Festool sanding advice

[RossJarvis]

Having somehow managed to drop a rather large mount of money on a Festool 90mm rotary/delta sander and being very pleased with its dustlessness in combination with an equally expensive Festool vacuum, I'm now wondering how to complement it. It seems fine for the tasks of windows and other small stuff, but wonder about other jobs. As I'm likely to be sanding walls, larger areas of wood both to strip and to finish off would a rotex 6" be a good choice?

I wasn't really aware of the Mirka sanders when buying this, would they fit in with a Festool vacuum and also would the Mirka Ceros 6" connect in with the auto mode on a Festool vacuum? How would one of these cope with paint stripping?

Cheers guys

 

[The Wood Butcher]

Rotex 150 is excellent for most general sanding jobs, particularly the jobs you've listed. I use mine all the time. For fine work people like the ETSs, there are two versions with different sanding radii.

Personally I wouldn't buy a Mirka for paint stripping, I'd consider it more of a fine finishing tool but I'm sure people use them for everything.

 

[RossJarvis]

Cheers Wood Butcher. I'm coming to the conclusion that a hot-air gun is actually a lot better for paint stripping and the sanders for rubbing down (or solid unburnable paint). The lightness of the Mirka Ceros seems a big positive in terms of walls and overhead, though I'm not sure whether it's as flexible as the Rotex. Would the Ceros's transformer sit in a systainer? What's the benefit of the Deros, or is it just heavier but loses the faff of a transformer?

 

[petermillard]

Ross, I use my Rotex for paint stripping all the time - far, far easier and less mess than with a hot air gun, IHMO. As I said in the other thread I'm not a Mirka owner, but as I understand it the Deros is a transformer-less Ceros, though obviously a heavier and slightly larger tool. As I understand it, the Ceros transformer does fit into a Systainer.

Might be worth seeing if the Mods can merge these two threads BTW - could get a bit confusing.

 

[KevM]

I can't comment on the CEROS, I've got a DEROS which I believe is very marginally heavier (~75g), but loses the external transformer. The DEROS is ~1kg all up, significantly less than the the Rotex or ETS sanders. This makes it perfect for one handed, or overhead use. The DEROS works fine with the automatic switching on my CTL midi, it also works with my DeWalt M class sander - although if I'm using it gently the DeWalt will sometimes switch off, a quick blip of the trigger and it switches back on. I've not used it for paint stripping but it's widely used by painter/decorator types with 'dustless' set-ups.
I think for heavy stock removal the Rotex probably has the edge in rotary mode, but it's a serious 2 handed beast of a machine (unless your name's Arnie!). Some people reckon the greater mass of the Rotex and ETS sanders reduce vibration for the operator; I can't say I've had a problem with the DEROS, but I always wear anti-vibration gloves if I'm using any sander for more than a few minutes. For me the lighter weight and interchangeable 125/150 pads won the day but if you're thinking about going all Festool I doubt you'll be disappointed with their offerings, the plug it leads can be convenient - but I'm sure I've seen plug-it pigtails to convert 'other' tools to the Festool system. The Mirka Systainer is fully compatible with the Festool ones, and is very recognisable!

I guess best advice is to find somewhere that stocks both that will let you handle them - I believe Axminster stock both.

 

[RossJarvis]

Thanks for the helpful advice guys.

I'm wondering if I aid up another thread about this whilst drunk and forgotten all about it.

Am starting to change my mind again about which is quicker at stripping paint. I'm currently stripping a fair few sliding sashes and as I'm getting used to the machine there seems a lot of difference re subtle changes of angle, types of pad etc. One second I'm taking paint off ridiculously quick and then it comes to a near stand still. I wish I could find some good advice/videos on how to actually use it rather than those showing them in use but without any real tips on the subtleties of the thing. I'm also thinking I need some of these anti vibration gloves, the things worse than my motorbike for bringing on the tingles and that's saying something.

Really good idea Kev about having a play, I'm not sure how many places local to me have a good selection of brands and any that will have the possibility to try them out.

 

[petermillard]

Am starting to change my mind again about which is quicker at stripping paint. I'm currently stripping a fair few sliding sashes and as I'm getting used to the machine there seems a lot of difference re subtle changes of angle, types of pad etc. One second I'm taking paint off ridiculously quick and then it comes to a near stand still.

I've found the RO90 to be a bit skittish on coarse sanding (Rotex) mode - not to teach granny to suck eggs, but you need a firm grip on the sander, and best to keep it flat on the workpiece i.e. don't try and tip the sander to use the front of the pad until you really have the measure of it, and then only with care. When I'm stripping off old paint (I do a fair few sash window refurbs as well) I'm usually around speed 5 on the sander, and have the suction on the vac dialled down a bit - this seems to helps a lot more with the RO90 than other Rotex sanders IMHO.

Re. vibration - you shouldn't be getting serious vibration/tingly fingers from any Festool sander, so if you are it might well be worth having it checked out.

@ KevM: Thanks for the Deros info; I hadn't realised there was so little difference between it and the Ceros in terms of size & weight.

Cheers, Pete

 

[KevM]

One thing that might be worth digging into if you need 110V for site work - I understand the CEROS transformer is universal AC input 110-240V, I've only seen the DEROS in 240V - maybe that's because that's all I was interested in?

As well as Axminster I've used Southernfilters.com (also in Axminster) and Restexpress.co.uk (in Cirencester) for Mirka stuff - I'm sure any of these will steer you straight.

 

[RogerS]

Doesn't it come down to suitable choice of abrasive ? What actual turns it round and round is secondary, surely ?

 

[petermillard]

Doesn't it come down to suitable choice of abrasive ? What actual turns it round and round is secondary, surely ?

The 6" versions of the Rotex and Ceros/Deros will each take Festool or Mirka abrasives - arguably some of the best around - so you have quite some choice. "What turns it around" can be subjective (the Rotex has a much more aggressive gear-driven mode that's quite different from a regular ROS, and the Ceros/Deros has a brushless DC motor that apparently gives a great deal of torque combined with very low weight) but equally important IHMO, to the abrasive of choice. So no, not secondary - certainly not for me.

Cheers, Pete

 

[Ollie78]

Hi

Mirka Ceros with Abranet is pretty much unbeatable for me. It is so much lighter than most others and very powerful. 5mm orbit is good for almost everything.

I also use a really ancient Makita 9404 best sander which is unbreakable and great for just removing tons of material fast.

Just to add to KevM`s comment. Rest express are great for abrasives and finishes. Also the Ceros does accept both 110v and 240v leads (3 pin kettle leads) for input and the wire out of the transformer is a twist attachment (XLR I think) which is very long.


Ollie

 

[RossJarvis]

Thanks for all the great advice,

I must admit I am leaning toward the Mirka, particularly as I've been rubbing down some walls lately and just seem too wimpy to last long!