Abranet with Festool

[wetndry]

I have a RO90 and am looking to get a 6" to go with it.  I have read that the Mirka Ceros with abranet is as agaresive as the RO 150 and is a lot lighter.  I use the sanders alot on vertical surfaces so the weight is a plus.  My question is has anyone used the abranet on their festool sanders?  I would especialy like to here if anyone has used abranet on a ETS 150.  The ETS is a lot cheaper than the Ceros and lighter than the RO150. If the ETS 150 will be just as aggressive if used with abranet as the Ceros than that is the way I would go.  So is the Ceros a more aggressive sander or does it just use a more aggressive paper.

Thanks Craig

 

[Neill]

Craig,

I have used Abranet on both my 6" and 5" Festool sanders and it works very well.  Be sure to get the backing pad for it though.  I didn't at first but then I noticed that my sanding pads were wearing out very quickly.  The direct contact between the abrasive disk and the hook/loop pad seemed to wear out the pad very quickly.  As a result my disks were not sticking anymore.

Neill

 

[greg mann]

If you want a more aggressive output from the ETS150 you might consider the 150/5 over the 150/3. It has a 5mm orbit as opposed to 3mm. IIRC, it was the original ETS150 and the 150/3 came later so there are a pretty fair number of folks who use the 150/5 as their finish sander and are quite happy using them as such. I cannot comment on the Ceros but I have not heard anything negative regarding their usage. They come standard with a 5mm orbit and I believe I read a 7mm orbit is coming sometime in the future. In theory, at least, a 150/5 and a Ceros should give you similar finishes with the same grit sizes. I am sure others will weigh in.

 

[Sam Murdoch]

I have been very,very happy using the Abranet mesh on my ETS150/3. It is far superior for sanding finishes without clogging than any Festool abrasive I have used. (Sorry Festool, I love ya but this is so, IMHO). I have sanded mostly tung oil varnishes and various paint primers with it. I have not found it to be better than Brilliant2 on bare wood, but much better than Rubin. Agree with Craig , that you should get their backing pad. I punched out the holes in the center ring to better align with the Festool pad and have had no compromise with dust collection.

...and I don't know this for sure, but I bet it would be great for sanding drywall - hmmm, will have to try that.

 

[wetndry]

I use my sanders for both bare wood projects and for paint removal both inside and out.  The later is where I would need an aggressive sander.  My RO90 is definitely up to the task but I need a larger sander for wide boards.  If I were to use Abranet HD 40 or 60 on a ETS 150 5  would it it be as aggressive as a RO150 with a 40 or 60  Granat.  That is what some say  the Ceros can do.  Just don't want to spend $300 more for the Ceros if I can achieve the same or similar results with the ETS 150 using Abranet with a pad protector.

...and I don't know this for sure, but I bet it would be great for sanding drywall - hmmm, will have to try that.

I will be using the sander for drywall repairs.  I have used my PC 7336 RO and it works OK but is heavy and awkward for vertical sanding.  I use it with a shopvac and clearvue mini cyclone and it greatly increases the filter life.  I purchased a midi with my RO90  but have only used it with the cyclone on wood so far.

Thanks Craig

 

[bonesbr549]

I have a RO90 and am looking to get a 6" to go with it.  I have read that the Mirka Ceros with abranet is as agaresive as the RO 150 and is a lot lighter.  I use the sanders alot on vertical surfaces so the weight is a plus.  My question is has anyone used the abranet on their festool sanders?  I would especialy like to here if anyone has used abranet on a ETS 150.  The ETS is a lot cheaper than the Ceros and lighter than the RO150. If the ETS 150 will be just as aggressive if used with abranet as the Ceros than that is the way I would go.  So is the Ceros a more aggressive sander or does it just use a more aggressive paper.

Thanks Craig

I bought a good supply of festool abrasives when I bought my ETS150/3 and when prices went up I looked for alternatives especially since I have the new pads with many more holes.  The abranet made perfect sense and I'd used them with my old sander for a long time.  The work great and l have had no issues what so ever

 

[Kevin Stricker]

The Siros is somewhere between the power of the RO150 and ETS 150.  The abrasive used only affects the life of the abrasive not the power of the sander. I believe the Ceros sander has about 80% the power of RO 150.  But it's increased versatility due to its small size and light weight more than compensate for that. For vertical surfaces the Ceros can't be beat.

