Advice on FesTOOLS, stairs, windows etc

[rhino69]

Hi all!
I'm new to the forum, but it seems that I might get good advice here.

BACKGROUND
I have a few projects in the near future, currently renovating our windows, the house is from 1923, so some glass is handblewn, the wood is in rather good condition, I'm doing it from the ground, even replacing some glass with newly handblewn glass...

Another project is to renovate our stairs, they´re "treated" with varnish, paint on the sides. Planning on oiling the steps and painting the sides.

Currently I own a Bosch GEX 150 AC random orbit snader, an Bosch GAS 25 vacuum, and just recently bought a METABO LF 724 paint remover, which I planned using for the stairway (for a start).

Now to my questions:
The other day however I started looking (again) at some FESTOOL, ie CTL26, Ro 90, DTS 400 and even RO150 as a start...

Can I get away with either the RO90 or even the DTS (considering I have a decent BOSCH blue sander and the paintremover from Metabo)?

Should I ditch the Metabo paint remover in favor of the Rotex 150???

Regarding the CTL, I know the answer, I NEED IT!

Thanks in advance Rickard

Any other advice?

 

[Alan m]

welcome to the fog.

you definetly need the vac. no point scrimping on your health. the dust levels in your house will be a lot less than without it.

what king of surface finish will that paint remover leave. is it heavily torn or deaply scratched. if it is then i would reconment the rotex sanders.
the ro 150 is a great sander for rougher work(and finer work too) but if its only a small area to do or no great rush on the job then i would go for the ro90
it will do the rough work and also get into the corners.
the bosch pro sanders are fairly good. i dont think you need a fine finish sander.

if the stairs adn windows have mouldings i would get the ls130 for those. it can also be used to give that extra last sand with the grain to really smooth it up

 

[peter halle]

Welcome to the FOG!

I would totally agree about the dust extractor and also about the RO90.  In fact there is an accessory set that doesn't get much mention that might come in handy with your glass:

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Peter

 

[rhino69]

Thx for advice!

Our windows are 2x2 or 2x3, on the bottom floor 1 shet glass, outer and inner frame, so a lot of mouldings. As of yet I've used a heatpistol and scraped of old paint and removed putty with knife and "handheld" chisel. Finished it off with linseed oil paint. Havn't really bothered to work up a nice finish come to think of it...
I've tried a speedheater, but didn't really like it.

The stairs are in all at least 35 steps (between cellar, 2,1m (>7') of height, and bottom floor to second floor 2,7m of height (9'), with a profile in the front of the step and on the stringer(?).

Hmm, havn't considered the LS130, but it could come in handy, can it also be used for removing paint?

I'll repeat the question about paint remover vs Rotex 150, time is of some importance for me and IF the Rotex can manage to remove varnish and paint, it  probably would leave a surface easiser  to manage than the paintremover from Metabo, http://www.amazon.com/Metabo-LF724S-7-Inch-6-4-Amp-Stripper/dp/B009ATG28G

I just realised, later all the wooden floors will be taken care of, the second floor is done, alot of sanding (rented machines) and on top timberex floor oil. The RO 150 would be great for the tight places and for polishing, choices, aargh...

So, as of now, I need the RO 90 and VAC, LS130 could be really nice for the mouldings and of course the banisters! RO 150 in favor of Paintremover???

This is gonna be expensive (for now, but in the end...)

///Rickard

 

[Alan m]

i dont know much about that metabo stripper. but it looks like it shaves the paint off . my gut would tell me that that would be faster and maybe better than the rotex sander (or any other sander) .
sanders work by slowly picking away at the finish. if the friction gets too high the paint melts and sticks to the sanding disk  ruining it.

the ro 150 will definetly help speed up the last stage of removal if the metabo leaves any paint behind.

i would love to here more about that metabo stripper. i often have jobs where that might help

 

[rhino69]

The reviews of the Metabo are convincing, I´ve read a lot about it on Swedish forums, the only of its type in existance it seems. There are 2 blades (hardmetal) rotating underneath (80mm rotating diameter), they can be adjusted between 0.00 to 0.30mm of depth, and on top of that it has 2 rotating blading on the sides, so it can tearof paint there too (0.15mm of depth).

Most seems to recommend around 0.07mm of depth.

///Rickard

 

[JoggleStick]

Unfortunately I haven't used the Metabo paint stripper, but looking at a couple of You Tube Vids, I think that it is pretty fair to say that this machine will outperform any sander at the specific task of stripping paint off windows, doors and stairs. I like the square shape of the body- it appears that it will provide a superior register to ensure you are planing to a 'square' finish. This is definitely more of a planing or shaving tool, not a sander of any description.
So, it's important to remember these are all quite specialised machines.

I believe the Metabo will outshine any sander at this task. However, you will need to have a sander for the timber preparation, prior to refinishing.

