I'd seen it, but this was timely for a job I'm doing next week. Thanks for posting it, it was a good reference without me having to dig it out from a pile.

Yes, but getting it into the Gallery, with page descriptions, adds key-word search capabilities for the abrasives.  Having more information locatable through key-word searching is one of the grand designs of this forum!

Thanks,
Matthew

Klingspor offers 125 mm (5 inch) and 150 mm (6 inch) H&L disks with the correct 9-hole patterns for Festool's round disk sanders with grit sizes from 60 to 1500 in packs of 10 and 50 disks.
See their website www.woodworkingshop.com. 
Tel: 1-800-228-0000
They are also a Festool dealer.

I would have posted the hyperlinks to these products, but I don't know how to do so.
I am not connected in any way to Klingspor except as a long time retail customer.

In the past they have also been very helpful to me; they even custom made H&L disks of coarse HD abrasive to fit my old Bosch R) sander for a nominal premium and delvered them within 2 weeks.  I do not know if they still offer such service, but if they do, a wide range of additional abrasives materials could become available to owners of Festool sanders.

I have been very satisfied with FestoolUSA's abrasive products offerings and have not needed to look elsewhere.

Dave R.

Thanks, Mark.  I have what is probably more than a lifetime supply of my own of some grits.  One of my uncle's worked at a small company that made large abrasive belts sold to the steel mills that used to operate around Pittsburgh.  They would scrap any belt that wasn't perfect.  Some of the remnants I have kept are ~3ft wide.  I tear off strips to whatever lengths and widths I need.

Dave R.

I'm not sure what pad you want to cover, but the typical Festool 80 mm x 133 mm paper fits most of the pads for the LS 130. They also, coincidentally, fit the RTS 400, random orbital sander.

Tom

Yes. There is no special size paper available for those special pads. And when I check the Dutch Festool side under LS130:Consumables they exclusively list 130x88 size paper.

Thanks, Brice! It is an orbital.


Tom

Thanks, Matthew, for posting an easily found copy of the Festool abrasives brochure.

As I work for at the Woodcraft store near Nashville, TN, I'm often referencing this abandoned document. It was great having it available back-in-the-day as a POS handout and a primer included in every sander systainer. I considered it Festool University's Abrasives 101 text book. Not only does it explain the differences in abrasives, the core of Sanding Science, but it also guides the user through the specific abrasive sequence based on project material. "Polishing solid surface for the first time? See page 3 for an overview." It makes finishing as simple as following a recipe! Faster. Easier. Smarter.

Once I realized the brochure was no longer included in sander systainers, I contacted FestoolUSA to replenish my in-store stash. Unfortunately, they were no longer available in print. They said something about reviewing and improving the document. OK, I could appreciate an ongoing commitment to quality, but why not make the current brochure (which I thought was excellent) available on the FestoolUSA website? Perhaps in the FAQ and/or Support knowledgebases. Or even as a supporting document link directly accessible from the product page. Wouldn't that be faster, easier, smarter? In the mean time, I copied one of my own brochures and placed in our store's Festool Bible for in-store reference by employees or customers.

Actually, I found out from the FestoolUSA rep that the abrasive brochure IS available on their website ... just hidden away in the underbelly archives, accessible only if you know the specific url:

http://www.festoolusa.com/supplyimages/abrasives_brochure.pdf

And as for their reviewing and improving the document, if they asked, I'd offer FestoolUSA a suggestion in improving the principle guidelines for selecting Festool abrasives: "Reorder the Festool world view by grafting a Darwinian tree to Abasivology." To be specific, I think of the abrasives as being graded from more aggressive to less aggressive, from coarse to fine. I think of them in this particular order:

Saphir - for heavy duty for extreme conditions
Crystal - for rapid removal
Rubin - for bare wood
Brilliant2 - for paints and finishes (also for bare wood)
Titan2 - for solid surface, plastics, composites (also for paints and finishes)
*Vlies - for matte finishes
Platin2 - for gloss finishes
Felt & lambs wool - for polishing

*Vlies is also used for cleaning and scouring and could therefore enter the line-up elsewhere.

I know the abrasive line-up is not linear in reality; there are plenty of overlaps and sidesteps. And Vlies is an odd duck that can slip in between several places. But by reducing it to a linear tree which I can use as a guiding principal, I can remember the progression through the grits. It also gives me an order to place the product on store shelves!