 

[Dan Clark]

I have the RO90 and 150FEQ, and Mirka Ceros.  I've used Granat on the RO90, most of the Festool papers and several of the Abranet "papers" on the RO150, and Granat, Rubin, Abranet, and Abranet HD on the Ceros.  

Most of what I've done in the last two months has been sanding a cedar deck with all three sanders and several of the papers.    For the most part this means stripping finish and sanding out rough spots to a max of 120 grit.

Based on my experience with these sanders and papers...

RO90 - For detail work, the RO90 is simply awesome. 

RO150 - Excellent sander but heavy.  It's very good for horizontal work, but the weight makes it tiring for vertical work.

Mirka Ceros - Excellent all around sander.  It's also very good for horizontal work, but since it weighs 40% of the RO150, it is excellent for vertical work.

Granat - Excellent stuff.  Long lasting, fairly tough, and difficult to clog.  I only have experience up to 120 grit.

Rubin - I've used Rubin on all the sanders.  Not recommended for removing finish, because it clogs quickly.  However, it has a nice even scratch pattern.  For removing random scratches in bare wood, it works very well and seems somewhat better than Granat.

Abranet - Overall, this is very good paper (mesh), but seems to leave some random deeper scratches in soft wood.  The jury is still out.

Abranet HD - I DISLIKE this paper. While it's very aggressive in the lowest grit, it wears out VERY quickly - even on soft wood.  And it leaves random deep scratches which have to be sanded out.  I ordered some 40 grit Granat, but misplaced it and was forced to use Abranet HD.  IMO, Granat in the lower grits is MUCH better than Abranet HD. 

One note about the Mirka Ceros - with the OEM pad, you can use Fetool paper and the outer holes will line up.  The Ceros + Festool paper gives you great dust collection - as good as the RO150.

Regards,

Dan.

 

[wetndry]

You guys have giving me a lot of good info, especially ceros/festool owners.  It looks like the ceros may be worth the extra  money over the ETS 150 especially since it has similar performance and is lighter than the RO150 at about the same price

Abranet HD - I DISLIKE this paper. While it's very aggressive in the lowest grit, it wears out VERY quickly - even on soft wood.  And it leaves random deep scratches which have to be sanded out.  I ordered some 40 grit Granat, but misplaced it and was forced to use Abranet HD.  IMO, Granat in the lower grits is MUCH better than Abranet HD.

One note about the Mirka Ceros - with the OEM pad, you can use Fetool paper and the outer holes will line up.  The Ceros + Festool paper gives you great dust collection - as good as the RO150.

I have been happy with the Granat paper with my RO90 and will try it on the ceros if that is the way I go. You really have to work at it to load this paper when sanding finishes. I have only used the abranet assortment I bought for limited sanding so far and they haven't shown any wear so far.

Thanks Craig

 

[Dan Clark]

Abranet HD and Abranet are very different.  Don't confuse the two types. Abranet is thin and flexible. HD is very thick and inflexible. Abranet is semi-closed grit. HD is open grit. Use HD if you wish, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Dan. 

 

[FulThrotl]

I use my sanders for both bare wood projects and for paint removal both inside and out.  The later is where I would need an aggressive sander.  My RO90 is definitely up to the task but I need a larger sander for wide boards.  If I were to use Abranet HD 40 or 60 on a ETS 150 5  would it it be as aggressive as a RO150 with a 40 or 60  Granat.  That is what some say  the Ceros can do.  Just don't want to spend $300 more for the Ceros if I can achieve the same or similar results with the ETS 150 using Abranet with a pad protector.

...and I don't know this for sure, but I bet it would be great for sanding drywall - hmmm, will have to try that.

I will be using the sander for drywall repairs.  I have used my PC 7336 RO and it works OK but is heavy and awkward for vertical sanding.  I use it with a shopvac and clearvue mini cyclone and it greatly increases the filter life.  I purchased a midi with my RO90  but have only used it with the cyclone on wood so far.

Thanks Craig

well, it's a NAINA, i think.... but festool makes a drywall sander......

produces 75 lbs of sanding dust per hour of operation.... 9" sanding pad.....
suction is enough to stick it to the ceiling with the vac on high.....