125mm Polishing Sponges
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Cheese
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Eko said:
Festool in a different life time offered polishing sponges/pads for the 125 machines. About 2 years ago they eliminated the 125 pads and they went with the 150 and 90 pads exclusively. My guess is odd man out, the 125 machine is sweet but the 150 and the 90 diameters bridge the gap. I still prefer the 125 mm machine. [big grin]
I've used Lake Country sponge pads and they work well.https://www.autogeek.net/foam-polis...ms_per_page=24&sort_method=_score/desc&page=2
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Crazyraceguy
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Although a 125mm sponge will fit on an ETS EC125, I'm not so sure that you will get great results with it?
Polishing works better with the more spinning type movement of an RO sander, than the tighter orbiting motion of a finishing sander.
That's not to say it won't work at all, but the end results will be limited....and definitely take longer.
Polishing works better with the more spinning type movement of an RO sander, than the tighter orbiting motion of a finishing sander.
That's not to say it won't work at all, but the end results will be limited....and definitely take longer.
Thanks [member=44099]Cheese[/member] and [member=58857]Crazyraceguy[/member] .
I'm trying to decide which size ETS EC to get and the 125 seemed a slightly more versatile option for my needs (e.g. edge sanding guide) but the lack of sponges/pads is a bit disappointing. Still, it's good to know I can get quality non-Festool sponges/pads. Thanks for the link.
I'm trying to decide which size ETS EC to get and the 125 seemed a slightly more versatile option for my needs (e.g. edge sanding guide) but the lack of sponges/pads is a bit disappointing. Still, it's good to know I can get quality non-Festool sponges/pads. Thanks for the link.
Crazyraceguy
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Eko said:
Sorry to add to your complications, but the edge sanding guide will not fit the EC model sanders (either of them) Those require the longer-body sanders ETS or Pro1
Cheese
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Eko said:
Not to turn this into a dumpster fire but there are several important issues to consider.
For Sanding:
I prefer using the ETS EC 125 because you can add the ETS EC 150 pad and now you have 2 different sized sanders. The ETS EC 150 WILL NOT accept the ETS EC 125 pad.
For Polishing:
You will need to install a green polishing pad on the sander and one is not available for the ETS EC sander because it was never meant to be used as a polisher.
I honestly don't know if the ETS EC won't work as a polisher because I've never tried it. My assumption is that it may work to some minimal level but it will not give you the lustre you're probably looking for and it will take an eternity to achieve that minimal level.
I don't know what you're sanding & polishing but you may need to do the final polish by hand or install a buffing wheel on a drill.
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Oh well, I suppose that makes things a bit less complicated. Thank you for pointing this out.[member=44099]Cheese[/member] In the Festool Live polishing video I watched Sedge used an ETS EC for sanding and a Rotex 150 for polishing. He never did explain why he used two different tools which I was curious about so your explanation probably explains why.
As for using a 150 pad on the 125 I recently saw a video about how to do this. In the video was a disclaimer from Festool saying that while it's possible they don't recommend doing it because the 125 motor and braking mechanism was not designed for the extra mass which could put unnecessary strain on the machine. I have no idea if there's any validity to this claim or if it would invalidate the warranty. It is an interesting idea nevertheless.
I would use the ETS EC for finish sanding smaller wood projects and maybe the occasional small counter or tabletop. Additional polishing work is not something I would need for every project. So if using the ETS EC is not practical for polishing as you suggest then it's probably not necessary I invest in a second tool for that purpose. Finish sanding is the priority for me. I think I'm still leaning towards the 125.
Thanks for the insights.
As for using a 150 pad on the 125 I recently saw a video about how to do this. In the video was a disclaimer from Festool saying that while it's possible they don't recommend doing it because the 125 motor and braking mechanism was not designed for the extra mass which could put unnecessary strain on the machine. I have no idea if there's any validity to this claim or if it would invalidate the warranty. It is an interesting idea nevertheless.
I would use the ETS EC for finish sanding smaller wood projects and maybe the occasional small counter or tabletop. Additional polishing work is not something I would need for every project. So if using the ETS EC is not practical for polishing as you suggest then it's probably not necessary I invest in a second tool for that purpose. Finish sanding is the priority for me. I think I'm still leaning towards the 125.
Thanks for the insights.
Crazyraceguy
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[member=79478]Eko[/member] the difference is in the RO sander's ability to lock into a purely orbital mode. This makes the pad spin in an oblong pattern, rather than the random oscillation of a finish sander. It makes a big difference.
