How many of you use random orbit sanders? I just bought a Porter Cable low profile variable speed with a PSA pad (uses sticky sandpaper and not hook and loop). It seems pretty sweet. I still use my Milwaukee variable speed with a power pad but am always looking for new stuff. Any thoughts??? tips? tricks? Anybody ever use one for polishing??
I have both a Rigid and a Festool, need the vac hookup to keep the dust down. Slower than a big orbital but what the heck, I’m not in it for the money so going slower is fine.
I still use an orbital with a wool bonnet for polishing though.
PS Always nice to hear from Mr. Clean - one of my favorite SwayGuys of all time!!
I have a big Milwaukee too, but I also bought a 6" milwaukee random orbital… It’s a nice tool, doesn’t cut like the big disc sander but smooths out gloss and hotcoats nicely after using the big’un…
I’m glad I bough it, running it is kinda like getting a hand massage compared to the bigger heavier 8"… Feels good after a long day of holding a kite bar…ha, ha,
I bought a really well made (for the money @ $49.) Simonize 7" polisher / disk sander…
This is the sale price and it features way better build quality than any of the equally priced Harbour stuff… I use it strictly for polishing and buffing so the compound goop never gets on the 8"-9" Milwaukee…
I love it and it’s variable speed too… Can’t beat it for the price…
My random orbital has velcro hook and loop, I really like how non - messy these thing are…First time I’d used hook and loop last year …I won’t go back to glue on sanding discs for a R.O…sander any time soon…
Blow the sanders clean with a blast of compressed air after each use, paying close attention to the armature / brushes area and the bearing housing and they seem to last longer…
Fiberglass dust on the moving parts shortens their life considerably… Carbon fiber dust is worse…
I believe that’s one of the reasons body shops use air driven sanders… And they’re probably cheaper to run for extended periods than electrical sanders as well…
Love them for sanding epoxy hot coats. Seems like less effort and more control.
I have a Dewalt ROS that I’ll use for a few things… repairs, grinding down fin and leash plugs before sanding, fairing the edge of reinforcement patches around fins boxes… even taking the hotcoat bead off the rail and taking the lip off the hard edge in the tail, especially epoxy.
But for sanding hotcoats, I stick to the big variable speed Porter Cable polisher/grinder. It’s a beast, but has lasted many years and still does a great job.
I like to use the Black and Decker RO sander because it has the vac attachment and I don’t make much of a mess. It’s not as efficient as the disk sander, but it won’t do sand throughs as fast either. I just sanded down a new epoxy board and I found that the slower speeds may be better. I usually have it set between 5 and 6, but I brought it down below 4 with 80 grit and it cut faster. I rock it on edge a lot don’t just keep it flat and that gets into the fisheyes and low spots. I get better control with the RO, but it takes more time.
My RO is a hook and loop type. I only have 80, 150, and 220 grits, but usually just do 80 then 150. Then I do 220 with wet or dry by hand and go up to 400 with all the strokes going in line from nose to tail and pau. This last board I went to 1200 and that was it, no polishing. I don’t polish my boards.
If I had the vac attachment for the disk sander, I’d probably just use that. My brother has one of those expensive festool vacuum system sanders that has both rotary and orbital movement and speed control. It’s a great tool if you have $800 to spend. Actually my brother gave me my RO when he upgraded to festool.
I’m a tool whore also but found myself too impatient for the smaller ROS. I’ve had 3 brands/types, all did decent job but after a few uses then 6 months unused sold on craigslist for 50%. Always going back to the big Milwaukee and 4-1/2" grinder
I have and use a Ridged 6" hook and pile type ROS
it has varible speed and two orbit patterns wide or fine
its a solid sander but the grit only come in 80 150 and 220 as Sharkcountry has encountered
the 5" pads come in a multitude of grits
it has a hard flat pad and I use it before blocking out the hot coat
I start with the regular disk sander for the flats and a hand block or stick sander for the ends and center rails
then the orbital sander on the flats then block the whole board with 100 grit (lightly on the curves by hand )
blocking the whole board gives me the flatest glosses
I have a 6" Festool RO150E which is combination rotary/orbital or just orbital with a switch. The primary use is for repairs, but I use it for the rails and noses/tails on new boards, both hotcoat and gloss sanding. RO sanders have a nice light touch to take down tape lines, and less likely to dig into the cloth. For overall sanding on the rails, I use a foam pad between the sander and paper. They are way too inefficient as compared to a rotary for sanding flats.
I have a Porter Cable with a six inch disc, hook and loop. I like this machine. It’s my second one(first was stolen). It’s good for between fins and rails. Not as good on the flats where I prefer a seven inch pad, but it’ll do the job. It’s light enough that I can work it with one hand, too. Shit, the legendary cleanlines is looking for tips? I like that kind of humbleness. I can offer you none, but thanks for all of yours. Mike
Aloha ken,I have the same Rigid and love it for all applications, but you can find more grits of paper since I have bought 60 ,100,320 and a couple more. My nephew is a painter and I let him use it and he thinks it's the best he has ever used. Bosche also make one with an orbital and a rotary but they cost around $300 new and $200 refurbished. but that s probably cheaper than a Festool. The one thing that I like about Rigid is the life time warranty. Aloha,Kokua
I have both orbital and rotary sander. I found orbital better for all than rotary after learning how to use it with epoxy. Frirst: let resin cure hard. For hotcoat, on flat panel: hard disc mid speed 40 or 60 grit ; on rails, low speed soft sponge pad and 60 or 80 grit. No more than 30min with hand finish nose, rails and tail for a HPSB.
