best sander for window sills and jams

[Taylormade]

Does anyone have any recommendations for Festool sander for refinishing old window sills and jams that I want to sand in place rather than remove them.  My brother in law has a Fein multi-tool that I was considering borrowing, but I am also considering buying a DTS 400 sander as a finish sander to go with my ETS150.  Can the speed/orbit be adjusted for sanding near the glass?  Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[semenza]

Will you be stripping finish or paint?

RO90 maybe? There is a set  of standoff protectors for sanding near glass and such. 497 936

Seth

 

[Brice Burrell]

Seth asked a good question whether you're removing an old clear/stained finish or paint.  Paint is generally a littler harder to remove, especially if you've got a ton of old paint build up.  The DTS 400 will likely work great on finish and as Seth suggested the RO90 might be a better choice for paint.  And I wouldn't worry too much about slowing down the sander near the glass.

 

[Taylormade]

Thanks Seth.  They are skylite jams and sills with barely any finish/varnish left on them.  The RO 90 would be better than the DTS 400, which I take is more for fine finishing. 

 

[panelchat]

Seems like its the type of work the RO90 loves to tear through.
I have one, its quite a machine, and technically a 4 in 1 tool.
Not sure exactly what the surfaces are that you have, but I suggest looking at a Bahco carbide scraper also (not the cheapo ones from home centers etc this one is way ahead of those).
Quite a tool, and theres a mini one too for crevices and details, w/ changeable tip system. Very nice tool to use in conjunction with a sander.

 

[gnlman]

I have the R90 and did the same type of work that you are doing. It is (so far) the only Festool sander I own. It is light and small making over you head work easy, as well as vertical over your head surfaces. I can't tell you what quick work this made getting down to bare wood on door jambs to repaint to get a "decent" finish. If you decide to go with the R90 get the hard pad, it stops you from cupping that nice old wood.  To be honest I find it more of a Reno sander as the pad is smaller, but like I said it makes quick work of paint removal, and even with 80 grit paper on rotex mode it leaves a very nice finish!! I can't imagine how long it would have taken me with one of my other sanders, and with the dust extraction there was minimal mess in the Mrs. kitchen!! There is a bit of a learning curve, and I started off with the sander on a slower speed to keep control. Once I had a techniqe that worked for me, I was able to speed the sander up a bit......You'll have more time to enjoy your family and efforts if you use this sander as you'll finish your chores much faster. Good luck.
Greg

 

[AlexThePalex]

If you want to buy only one sander, get the DTS 400 for this. It will remove paint just fine when you use grits below 80. And it will leave a nice smooth finish when you use 120 to 180.

The RO90 will remove paint quicker but because of the smaller pad you won't get such a smooth result in the finish stage. The bigger pad of the DTS is much better at this.

Of course, if you can, get both. That's really the ideal combination for this particular type of work. I've got both, I use the RO90 for the rough spots only and use the DTS 400 for all the rest.

When removing paint, it also matters if you want to strip the entire surface or just the bad spots. If you want to strip the entire surface, the RO90 is the better choice of these two, but if you just want to patch up the bad spots, the DTS400 wil do just fine. When I paint something, I most of the time only strip the bad spots and not the entire surface, that's unnecessary and a waste of time and materials. When I really do have to strip everything, I bring out the RAS 115 and the RO150. The corners get done with the RO90 or perhaps the DX93. But I still finish it all with the DTS 400.

PS, if you want to sand near glass, get a very thin piece of metal (1/8th'') about a foot long to hold between the sander and the glass. Cutting up a pack of orange juice can also work for this.

 

[skids]

I have a DTS400 and it can remove some material with the right paper on it, make no bones about it.I personally would recommend the DTS for this. Although the RO90 would have more versatility potentially. What you have to know is this, the Rotex sanders aren't very good ROS overall. Not knocking the RO90, it's a nice sander, but the results from DTS 400 are just unreal compared to what I get out of my Rotex.

 

[jmarkflesher]

RO 90. Get the triangle snap on and the round interface pad. I still like crystal for varnish. A silicone block to touch to sand paper. I did all the sills and jambs in my house. Also used the fien for some special spots but 85% RO 90. MARK

 

[oldie]

+1 to what panelchat wrote about scrapers.
I think good quality scrapers can be so, so useful, and (relatively) darn cheap.

Also, completely agree with comments made re giving consideration to the DTS400.
With the right grits, and (as I've commented before) with its superb ergonomics, really is surprisingly versatile.
Don't forget the excellent 30 day Festool 'try out.'  No harm done if you don't take to it.
Richard.

(Edit:  The speed on DTS400 can be changed.  6.000rpm to 14,000rpm.)