Granat Vs Brilliant2 (Surfix specific or in general)

[elfick]

The Surfix manuals specify Brilliant2 P240 for intermediate sanding. Would Granat P240 be an acceptable substitute?
In general, can Granat be substituted for Brilliant2 or am I better off getting the Brilliant2?

 

[AlexThePalex]

They are interchangeable. In some applications one is a little better than the other, but both can do it all.

 

[GarryMartin]

Granat was developed by Festool to suit the new VOC compliant finishes that are mandatory in the EU.

With older finishes, Brilliant 2 and Granat perform about the same. With newer VOC compliant finishes, Granat has the edge. Granat also lasts twice as long as Brilliant 2.

 

[mouppe]

Alex, where would you use Brilliant ahead of Granat? Just curious because I plan on replacing my Brilliant with Granat when I run out.

They do last much longer than Brilliant pads for sure and once they've been run in, they work particularly well. They also don't clog up like Brilliant has a tendency to do.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Alex, where would you use Brilliant ahead of Granat? Just curious because I plan on replacing my Brilliant with Granat when I run out.

They do last much longer than Brilliant pads for sure and once they've been run in, they work particularly well. They also don't clog up like Brilliant has a tendency to do.

Only thing where I really prefer Brilliant over Granat is sanding teak to a finish. A lot of front doors here in Holland are made out of teak, and I've found I get a more vibrant colour out of the wood using Brilliant over granat in the higher grits. Teak can have a very beautifull red colour when sanded correctly, and I do this first with Rubin 80-120 and then Brilliant up to 240. I've found that for some reason with Granat the colour of teak turns out duller. Perhaps something to do with how the scratches break the light. Perhaps it's only subjective. 

For the rest, I'm fine with either one of them. But I don't see Granat lasting longer than Brilliant at all. In fact, Granat has a thinner backing paper, and when I'm removing paint from window or door frames, I've found Granat breaks up quicker than Brilliant. I also see no difference in clogging time, happens just as fast with the paints we have over here.

Only place where I see Granat have a clear advantage over Brilliant is drywall/plaster. Brilliant clogs a lot quicker there, almost twice as fast as Granat. And granat is perhaps a bit better with acrylic paint too, but not much.

Granat was made with the new VOC compliant paints in mind, but how often do you have to sand those for real? VOC was only introduced 3 or 4 years ago, so whatever was painted with those new paints is still in a good shape. Granat yet didn't have the chance to prove itself there.

 

[gippy]

Granat was made with the new VOC compliant paints in mind, but how often do you have to sand those for real? VOC was only introduced 3 or 4 years ago, so whatever was painted with those new paints is still in a good shape. Granat yet didn't have the chance to prove itself there.

The car repair guys I spoke to at a Festool training day like Granat, they get through a couple of boxes of paper a day, plenty of chance for it to prove itself on VOC compliant paint.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Granat was made with the new VOC compliant paints in mind, but how often do you have to sand those for real? VOC was only introduced 3 or 4 years ago, so whatever was painted with those new paints is still in a good shape. Granat yet didn't have the chance to prove itself there.

The car repair guys I spoke to at a Festool training day like Granat, they get through a couple of boxes of paper a day, plenty of chance for it to prove itself on VOC compliant paint.

Are you sure car paints are VOC compliant? I ask because I grew up in a body shop, and the paints we used for cars were 2 component paints, they were very different from the paints used for houses which fall under the VOC. A good quality house paint costs about 45 euro per liter here. A standard car paint at least double that.

And even if they are VOC compliant, those car guys didn't have much of a chance to really proof Granat yet. The VOC rule is only 3 or 4 years old, and it generally takes a lot longer before cars get resprayed. Safe the odd damaged brand new car of course. 

But the proof was not that Granat can do VOC paints. Because it can do them quite well. The question is, is it better than Brilliant in this case? I doubt the car guys you mention made a side by side comparison between Granat and Brilliant, because Brilliant is typically not used by car guys. Before Granat, Titan was Festool's sole paper for cars. Or other brands like 3M and Colad.

 

[mouppe]

Interesting observations, thanks Alex.