Then i finish with a PE glass and sand it with orbital, mid to high speed sponge pad and 180grit then 240 and 320. For PE resin i found that rotary sander is faster but harder to use and it live more scratch with same grit.
Sorry for my frenglish.
I have two Porter Cable random orbits. One is the 7335 which is a five inch pad and the other is a 7336 with the six incher. These sanders are Variable Speed and have the grinder body motor. Both these have proved over time to be bullet proof. One I keep dedicated to fine work mostly on woodwork, but the other has been through the wars and still kicks a$$. I can't say enough about these sanders. Vac capable, hook and loop, or sticky back. Soft or hard pads. Very versatile and durable. The other type of sanders I have are the old standbys, the Speedbloc. I retrofit a five inch round pad from Makita to the bottom of the Speedbloc and have one that is going on thirty years of service. This allows use of precut sticky back paper or home cut and the use of Taki. These have met all my needs and with proper maintenance, should last me the rest of my life. They still see weekly use.
I highly reccomend you look into the 7335, Mr. Clean.
I bought thr low angle varispeed model. I like it thus far and can use it in my woodworking also. The backing pad on mine is PSA. I can get psa sticky pads by the box of 100 pretty cheap from the cabinet supply people that I buy lacquer from.
I tested it on a board and have to agree with what Pete c said. The backup pad is rather hard so I am thinking of buying another one and gluing a piece of soft foam to it so I have a hard and soft pad. The pads are only $7 dollars and are easy to switch. I can see its value for detail and rail work. WHen it comes to the other stuff I have to use the Milawaukee with the power pads.
I do think that for the average Joe who just wants one sander it would be a good deal.I paid $110 for mine. Especially if you have the lnowledge to make up a softer pad. Maybe Pete C will tell us how he made his soft pad?? Cmon’ Pete…out with it!
Bought the Rigid 6" at H.D. based on the recommendation of someone, forgot who now, here on Sways a while back. Also have the 5" P.C. with a soft pad. Both hook & loop.
Like both alot - think the Rigid is the better of the 2. Easy hookup to shop-vac (with a midified piece of plastic tubing on the Rigid) to keep dust down.
onlineindustrialsupply.com has discs from 40 to 600 grit for all types of random orbits at great prices plus any other papers you might need. Though they don’t stock 3-M, I’ve found some of their higher end papers (Mirko - I think) comparable. Being a woodworker by trade, I go through a lot of paper…
One thing random orbits don’t do as well as vibrating sanders is roll around curves well - like rails. It’s like they’re almost too aggressive and leave/create flat spots no matter how fast you keep moving. That’s where I go to my tried and true old P.C. (Rockwell) 1/4 sheet model 330 and their old (discontinued) model 505 1/2 sheet sander - which my tool repair guy says is almost as hard to find as a Skill 100.
Hi Roger, the Festool has a stock accessory foam pad but I do make them for the Milwaukees. Harbor Freight sells plastic backing disks with the 5/8" thread (http://www.harborfreight.com/4-1-2-half-inch-turbo-backing-pad-42022.html) and I contact cement these to a rough 8" diameter of 3" thick black sponge polyfoam used for packaging (the stiff stuff). Once the glue is dry, I put it on the sander and spin at low speed while holding a sanding block with 60 grit against the edge of the foam until it’s true and about 6" diameter. I then take it out and contact cement the face to a piece of heavy canvas; when dry scissor around the edge to cut it out. I use these for sanding rails on glosscoats from 320 grit and up. For fine sanding of blanks, I use a foam polishing bonnet (http://www.harborfreight.com/9-inch-black-foam-polishing-pad-91236.html) on a hook/loop backing pad with a piece of 220 paper glued on. I leave the first paper permanently on and put a new sheet on that one (light spray adhesive).
Your Porter Cable 390K should have a hook/loop pad on it, if not they sell one for it. This 5" Festool interface pad has hook/loop both sides and will go right on http://www.festoolusa.com/products/sanders/pads/interface-pad-for-superfine-abrasive-492271.html . I like those screen-type (abranet) Mirka 5-6" sanding disks, way outlasts paper.
I was under the impression that those small ones did sweet f’all. Bought a small Bosch 5’’ random orbital first, 3mm stoke, thing didn’t sand anything, just blew air out the side with nothing happening.
Was told at the festool shop that the fiber flex epoxies are sanded start to finish with the Festool Eccentric sander WTS 150/7, its not rotary but has a 7mm sanding stroke, small random orbitals only have 3mm. Frigen expensive but!!.. I got the ROTEX RO 150, tiss good.
****Bosch make one very similar half the price Bosch GEX 150 Turbo, both have 5 mm stroke.
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Hozit everybody…hey Pete thanks for the info. I am going to make a softer pad using your method. I have an old Yoga mat that has unreal foam and I may use that. My sander has the PSA pad ( I requested it).
I tried it on a a hotcoated board and it buzzed the volan cut lap down nicely without hitting a lot of weave. It also worked well between the glassed on fins. I plan on using it primarily for laps and rails. My glass jobs are pretty clean so it’s a sweet deal.
Thanks for all of the input! … Here is a trick…take a sheet of red scotchbright and cut it in half. Lay it on the surface you want to scuff and just put the sander on top of the pad and have at it. I don’t even glue it…works great flat surfaces.