The Rotex RO90 will excel at taking the stripped timber to 'ready to re-finish'. Remember there is a delta head attachment for the RO90 so it will get into all the corners, nooks and crannies. Also, if the Metabo passes over say gouges in the timber, or say timber that is 'cupped', well the RO 90 will strip these difficult to access places without planing off too much 'meat'.... (Make sure you get the soft platen)

The larger Rotex is much more suitable for larger more open work and can be overkill for window frames, etc. if I had a whole room to sand- I would go and hire a proper flooring- large belt floor sander for the day.

Personally, I never use a random orbit sander to sand a flat surface. I use either a belt sander for large areas or a half sheet platen sander for everything else. But, that's my personal preference and largely goes against what has become the accepted norm.

Anyway, regardless I'd really encourage you to get a 'cyclone' (Dust Deputy or similar) and have that between your tool and the DC.

Edit: from the CT26 up they are the same power and suction- just a larger canister and more expensive bags.... Get a cyclone like I said above and you will have better suction for longer, and will empty the plastic pail, perhaps 10 times before you need to replace the DC bag..... Bigger does not always mean better.... ;-)

Don't forget to adjust the suction down as necessary to get the best performance from the sander, when you use it.

Good luck and all the best... Don't forget o post a few pics. As you go.... Cheers....

 

[dicktill]

Hi all!
I'm new to the forum, but it seems that I might get good advice here.

BACKGROUND
I have a few projects in the near future, currently renovating our windows, the house is from 1923, so some glass is handblewn, the wood is in rather good condition, I'm doing it from the ground, even replacing some glass with newly handblewn glass...

I'll repeat the question about paint remover vs Rotex 150, time is of some importance for me and IF the Rotex can manage to remove varnish and paint, it  probably would leave a surface easiser  to manage than the paintremover from Metabo, http://www.amazon.com/Metabo-LF724S-7-Inch-6-4-Amp-Stripper/dp/B009ATG28G

///Rickard

Hi Rickard,

I don't know about paints and other finishes in Sweden, but here in the US lead ("Pb" and who knows what else) was used in paints probably into the 50's or 60's, so I'd be quite concerned about sanding perhaps many layers of paint dating back to 1923, even with the excellent dust collection a Festool dust extractor provides. I have four Festool sanders and a CT26 (and they are all great), but if I had your job to do, I would try to remove as much as I could by scraping and chemical strippers.

Good luck, Dick

 

[Motown]

Hello Rickard,

Have been doing some similar work on my home and I would absolutely recommend the the LS130 and RO90 for stairs and windows (casings, etc). As a heads up the RO 90 takes a little getting used to but once you get a feel for it you'll love it. When turned up to 6 it's pretty aggressive.  I've have also been using another product with great success called the Speed Heater to remove paint and varnish. If I am not mistaken it's a product from Sweden.

Good Luck.

Maurice (motown)

 

[rhino69]

Hi again!
The paintstripper (hopefully) scrapes of the paint and with a new dust extractor I think we'll be fine...

I have also used the Speedheater and it is indeed from Sweden, never really got the hang of it (have preferred my heatpistol) but bought some tools today from Speedheater (a (putty)chisel and a puttyscraper).

Yesterday I went to my local Festool retailer in Linköping, but they couldn't as of now deliver what I wanted (fast), so today I went to Norrköping (40km from Linköping) and bought a CTL 26E, a RO 90 DX FEQ-plus and alot (but not all) needed sandpapers, both delta and rounded, and a hard pad. Later at home I realized I got some samples with the RO 90, go figure. I bought  Granat delta 60, 80 round 80 and alot of Rubin delta 80, 120 and round 80,120 and 180. At a paintershop they recommended not go higher if I were to finish off with wood oil?

It turns out the CTL fits like a glove to the Metabo paintstripper, hurray!

What I'm still missing are some extras for the RO90 and for the CTL a Cleaning set, any ideas???
I'm also contemplating getting the Duplex LS130, I can see a variety of possible applications, mouldings, front of stairsteps, bannisters etc.
Next order will be placed however in my local shop.

I'll try to post some pics from my stairproject later.

///Rickard

 

[Alan m]

with that arsinal of tools you should have no problem takiling that stairs.
as for the cleaning kit.
go to your local electrical appliant recicling place. the parts off of domestic vacumcleaners sometimes fit.

 

[nanook]

the RO90 is amazing for paint prep - highly recommended!  I'd go with Garnet for paints, find it last longer then Brilliant

 

[Floorman70]

For corners and edges,i`d recommend a hand scraper,the kind you pull rather than push,it will remove a lot of material very quickly and reduce the amount of sanding you have to do,only buy a good quality one though,as the cheaper ones tend to bend out of shape.For the main floor areas,go for a belt sander,weighing at least 60 kg,a lot of the hire machines are too light and under powered and tend to ride over contours rather than flatten them out and do the final sand with a buffing machine or large orbital as you will be sanding the main area and the edges with different types of machines and this can show up like a picture frame when you apply the finish