Deck Sander

[tedrin]

Festool should come up with a deck sander. That is, a deck sander with a handle where you stand up to do the stripping. I'm a painting contractor and would love to own a smaller deck sander that is easy to transport to job sites.

I think a smaller deck sander would be more beneficial than one of those large ones. You'd be able to use it in tighter sections. I wonder if there is one (with a handle) that is 9" and similar in size to a Festool Planex? Imagine having a 9" deck sander with the stripping power of a Festool R090! Hauling it around would be a breeze.

Regards,
Ted
Eco Star Painting

 

[tedrin]

Festool,

Here's an idea. How about building a long handle for the R0150 so you can stand up while sanding a deck floor? Have an on/off switch built into the handle somehow. You might have to add some weight or something so it doesn't fly around. Maybe add some guard rails surrounding the sander. I'm just brainstorming here. Your welcome.

 

[simo.ahtola@netikka.fi]

Hei,

How would Mirka Leros work on this?
https://www.mirka.com/mirka-leros/

BR Simo

 

[tedrin]

Hei,

How would Mirka Leros work on this?
https://www.mirka.com/mirka-leros/

BR Simo

Wall sanders don't have the paint stripping power of a rotex.
I own a Porter Cable 7800 and hook it up to my ct26 for walls. I'm waiting for that Mirka Leros to be made available in Canada because I want to buy their 9" abranet mesh pads.

 

[Cheese]

Why wouldn't a Planex with 24/36 Saphir or 40/60 Granat work?

 

[tedrin]

Why wouldn't a Planex with 24/36 Saphir or 40/60 Granat work?

It's not made for stripping paint on a deck floor.

It's like comparing the two different modes of a Rotex sander. When in RO mode it can strip paint with ease. The other mode is less aggressive and is meant for finishing.

 

[leakyroof]

Why wouldn't a Planex with 24/36 Saphir or 40/60 Granat work?

It's not made for stripping paint on a deck floor.

It's like comparing the two different modes of a Rotex sander. When in RO mode it can strip paint with ease. The other mode is less aggressive and is meant for finishing.

. Another issue is that Weight can be your friend with floor sanding. The Planex is so light compared to even a smaller Floor Sander, so you’re not generating that heavy footprint that I hear Floor Sanding people write and talk about.
I’m also not sure I’d want to try and handle a Rotex Mode Sander way up from the machine while standing.
Rotary Sanders are more predictable for me since they aren’t jumping around like a Geared Sander when sanding a floor. I’ve used my Planex in tight spots for this and predictably the material removal rate is slow.... [big grin]
I have seen a Video on YouTube some years back where a guy modified an Edger Floor Sander, probably a 7” model, to be used Standing Up.
It was interesting and looked like he had fairly good control over it too.

 

[Bob D.]

I had a 1200 sf deck at my house which I stained every other year along with minor maintenance and refinished about every 6 years. Those 6 year sessions were repairs such as replacing deck boards, dealing with fasteners that have popped up, etc. then sanding with a floor sander, vacuum and staining with a semi-transparent stain.

The sander I used had four 9" discs that counter-rotated and was a breeze to use over one of the big single disc floor sanders.  I think something like this made with 3 or 4 150mm sanders would be a nice size. Maybe even some sort of frame that would hold current model sanders in a group and they could all be plugged in to one power cord running down from the handle where all of the sanders are operated by one switch. A single hose could be incorporated into the handle (maybe made from a appropriate size tube) and then from a manifold branch out to each sander.

When not used ganged together as a floor sander you could break out the individual sanders for normal use.

 

[Whatever]

It's called a RAS 180

 

[Kevin D.]

OLD THREAD WARNING

So, anybody use a Planex sander for deck sanding out there, and if you did, what abrasive did you use?

 

[Bob D.]

OLD THREAD WARNING

So, anybody use a Planex sander for deck sanding out there, and if you did, what abrasive did you use?

Not a Planex but like this?

 

[Bob D.]

Or this, also available at HD and on Amazon for

 

[Ron B]

The drywall sander was interesting.  My deck is going on 30 years and some of the boards were separating between the growth rings.  I used my RAS115 to flatten the bad boards out, then filled the voids with Gorilla Glue super max clear adhesive, then sanded them again.  On some I used an epoxy to soak in and stabilize the wood, then followed up with the clear adhesive.  I did not use an vacuum, and should have.  The clear adhesive did not take stain, but is not that noticeable for a deck, much better than a board separating.  I should have sanded the whole surface, because now the bad boards look better than the previous good ones.  Everything was power washed before we started.  I also had to replace some screws because old ones were rusting away-I used stainless this time around. 
Anyway, I was able to save the deck and will sand the whole deck the next time I seal it to make it match better.

 

[mattgam]

I did 1000 sqft of ipe decking this summer using a planex that I got used off the refurb site for a decent price.  I used a mix of safir and normal granat and it worked shockingly well.  I also used a Restorer for the places the planex couldn't reach (make sure to buy the festool vacuum adapter they sell as the restorer throws out a tremendous amount of dust. 

The main issues were that the planex was a serious workout to control and it took a while to figure out the right technique for it to really dig in but once I got it under control it made quick work of the project. A Belt Sander Cleaner refreshed the disks and extended usable life.  I would 100% use this again on the deck and after giving the planex a deep cleaning it looks as good as new. 

 

[Kevin D.]

Thank you for the replies.

I actually just sprung for the Mirka Leros-S as they are about to have a Canadian 3.9% price increase come April 25th.  Should be arriving soon.  The debate in my mind was whether to go with the longer stem model, or the newer short stem model I just ordered with the 19in extension.  The latter won the day as I don't foresee really needing the longer model and other factors that were different on the newer Leros-S model versus the older one.

 

[Ebuwan]

I did 1000 sqft of ipe decking this summer using a planex that I got used off the refurb site for a decent price.  I used a mix of safir and normal granat and it worked shockingly well.  I also used a Restorer for the places the planex couldn't reach (make sure to buy the festool vacuum adapter they sell as the restorer throws out a tremendous amount of dust. 

The main issues were that the planex was a serious workout to control and it took a while to figure out the right technique for it to really dig in but once I got it under control it made quick work of the project. A Belt Sander Cleaner refreshed the disks and extended usable life.  I would 100% use this again on the deck and after giving the planex a deep cleaning it looks as good as new.

Thanks, i'm considering my original Planex for a new hardwood floor install; so i'm not stripping finish or anything.

Question; The old Planex and new Planex have different rotation patterns? At least thats what i heard?

 

[eschumac]

Festool recommends against using the Planex for floors. I've seen that in a few Festool videos. They say the reason is the head is not designed for the pressures associated with doing floors. They say people have the tendency to push down on a floor sander and that would be bad for the Planex.

I have one. I think if you were careful you could do it, but why? So many good floor sanders out there.

I would consider using it if I wanted to do a fine grit on the topcoat.