Anyone Ever Use a Planex on Wood, or is Use Limited to Drywall?

[c_dwyer]

I know it's a strange question, but may have a potential job sanding the walls and ceiling of a 25+ year old log (kit) home, which the interior surfaces were never finished. The tonge and groove interior walls and ceilings are showing rows of finger prints from the sweaty hands that originally put them up, and various water stains on the external walls from ice-damming. 

I know sanding won't get the water stains off, but maybe some thinned oxalic acid washes and a lot of patience. Not sure whether the sanding part is really a job for a Rotex 150, in which case, the overhead work is going to get old really fast.

Any ideas on whether the Planex might be useful in this case? What is the coarsest grit size available?

 

[Nat X]

I've used mine loaded with 120 grit to quickly knock down some of the scorch marks left after planing a large table top down via router sled and bottom-cleaning bit. Worked a treat and stayed pretty flat.

 

[DB10]

Depending on the height of this job,  I would probably insist on a scaffold platform to get the best results, As When sanding what you are describing you will want to get your eye close to the finish and you will want to touch the wood to make sure your happy with the results, you will also want to choose the right sander for the job which you'll be able to do on a scaffold.
i'm not sure using A Planex will give you the best results as the Planex is designed for quick easy sanding that is going to be painted over. Others might know different.

 

[Kev]

The range of abrasives for the 225 pad is certainly there for this kind of job. My concern would be the groove from the T&G joint itself more than the face sanding. If the joint is wide and irregular it'll be the ugly bit.

I think the PLANEX is capable of a lot more than just finishing off a plaster finish, but it's certainly not going to do what a ROTEX can do!!

 

[leakyroof]

I've used my Planex for other projects that didn't involve Drywall at all.
None of them were what the Planex is best used with, but it got the results I wanted as a test. Don't expect any rate of material removal comparable to other, more correct, sanders that Festool offers like a Rotex or even the ETS 150/5's.
However, for overhead/ceiling work, it IS lightweight by design, and you have the options of both adding extensions to the sander and the body harness for supporting the sander to reach higher while still standing on the floor versus a support or scaffold
if you want.
Play with the vacuum suction level setting and whether you want disc center or  disc perimeter dust collection at the sander head to get the results you want.
In that respect, it's great to be able to not only dial in your vacuum's suction level if you're using a CT or other same type Vac, but also have the adjustment on the Planex itself to further tweak your suction level too as a combined adjustment that you can adjust on the fly so to speak as you're working.  [thumbs up]

 

[c_dwyer]

Thank you for the perspectives everyone, very helpful. The Planex has grit-size paper starting at 40, so no worries there (except of course, the cost and volume of paper needed to step through the sizes for much of the interior). The scaffolding is a definite for the vaulted ceiling regardless of which sander I go with, but I may have the best luck with the Rotex 150, given that the T&G boards are about that width. If they're a little cupped (some are), the Planex won't help me and perhaps even the 150 will be too wide for working one board at a time if the cupping is more pronounced. Regardless, I'll have to hit the gym well in advance for sure, which may be long enough for me to figure out how to swing another festool purchase (ouch!). No tax refund for me this year.

 

[jimbo51]

Slightly off topic, but I just saw in the Philadelphia Craigslist that a fellow is renting a Planex LHS 225 sander and the CT36 AC dust extractor for $100 for 24 hrs or $175 for a weekend. Pads and dust bags extra.

If that works out, maybe he could also rent out Dominos or Conturos.

 

[c_dwyer]

I saw that last week in my nightly trolling, and though it was great.  I hope it works out for him. If I lived closer, I would do that for sure, but it wouldn't be cost effective for me to make 2 down-and-back trips from W. Mass.

I suppose I can use that now for a justification to buy a used one, as being way more cost effective than renting…  Work it, work it!

 

[georvali]

Just used my recently acquired (used) Planex with some 80 grit Granat to level the face of a laminated maple board.  Did a great job on one face and allowed me to use a thickness sander to best advantage.  For hard wood like maple it is best to start at 60 grit and work up to 80 to 100.  The board was 65" long and 6" wide and I laid it on the floor and used the planex like you would use a broom.  The dust extraction was set mid way and the power on the planex as set to the highest setting.  It took a little longer than using a RO125 but my bench space is not set up to handle such long timber.

 

[c_dwyer]

Great idea [member=9068]georvali[/member]! Did you have any issues with the edges of the 6" board getting rounded over?

 

[georvali]

I did not notice any rounding over but then the pad ( the medium one) was kept centered over the wood to be sanded  and just the weight of the Planex  and any addition suction power from the vac was used the only down force used to knock off any wavy spots.  The board will be ripped to finish width of 5.5 inches anyway.  I have always noticed than "armstronging" of any sander just buggers up the job and wears out the pad and sandpaper too quickly.