I’m using a 7" angle sander (1000 to 3000 rpm with the dial set at number 6ish) and I’m having a hard time getting good results from it. When using a little pressure, I’m getting gouges at the end of my stroke and sometimes even mid. I’ll adjust to to just letting the weight of the sander go and then it seems to be barely removing anything. AS for grits, I’ve been toying with 60 and 80 and neither seems better than the other in regards to help.
Not getting it nailed I’ve gotten really dependant on using my angle orbital for more than half my sanding needs, and it just takes way too long.
Are you using a “Power Pad” or one of the hard black rubber pads that they usually come with?
If you are using black rubber thing, take your tool to FoamEZ (to make sure the threads are correct) and buy a Power Pad. If threads don’t work, maybe make a soft pad? Cut your sandpaper like an octagon with corners overlapping the pad.
Howzit Herb, First do what John suggests, then when you sand turn down the RPM's on the grinder to about 1500. You can get better results with a slower speed, higher RPM's have a tendency to polish instead of cutting( sanding). Aloha,Kokua
Yep, what the guys have suggested, plus maybe this - get a softwood board or plank and practice on that, working on your technique until you can sand something very, very smooth. I use minimum pressure, maybe even a little upward lift, just so I can feel the contact the sander is making with what I’m sanding. Just be gentle with it, pretty much minimum speed, strive for smooth technique.
That’s really the key to working with the bigger sanders, smoothly easing it onto the surface, making as long and comfortable a stroke as you can with it and then easing it up, almost like how you’d use, say, a paintbrush, in a way. I actually futz with sanding a piece of wood a bit, just to get my technique back if I haven’t used the sander/grinder in a while.
I’m using two ‘homemade’ powerpads. Maybe they’re not the correct densities (the sander does have the proper threads but I was just being cheap and made my own).
John: You mention overlapping the paper / cutting hexagon - I’m guessing that will give the edge some flex and help with the gouging if tilted. What density powerpads are you guys using? Last, when planning to gloss, what’s the lowest grit you can stop at (I’ve been going to 100 but that feels excessive to me)
Howzit Hertb, The hexagon cut paper prevents swirl cuts on the board. 80 grit paper for the bottom laps and 100 grit for the rest of the board is what I use before a gloss. As for pads, I use tha med (red) power pad for the bottom and soft (yellow) power for the deck and a Ferro pad for the rails, Aloha,Kokua
WHAT SANDING PAD SHOULD I USE, AND WITH WHAT GRIT PAPER?
[Rob Brown] Always use a hard pad to make things flat. Soft pads float over bumps. The trick is to make things flat again. Soft pads are only for fine sanding… They bend around rails… Hard pad = 80 grit Medium pad = 120, 180, ( 220, 320, 400 Polish ) Soft Pad = 220 sand and 600 wet dry but never wet always sand gloss dry in one direction…
[Cleanlines] I go 80 grit with medium pad just to get the big bumps…100 grit with the soft to get most of the shinies…next I put the same piece of 100 grit on the super soft Ferro pad…finally its 150 grit with the super soft pad. This is great for pinlines and gloss. Some guys gloss at 80 or 100 grit but I don’t for two reasons. I do resin pins and the gloss drags out better at 120 or 150. If you go finer the gloss may separate. I use a variable speed Milwaukee sander (0 to 6000 rpms). Just take your time, as we all said sanding is a very difficult thing…don’t try to mimic the pros. I think that a lot of guys have seen the J.C. glassing video and try to do it like the sander in the film…he is friggin unreal but probably has done a million or so.
[Rob Brown] Remember you’re just removing scratches with the 120 and finer grits. The 80 grit does most all the work. Just a quick once over with the 120 and 180 to smooth out any 80 grit swirls… you need to go to 120 before glossing but no need to go any more. Why waste time to sand any more than 120 for a gloss…