I'd also suggest that the FestoolUSA folks expand the brochure to include polishing ? which would mean bringing over the Festool polishes, wouldn't it? As a bonafide, Kool-Aid-drinking Festoolian, I want it all, baby!

I hope this bit of drabble doesn't confuse anyone ... just inspire one other Festoolian to read the abrasives brochure and rethink his/her approach to finishing.

Thanks, Shane. Glad to know it's there. I'll pass that info on to my customers.

BTW, will some version of the brochure be added back into the sander systainers?

Does anyone know why the titan range is largely limited to the rotary range.

When sanding latex mdf primer I often have to resort to using the 150mm disks on, for eg, my dts400, punching dust holes as necessary.

Although the paper eventually clogs it lasts much longer than the corresponding brilliant paper.

Although on other forums we have discussed the new Granat abrasives, it was not clear if this product would replace Brilliant 2 and Rubin for sanding wood products prior to application of finishing materials.

Just a few minutes ago I received the current SysNotes as e-mail. Scrolling down the page, passed the glowing discussion of the RO 90 DX, there is a chart showing all the Festool abrasives.

I find what this says about Granat fascinating:

"Granat
A premium abrasive composed of hardened Aluminum Oxide and Ceramic Grit for scratch resistant coatings and high VOC coatings."

Nowhere does that chart mention the use of Granat on bare wood.

Could members who have been using Granat provide some more information and experiences? 

After a successful week of eBaying unused tools, I'm heading down to pick up my RO 90 later today.

From what I gather, the abrasives systainer is only available empty, right? Any word on the package
that Shane was trying to put together?

i have the ETS 150/5 that came with an assortment of different sheets, and when i look at the print on the rubin paper from the box i bought, and the print on the rubin paper that came with the sander, they have a different code printed on them.
both say festool rubin p120 and then a code; the code is different on both, and the grit surface also looks different.
one looks shiney, the other one looks dull.
can't remember the codes, but i can look it up if neccesary.
anybody know what this means?

I have noticed this also. I don't know what the difference is except for the surface sheen of the abrasive.

Seth

Oops, looks like I had a pre-finalized version. That had been corrected. I'll update my poster with the latest version. Thanks for the heads up, Victor.

Hi i'm new to the forum.  Very informative re the abrasives

I generally use Rubin 100 , 150, then switch to Brilliant  for 180, 220.  Brilliant 320 or 400 between coats of finish.  Cristal would be OK too but is pretty aggresive for poplar and MDF.  However the new Granat looks promising but I have only tried  it in 120 once so far.  It seemed very good.

Seth

What kind of saw and blade are you using that you're getting this?  Have you aligned the saw, rip fence and blade, assuming it allows for adjustments?

For those of you who do finishes, we have been using the new Festool Granat abrasives on all of our sanders, as well as the soft hand sanding pads, for both material removal and building of new finishes. It is very good.

Chief, first, let me thank you for your longevity in service of our country!  Next, I'm not sure if he still does it, but Bob Marino ( www.bobmarinosbestttools.com ) used to be willing to sell abrasives in packs of 5 instead of 50 (he'd break up a 50 pack and sell it for .1x).  you might check with him.

Looking for advice on the best Festool abrasive for one particular use of my ETS 150/3EQ sander.  In my pre-Festool days I had good success with 3M finishing film discs (P600) while preparing an enamel surface for a high gloss finish.  Clogging is my main obstacle because I work in a marine environment where temperature and humidity often do not allow undercoats to cure sufficiently.  Any help would be much appreciated.

Granat is amazing, clogging however may be reduced by using an interface pad

When I bought my Rotex 90 there was a small pack of sanding disks in the box. There were a number of Granat from 80-220 grit which I have found to be marvellous (can't say 'brilliant' in this context) for wood. Granat lasts for ever and leaves an excellent finish. I suspect that the pdf sheet about abrasives is probably out of date or (horror) they are stopping Granat.

I am hoping to get some Rubin 2 soon. I have Brilliant 2 and the original Rubin and will probably get some more Granat and Saphir. When I have everything together I will do a video and try to give some opinion of the different options for woodworkers. I have been lucky enough to pick up some tips on sanding at one of the shows from the Festool UK chief trainer - he was very helpful.

Peter

I love Granat on everything 60g and up, all the way up. Below 60 for super hard core removal on gnarly surfaces the backing isn't quite as beefy as it is on the red flavor. Granat mileage and performance overall is remarkable on both raw and finished material.