I am new to Festool. I just got my first products and had a question about abrasives. I build furniture and it seems like the rubin abrasives would be best for getting the wood ready for finishing. What about in between stains and in between coats of poly. In the descriptions high gloss and bare woods are discussed in the descriptions but it doesn't necessarily say anything about just in between coats of poly or stain, whether or not it's high gloss or not. Before I spend the money on abrasives I jsut wanted an opinion on what I would want to use.
abrasive types
- Thread starter jimmy986
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Hi Jimmy! You might want to check this link out to Festool's Abrasive Selector: http://www.festoolusa.com/abrasives
Hope it helps.
Peter
Hope it helps.
Peter
GarryMartin
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If you only want to stock one type of paper, go Granat.
Granat lasts 4x longer than Rubin, 2x longer than Brilliant 2, about the same as Cristal. It was developed by Festool to suit the new VOC compliant finishes that are mandatory in the EU. With older finishes, Brilliant 2 and Grant perform about the same. With the newer VOC compliant finishes, Granat has the edge.
Granat is a hybrid abrasive comprised of hardened aluminium oxide with a ceramic grit (the grit is possibly only in 120 and below - I've never been able to confirm that for sure) that helps it stay cooler resulting in less material loading of the discs and a surface that stays sharper, longer than the aluminium oxide of Brilliant 2. It's a stearated coating, but it doesn't contain wax so there are no issues with water based coatings.
Granat will last longer than Rubin, but has a thinner backing material and produces a more aggressive scratch pattern. If sanding a lot of corners or edges that may tend to snag the abrasive's sheet, Rubin would be less prone to tearing.
Granat is also good for sanding drywall/plaster because it clogs less than Brilliant 2, so lasts twice as long.
The only real disadvantage is the cost (Granat is more expensive than some of the other options). Put that to one side, and Granat is the go-to all round star performer if you don't want to stock multiple types of paper in multiple grits. It's the only paper I have for my sanders.
Granat lasts 4x longer than Rubin, 2x longer than Brilliant 2, about the same as Cristal. It was developed by Festool to suit the new VOC compliant finishes that are mandatory in the EU. With older finishes, Brilliant 2 and Grant perform about the same. With the newer VOC compliant finishes, Granat has the edge.
Granat is a hybrid abrasive comprised of hardened aluminium oxide with a ceramic grit (the grit is possibly only in 120 and below - I've never been able to confirm that for sure) that helps it stay cooler resulting in less material loading of the discs and a surface that stays sharper, longer than the aluminium oxide of Brilliant 2. It's a stearated coating, but it doesn't contain wax so there are no issues with water based coatings.
Granat will last longer than Rubin, but has a thinner backing material and produces a more aggressive scratch pattern. If sanding a lot of corners or edges that may tend to snag the abrasive's sheet, Rubin would be less prone to tearing.
Granat is also good for sanding drywall/plaster because it clogs less than Brilliant 2, so lasts twice as long.
The only real disadvantage is the cost (Granat is more expensive than some of the other options). Put that to one side, and Granat is the go-to all round star performer if you don't want to stock multiple types of paper in multiple grits. It's the only paper I have for my sanders.
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A great response from Garry - I have learnt a lot. I too have found that Granat is simply super (I can't say brilliant otherwise there might be confusion). Before I knew this I had bought a lot of Rubin and Rubin 2 and so I am working my way through it fairly quickly. Luckily I had already twigged before I bought a large quantity of delta paper for the Rotex 90 - all of it is Granat.
Many thanks Garry.
Peter
Many thanks Garry.
Peter
Great explanation from Garry. I got similar advice when I bought my RO 125 and stocked up on Granat. It's the only Festool abrasive type I own and I have been very happy. The stuff lasts forever. In fact since I purchased the RO 125 and Granat abrasives I have not used another sander.
Dwayne
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