the abranet line is a good line of abrasive. they work very well when you want to polish plastics,paint composite materials and even some of the hardest woods. some of the older festool users may remember that festools platin was for all means identical. I used it alot ,and when they changed it, I squirrled all the old stuff away for my own use, but most is gone now. the new platin is still good thou but has a different backer and grit sequences. the 500 to 1000 jump must be done carefully as it is a big jump. there is also a new rage in plaster finishes that works extremely well with the rotex and platin/abranet. there are even distributers teaching classes on it using the festools.
the interface pads work great with the abranet or platin. one note thou, heat buildup in the interface pad in the rotary mode on the rotexes, old and new due to greater friction on the spongier interface can self destruct the interface pad if used a little to aggressively, I have had this happen. also you must change the abrasive more often than you think and you should.use the vacuum to help with cooling airflow. on the finest grits the best overall finishes are obtained with vacuum as the abrasive is so fine the material and the used abrasive must be sucked away so not to bruise the surface with heat. you may have to turn the vacuum airflow speed down on the finer grits or the sander may stick to the surface on harder materials as well. this is where the variable speed on festool vacuums excel over other brands without it. this info is from many many years of sanding and polishing. heat is enemy #1 for the vast majority, thou there are a few exceptions I may digest later.
hope this helps a few of you out there.
bill @festool supply
