Hello - looking for advice on sanders

[siobable]

Hi,
I am a amateur DIY'er looking for some advice on a good entry level sander. I have just pulled up my stair carpet, this carpet was fully fitted and I want to replace it with a runner that leaves some of the side woodwork exposed. My house is rather old, the stairs themselves are structurally solid but have an accumulation of old gloss paint that is very thick and cracked in places. I would like to repaint the woodwork before laying the new carpet and think sanding it back first would give a much cleaner finish. Any tips on cleaning this paint up or advice on what type and/or brand of sander would be best much appreciated.

 

[marcros]

I would go with a random orbital sander and put some abranet on it- ideally with a shop vac or other duct collection devide attached. You will need something to get into the corners though. My Metabo is brilliant, although you could argue that for the money you could buy a cheaper one at 30 quid, and replace it 4 times. I wouldnt comprimise on the abranet though, it really is that good.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Your paint is probably full of lead, so you might be better of heating it and scraping it first to minimise the dust. Wear a decent mask.

 

[woodwoodjohn]

remove some of the old paint first with paint remover then start sanding should save on time and a few sanding sheets

 

[No skills]

Lead test the paint before you do anything with it.

As mentioned paint stripper and a good carbide scraper can speed the process up a bit, just leaves the sanding for smoothing out the remains after.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

It's probably as well to presume lead content when you know the age of the house and the thickness of the paint.

 

[davic]

I recently bought a Ryobi random orbit sander and I have to say that it is very good. I cant compare to to anything and I am new to this myself but for £50 I dont think I could have done much better