Eko said:
Yes, I saw that and wondered about it also.
I think it's because the random orbit sander does not have sufficient eccentric and that even the minimum speed is too high. Dedicated polishers frequently are eccentric, but the amount of eccentric is typically 16mm - 21mm. With a soft foam pad on the face of your sander, 3mm becomes 0mm by the time you reach the workpiece.
But a Mirka 6" pad fits fine on my ETC EC125.
I decided to invest in a dedicated polisher (by the way, keep away from the Makita 9237 which has a cheap plastic back up pad).
On my first attempt at polishing, I sanding through my polyurerthane (on a test piece). I think I started sanding with 800 grit with my ETS EC125-3. Even with the sander at minimum speed I was clearly removing material quickly. I later saw another video (maybe Epic Woodworking ?) where guy said don't start at anything coarser than 1200 grit.
I got some drawer fronts coming up soon. I might even do the sanding manually with a sanding block. Final polishing with Mirka Polarhine 10 and VF5. On some test samples, it really doesn't take much sanding/polishing to get flat/smooth. But the real test will be a full sized board.
Thanks [member=65451]Steve1[/member] that was helpful and informative.
My fear with using any power tool for smoothing out and polishing a finish is that, much like your own test sanding, I'll accidentally take off too much or go too fast and generate too much heat, neither of which I want to think about. Yikes. I suppose the starting grit will depend in part on the thickness of the coating.
It would be nice to also have a Rotex for polishing (and other things) but right now I can only afford one and a finish sander is a higher priority for me. It seems like the 125 is the way to go and will be massive improvement on the entry-level Makita I've been using, especially if I can extend its versatility by using a 6" pad when needed.
My fear with using any power tool for smoothing out and polishing a finish is that, much like your own test sanding, I'll accidentally take off too much or go too fast and generate too much heat, neither of which I want to think about. Yikes. I suppose the starting grit will depend in part on the thickness of the coating.
It would be nice to also have a Rotex for polishing (and other things) but right now I can only afford one and a finish sander is a higher priority for me. It seems like the 125 is the way to go and will be massive improvement on the entry-level Makita I've been using, especially if I can extend its versatility by using a 6" pad when needed.
You could use a ETS EC for polishing, but it's going to be slow. In the detailing world there's the good ole Porter Cable 7424XP. It's purely RO; not gear driven one bit. It's very beginner friendly. Think of it as being similar to the ETS EC. Step up to something like the Flex 3401 VRG and it's gear driven (forced rotation) like a RO 150 in Rotex mode. Now you're moving.
Eko said:
I hear you.
I was just doing some smoothing yesterday. Backpanel of a dresser, so doesn't need to be be too pretty, but good opportunity to practise. I have a Fuji HVLP, but decided to brush it on since it is sitting in my basement. I brushed on 6 coats of GF High Performance water based poly. Looked good to the eye, but really far from smooth when I started sanding it. 1200 grit wood have done nothing to it. Did a lot of sanding - a lot with 240 grit on my ETS EC125 on slowest speed. Final wet sanding, with mineral spirits lubricant and 600 grit was amazingly effective.
But I got it all nicely flat and smooth and without sanding through. In about an hour I will spray one finish coat, then wait a couple of weeks to cure, and do final polishing on a substrate that hopefully will be pretty close to flat and smooth to start.
Then, hopefully I will have the confidence to tackle the drawer fronts.
Steve1 said:
Thought I would give an update.
So, I had previously built up about 6 coats, sanded it flat with my ETS EC 125-3, 240 grit until fully flat, and then sprayed one final coat.
I waited a couple of weeks for the urethane to cure and then did final sanding and polishing.
I started at 1200 grit until everything was sanded flat, then 1500, then 2000 then 2000-wet then 3000-wet.
A lot of use of bristle brush vacuum attachment when dry sanding.
Close to edges was sanded by hand with a small sanding block.
I used mineral spirits for lubricant when wet sanding since it was water based poly.
Then Mirka Polarshine 10 then Mirka VF-5.
It polished up real quick. If you don't have a polisher, I bet you could readily polish it out with a yellow and black pad in your hand.
My first attempt at polishing is the back-panel, which you can read the reflection.
My second attempt at polishing is 5 drawer fronts, which you can see my light fixture has two different types of bulbs.
Very happy with the results.
