ETS 150 backing pad worn out

[Peshi]

I dont want to spend £40 just on a backing pad.

Can i glue cheap hook and loop on the pad? (is it the hook or the loop i would use)

Sanding mostly mdf, Doors, solid surface kitchen worktops

 

[aloysius]

You spend a small fortune on a sander & want to save a few quid on a replacement pad?  You'd be better off throwing your sander away & just buying dodgy 20 quid replacement sanders instead each time your Velcro hooks lose their cling.  That way you save 20 quid a pop!

It would perform so much better than the bodge-job you're proposing.  Just replace the flamin' pad!

 

[Peshi]

Only helpful comments please £40 in the uk for a pad is a rip off

 

[antss]

I'd suggest you google sander pad repair or some such term.

It's not really an accepted practice ; especially round here.  I'm guessing you'll go through lots of combinations til you find the right adhesive and thinness of Velcro.  I am also guessing your chance of success is not high since you're not even sure which side of the Velcro to use.  Hint: see which side sticks best to the sanding discs you want to use.  You'll also have to punch the holes.  I suspect after you buy the wide Velcro, suitable adhesive and a punch, you'd at half to cost of new pad anyway.

While I agree with you that 40 quid is bordering on highway robbery for a pad, it's not out of line with other makes.  Makita's pad costs the same price, yet their sander cost half what an ETS does - making their cost as a percentage of the machine downright rape.  In the USA , Porter cable made a palm sander for decades that cost around $50-$60.  A new pad for it cost $15-20 which sounds like a bargain until you figure out it's 3x more then the Festool pad as a percentage of a new machine.

Sanding pads are part of the cost of doing business just like tires on your automobile.  You've purchased a premimum tool with prices and maintence costs to match.  Same with the sandpaper.

aloysius is correct . If the cost of maintence is a hardship or offends your value sensibilities , you would be better off with a different brand sander.  One that uses cheaper paper and pads and has a lower acquisition cost.  Sell your ETS on , it's not one of best FT sanders anyway and I'm betting you'd be able to recoup a lot of your purchase price even with a bum pad.

Good luck if you decide to pursue the kludge.

 

[PeterK]

The existing pad when you attempt to remove it will most likely tear off chunks of the pad so good luck with that. If the foam part is turning yellowish you need to replace the pad as it is getting ready to disintegrate. None of us like having to purchase new pads but that is just a maintenance wear item - like tires on a vehicle.

 

[semenza]

    I  think  it is the hook side. I never really thought about it before but that would make sense.  Though 40 is a lot I guess you have to compare it to the time and materials to make a repair work and also how long pad will last. As long as it won't take too much time or money to try a repair then you might as well give it a go. I suspect in the long (or short) run you will be better off just biting the bullet and buying a new pad.

Seth

 

[AlexThePalex]

I've tried gluing parts of velcro that were broken off back again on the pad of my Rotex, but it was futile. As soon as I had to replace the sandpaper it would just rip the glued part off again.

Yes, the pads are ridiculously expensive, and I don't like to spend the money to buy a new one either, but I've grudgingly accepted it as the cost of doing business.

Unlike the Rotex, which has a proprietary mount, the ETS 150 has a very common standard hex bolt in the middle. Maybe it is possible to find a replacement pad from another brand that might fit and is cheaper. But gluing something on, well, that seems a recipe for failure to me.

 

[grobkuschelig]

I'd say get a new pad and then try and protect it, if you seem to be wearing it out...

There are "interface-pads" available from Mirca that fit the Festool hole pattern. They are about 2mm thick and add some protection without making the pad too soft.
I always use them when I use Abranet, but sometimes leave them on below normal paper to avoid excessive wear...

 

[antss]

FWIW , I have noticed that I wear out pads faster when I get in a hurry and don't hook up the vacuum and or push the sander too hard, and or use a disc too long.

All of these increase the heat generated at the velcro interface and wear out the pad faster.  I even burnt up a pad sanding a single interior door when I've been in a hurry.

 

[SS Teach]

I suspect that the pads are considered consumables, hense the cost.

 

[nickao]

I am wondering if the pads wear faster depending on the type of paper. Since I mostly always use Saphir and the paper is so super thick maybe this is why my pads last 5 years plus. I use my sander near 4 hours a day, 5 days a week on average.

Possibly the other papers being so thin allow the  heat to destroy the pad faster. I get very long time on my pads, heck I had one last near 7 years of every day use! So there must be a reason mine last so long, I do not baby my sanders at all.

