Greg,
Not sure what to tell you. I am epoxy only though. If you are having problems with a 6" disc getting extra concaves then an 8" on a makita won’t help you either.
The “medium” density on the festool is equivelant to my “firmest” 8" pad.
Difference # 1: My makita 10 amp goes up to 3000 rpms. and my 6 amp festool only goes up to 600 rpm in orbital mode.
2: My makita has no random orbital mode
3: My festool pads last 2-3 times longer than various brand pads I use with my makita.
4: Pad prices 8" non vac are $20-26 and festool are $40
The festool is way more forgiving in the hands of novice sanders versus a makita because of the random orbital mode.
In skilled hands the makita wins every time in speed and for polishing. For a sanded finished board you would be unable to tell the difference.
BTWm festool 6" hook and loop pad holds an 8" wool polishing pad.
Sanding complex bottoms should be no problems with a soft pad. I use the hard for fin box cap removal and will hit the flats of the board with it. Go the the medium and get the shinies out and go to the soft for the rails and a final once over of the board.(pre final coat, 50g,80g,100g,120-150g) Channels need to be hand sanded just like always.
With a well cured green room epoxy glass job, a 6’ board you will use 1 sand paper disc of each grit with still life left on the paper.
If you are looking for quick and easy dust control in your shop the festool rocks. My fan alone for my old shop was $1100 in year 2000. My time to install it and cost of ducting and filtration made it even more bucks. For the price of my fan alone will have you up and running with a festool.
What ever sand paper grit recepie you use for boards won’t change with festool. I would stick to whatever gives you best success. Like I said before. The board shape(bump free), tight lamination and filler coat has more to do with ease of sanding to me than what tool is in my hand.
I can only suggest you have all three density pads on hand available to use. If you are using epoxy, use surfacing agent with your filler coats and final coats for more efficient sanding. And as always, let the tool do the work and don’t get worked by the tool.