Festool Surfix and Swiss Made CE Zobo drill bits discontinued.

[six-point socket II]

Cleaning these pads is a triple nightmare.

1) Environmental: You need tons of water, soap and/or other solvents. Chances are you still won't get the desired result, a pad that is re-usable. And basically, you're not supposed to wash this down the drain in first place. (Especially if you do/use this commercially ...)
2) Cost: You spent a lot of time cleaning the pad and additionally the solvents & water aren't free either.
3) Cursing: When you take out the pad you thought you had cleaned well enough and it is not usable anymore.

All you can do is to wrap it tight before putting it in the metal container, then you can use the same pad for a couple of weeks/ through a bigger project.

From an economical viewpoint trashing it afterwards is the way to go.

I was able to save exactly one pad, the one I used to test the oil on the staircase. It had very little oil on and in it, and I was able to get the oil out with warm water and soap. It took almost 15 minutes, and keep in mind, that was lightly stained with oil ...

Get as many pads as you think you might need while supplies last. It's by far & overall the cheapest option.

The only thing I clean is the adapter plate. And thats hard enough.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[Cheese]

Ya I agree with Oliver, to clean the foam pads is a real bear. Once a pad has been used I keep it in the tin container and it's useable for about a week. If you don't use it for a couple of days, put some more oil on the pad and it will soften up. Make sure to keep it out of the sun and in a cool place.

The large base with hook & loop has a lot of service life in it. I've gone through about 40 sponge pads before I decided to replace the base.

 

[Svar]

I'll just rain on your parade by saying that Surfix setup was a gimmick. Wasteful solution in search of a problem. What's wrong with a disposable scrap of foam or cloth.

 

[serge0n]

Got my Zobo bit set yesterday, bought one of the last sets from Amazon for $162. They were shipped from UK even though I placed my order on the Amazon US site. Took 12 days to get here, which is nice.

Quality of cut is outstanding, extremely clean holes. It also cuts very fast. I love Fisch forstner bits, but Zobo is way better.

 

[FestitaMakool]

Cleaning these pads is a triple nightmare.

1) Environmental: You need tons of water, soap and/or other solvents. Chances are you still won't get the desired result, a pad that is re-usable. And basically, you're not supposed to wash this down the drain in first place. (Especially if you do/use this commercially ...)
2) Cost: You spent a lot of time cleaning the pad and additionally the solvents & water aren't free either.
3) Cursing: When you take out the pad you thought you had cleaned well enough and it is not usable anymore.

All you can do is to wrap it tight before putting it in the metal container, then you can use the same pad for a couple of weeks/ through a bigger project.

From an economical viewpoint trashing it afterwards is the way to go.

I was able to save exactly one pad, the one I used to test the oil on the staircase. It had very little oil on and in it, and I was able to get the oil out with warm water and soap. It took almost 15 minutes, and keep in mind, that was lightly stained with oil ...

Get as many pads as you think you might need while supplies last. It's by far & overall the cheapest option.

The only thing I clean is the adapter plate. And thats hard enough.

Kind regards,
Oliver

There you have it, that’s why it’s going obsolete  [big grin]
Most use polishing sponges and cotton rags, wear gloves and throw it afterwards. Probably much cheaper.
The only things I wash is high quality paint brushes (as these also performs better when run in) and my lamb wool polishing pads for car/boat/caravan use.

Honestly, if it had better re-use value, the concept is great though.

 

[Ahheiss]

Just found a metric  Zobo set after checking a dozen retailers.  I‘d like to get the imperial set as well if any are still around.

 

[mino]

I'll just rain on your parade by saying that Surfix setup was a gimmick. Wasteful solution in search of a problem. What's wrong with a disposable scrap of foam or cloth.

Surfix is a way to use a disposable scrap of (oil-resistant) foam. Just saying.