I will say if you forget to put the paper on and use the pad on wood even just a few times by accident the pad goes fast, ask me how I know that.  [big grin]

 

[antss]

I think the heavier/thicker paper would absolutely prolong pad life.

Think of it like insulation.

 

[atacama40]

Think mine last a little less than a year and yes they usually meet an end due to lack of care and attention. Always frustrating .... especially right now when have done exactly that and NOT got the spare I thought I had!!! Hence being on line!

Still, I agree up to 50 quid is a lot even though they work very well.

Ones are on offer on Amazon at 32 quid right now with 3 days delivery and I also started looked at repair alternatives and found this ....
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Replacemen...r-Sanding/dp/B00J43X6J6/ref=pd_sbs_60_1/257-7

Have no idea if worthwhile or a duff idea. Is made by a German company which often spells promise if not results.

I think I'm going to order one and try just for the hell of it. It's nearly 7 quid and 4.50 postage which makes it questionable value but given I have 5 damaged ones, 11 quid for the experiment alone sounds worth it.

 

[atacama40]

Also (just reading) .... and probably shows my lack of knowledge and amateur status but what is an interface pad and what does it do please?
https://www.axminster.co.uk/festool...MIzJT2vYrc4AIVwrztCh3RtgaCEAQYAyABEgI0QPD_BwE

If I read correctly it's meant to prolong backing pad life?

 

[Mario Turcot]

I might be wrong but the interface pad is to prevent what you are experiencing right now. Kinda late for your need but if you do an extensive use of your sander it will/should result in a longer life for the hooks.

To me it look like an additional layer between the sander pad and the abrasive.

 

[atacama40]

I might be wrong but the interface pad is to prevent what you are experiencing right now. Kinda late for your need but if you do an extensive use of your sander it will/should result in a longer life for the hooks.

To me it look like an additional layer between the sander pad and the abrasive.

Hi Mario, thanks for the guidance .... yes is how I read it and if it were to help prevent damage I'd be happy to invest in that.

Would be interesting to hear from folks who have used and can assess the value proposition ... be it good or bad.

Mind I have to say these things always give up the ghost at the worst possible time so anything to avoid that I'd consider an investment.

The last three days have been the warmest ever on record for these days in February in the UK and provoked a disproportionate enthusiasm to renovate my Mothers Oak kitchen!!! Will teach me! I can see the headline .... "Global Warming ignites UK DIY Wave"

 

[Mario Turcot]

The last three days have been the warmest ever on record for these days in February in the UK and provoked a disproportionate enthusiasm to renovate my Mothers Oak kitchen!!! Will teach me! I can see the headline .... "Global Warming ignites UK DIY Wave"

This year February have been the coldest ever since i live in Ottawa (26 years). We use to get an average of -15 in February and this year is close to -24 , -32 this morning  [eek]

 

[rvieceli]

Generally the thin interface pad is meant to be used with the net type abrasive disks like Abranet or Granat net. With those net types the hooks on the sander pad get too close to the suface and can really heat up drastically shortening their life.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Have no idea if worthwhile or a duff idea. Is made by a German company which often spells promise if not results.

Don't overestimate everything from Germany. The stuff they export is often really good, but some things that are meant for their domestic market are not so.

Germany has a huge domestic market for cheap DYI versions of professional tools. They all look very clever and are pretty cheap and they sort of work until suddenly very soon they don't anymore. The highest quality brand for this kind of stuff is Wolfcraft, but they have many cheaper brands that sell stuff you might as well throw directly in the bin.

This pad replacement doesn't look very sturdy to me. Seems like it's an adhesive disc, which you put directly on the old pad. I think it will come off very quickly.

 

[atacama40]

The last three days have been the warmest ever on record for these days in February in the UK and provoked a disproportionate enthusiasm to renovate my Mothers Oak kitchen!!! Will teach me! I can see the headline .... "Global Warming ignites UK DIY Wave"

This year February have been the coldest ever since i live in Ottawa (26 years). We use to get an average of -15 in February and this year is close to -24 , -32 this morning  [eek]

I saw that on Tv ..... world's gone mad, here on the Welsh boarder in the UK it's been 18 and sun .... I kid you not and for 4 days odd. -32 takes some comprehension I have to say.

That said, normality resumed today ..... 10 deg, rain and cloud. The NAD moved air streams (indeed from your side ) upwards and pushed the southern Spanish/African ones down. Probably better for nature but less good for me!