from Repair Parts for All Major Brands - DIY Repair | eReplacementParts.com, yes they are pricey but I use it a lot. I rarely use any grit below 120, mostly 150 and 220 with the sander, then 320 to 400 by hand after the first couple finish coats are applied. I use the OOOO steel wool as I get closer to where I want the final finish to be. I find the best finish I can get is with hand sanding and rubbing.


----------



## TheOakDude (Oct 11, 2011)

*Thinking of Festool rs300*

Have managed to find festool rs300 2.4mm orbit. Anyone any experience of these??
They are very pricey, £265.00. But it is my only tool left to upgrade from a crappy thing. I was looking at the Makita and the dewalt but very hard to find reviews on these also.
Havent had a festool tool yet but by all accounts they are very very good.


----------



## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

Hi Paul



TheOakDude said:


> Have managed to find festool rs300 2.4mm orbit. Anyone any experience of these??


Not of that particular Festool, no, but I have used the equivalent Metabo (Sr.358) and Makita (BO4900V) offerings in "industrial" joinery environments if that is any use. IMHO there is actually very little to choose between them - both are industrial quality and do what they're supposed to. Out of preference I'd probably choose the Makita, but only just. There are several other "trade/industrial" sanders on the UK market which are very similar; the Bosch GSS280A2 and deWalt D26420 come to mind. If you really want the ultimate in vibrationless 1/2 sheet orbital sanders then you need to look at Mafell's UVA115E sander (or if your German is up to it there's this video on YouTube, check out the sander being used with a single finger to guide it at around 1:52). I tried out one of these at a trade demo a few weeks back and it really was the smoothest orbital sander I've ever handled - it supposedly reduces the chances of vibration white finger to just about zero if the sales rep is to be believed, although I don't use a sander for 30 or more hours a week so for me it will probably never be an issue. I'm just not sure about that price tag (circa £500). One thing I would say against the Festool is that it comes in at between £100 and £130 above the price of its' competitors. I doubt it's worth that much more in real world trems especially for a non-commercial user



TheOakDude said:


> Haven't had a festool tool yet but by all accounts they are very very good.


Yes, they are, but they're not always that far ahead of the competition (and I'm a Festool user, too). In some instances they simply aren't worth the extra money, and I think that this is one of those cases. If you want an idea on longevity, I did some work for a firm last year who had three Makita BO4900 sanders in their shop - the youngest was 2 to 3 years old, the oldest about 20 years old. That was in a production shop where the sanders would often get 10 or more hours a week.

My own persional choice is driven by the need to install completed millwork, and make-up on-site very often. I went for a Metabo SXE450 150mm random orbit sander in conjunction with a vacuum cleaner and Mirka Abranet pads (with an interface pad, too). Personally I don't find too many problems with visible swirl marks. I've been using random orbit sanders over orbitals for about 15 years now for several reasons - they cut faster, a big plus to the tradesman, and I experience _less_ swirl marks than with an orbital sander, partly because I don't make the mistakes of dropping on and lifting off when the machine is running, partly because I keep it moving _all_ the time. The reason for adopting 150mm over 125mm is that the bigger machines work larger areas faster. I did trial a Fein MOL1200E 8in random orbit sander, but I found that was simply too big for me to use comfortably. The use of a vacuum cleaner rather than a bag is a must when sanding; the abrasive cuts faster and more cleanly, it lasts longer, there's less opportunity for loose grits to mark the work (swirl marks again) and it makes for a healthier environment for me into the bargain. My choice of abrasives stems from the fact that I need an aggresive abrasive which lasts a long time. Abranet works well for me. The additional air spaces in the discs make for even cleaner working than 8-hole discs (as used on Festools), although in order to preserve my machine's pad it is necessary to have an adaptor pad between the disc and the machine's hook pad. The last plus point of the Metabo is that it offers coarse or fine orbits - coarse for heavy cutting, paint/finish removal, buffing (lambswool bonnet),etc and fine for smoothing. I've obtained a Mafell UX150E hard pad which works with this machine (that Mafell is/was made in the same factory) which gives me less dubbing-over on edges than the standard medium pad (another thing you can't do with an orbital sander). the only negatives when compared with the equivalent _single-orbit_ Festools (ETS150/3 and ETS150/5) is that the Metabo is heavier and generates a bit more vibration - I'll live with that for the lower price tag and the dual orbits.

Even with a random orbit sander I still need some way to sand into corners. For that purpose I often swap over to a Makita BO4555 1/4 sheet palm sander. Interestingly you could buy a Metabo SXE450 plus the Makita 1/4 sheet sander for less than the Festool....... 

Regards

Phil


----------

