Dust Collection Issue?

[Girl_w_Style]

Hey ya’ll so I drank the koolaid-already adding more sanders to my arsenal...

The rotex 125 is great & I’ve loved using it but the dust collection between paint coats leaves a lot to be desired.

Any thoughts or advice are greatly appreciated!

Depending on rotex speed- have set MIDI from low to high, 2-3 speed seems to be the best so far.

Using 120, 180, 320 papers.

Rotex speed varies (depending on primer vs paint coat) but none if it seems to make a difference...no matter what I do the surface is covered in dust and paint matter so I have to stop every minute or so and wipe it off before continuing.

I’m hoping its a user error cuz so far it hasn’t lived up to the cost over my expensive shop vac attachment. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[AlexThePalex]

...no matter what I do the surface is covered in dust and paint matter so I have to stop every minute or so and wipe it off before continuing.

This is normal, you can't expect 100% dust collection. Dust sticks to a surface because there is always a small electrostatic charge. What matters most is the dust that gets airborne. You get it in your lungs and it settles in the room around you, two things you don't want.

 

[peter halle]

You may want to take off the backing pad and make sure that everything behind it is clean.  Occasionally there can be a build up that decreases dust collection efficiency.

Peter

 

[semenza]

What other sanders do you have?

Which type of paper are you using?

Seth

 

[VictorL]

You might already performed it, but check suction first. Vacuum's bag could be full, hose clogged, or sander's channels could be filled with paint's residuals. Remove pad, then turn on vacuum.

VictorL

 

[Girl_w_Style]

What other sanders do you have?

Which type of paper are you using?

Seth

Using the rotex 125 on random orbital mode with festool garnet sandpapers.

 

[Girl_w_Style]

You might already performed it, but check suction first. Vacuum's bag could be full, hose clogged, or sander's channels could be filled with paint's residuals. Remove pad, then turn on vacuum.

VictorL

Heading down to double check the suction now, the MIDI is new so bag should be totally fine but will double check it.

I should have mentioned I did switch out the pad for the hard pad, would that make a difference?

 

[peter halle]

The pad choice shouldn't really matter, although if the work piece was severely dipped the hard pad wouldn't conform to the surface as well and I suppose there might be a tiny difference.

One other thing to try is to slow down in moving the sander.  If you use a circular motion, try going clockwise rather than counter clockwise.

Just random thoughts.

Peter

 

[Michael Kellough]

You might already performed it, but check suction first. Vacuum's bag could be full, hose clogged, or sander's channels could be filled with paint's residuals. Remove pad, then turn on vacuum.

VictorL

Heading down to double check the suction now, the MIDI is new so bag should be totally fine but will double check it.

I should have mentioned I did switch out the pad for the hard pad, would that make a difference?

Following along since you’ve determined that medium low suction is best to avoid swirls, that too is an indication that the bag is still functional. Farther down the road the bag will become clogged even though only partially full, since you’re sanding plaster etc. and you’ll need to turn the suction up or replace the bag. If it’s not too bulky you can add some kind of cyclone to make bags last longer.

I find that a natural bristle vacuum brush cleans dust off things better than the plastic brushes do. Meile makes one that also contorts to various angles.