Having trouble with hook and loop pad

[Bato]

I run several sanders in my operation including the 5" random orbit Festool.  We do mountains of trim for the custom homes I build. At times sanders can run almost continuously for hours at a time. The fest tool is the only hook and loop sander I have. The pads wear out and the paper will not stick. I replace pads often but it is quite expensive. I seldom if ever replace a sticky pad sander pad. I like the Festool sander but it is simply too expensive to run. The last pad I bought broke no apparent reason it just broke. Is there a good solution? Am I doing something wrong? Is there a way to convert to a stick pad?

 

[John Langevin]

Some questions first, Bato. Which sander(s) are you using? Are you using Festool abrasives? What type? Are you running a dust collector with it? Does the dust collector have variable speeds? How experienced are your operators?

 

[dirtydeeds]

with my ro150 the backing pads do wear out after 700 or so sanding sheets. i dont consider this excessive.

however the following things will make them wear out quicker

if you over preasurise the pad

if you dont use a dust extractor, i destroyed one backing pad in two hours doing this

if you dont change the sanding pads frequently, ie continue sanding when the pad has lost its cutting ability in the mistaken belief that it is saving money.

labour costs exceed the material cost of the pads, you wouldnt contine using a blunt chisel (it takes longer to cut and is inneficient) so dont continue using a pad that has lost its cutting ability 

 

[Ned]

with my ro150 the backing pads do wear out after 700 or so sanding sheets. i dont consider this excessive.

however the following things will make them wear out quicker

if you over preasurise the pad

if you dont use a dust extractor, i destroyed one backing pad in two hours doing this

if you dont change the sanding pads frequently, ie continue sanding when the pad has lost its cutting ability in the mistaken belief that it is saving money.

labour costs exceed the material cost of the pads, you wouldnt contine using a blunt chisel (it takes longer to cut and is inneficient) so dont continue using a pad that has lost its cutting ability 

I'm a bit confused.  It seems like you're calling both the backing pads and the abrasive disks "pads".

If you meant to say "if you dont change the abrasive frequently, ie continue sanding when the abrasive has lost its cutting ability in the mistaken belief that it is saving money", I agree wholeheartedly.

Hadn't thought about frying a backing pad by not using dust extraction.  Tell us more, please.

Ned

 

[Brice Burrell]

I've run just about all of my Festool sander for hours without a vac with no problems. I did use the dust bag that comes with the sanders.

 

[dirtydeeds]

me and my english  : .................... confusing you lot again  ???

i call the hook pad attached to the sander the backing pad and the abrasive sheets i call pads

i was removing 150 years of lead paint from sashes and hadnt got a spare dust bag in the van, so i continued without the dust extrctor (yes i did have a dust mask on)

heavy preasure will remove lead paint by melting it. unfortunatly with no dust extraction to cool the backing pad, the lead paint gets so hot it fries the backing pad

what you should do with lead paint is reduce the rotation speed to about 2, i also had the sander running at full chat

 

[nickao]

I run several sanders in my operation including the 5" random orbit Festool.  We do mountains of trim for the custom homes I build. At times sanders can run almost continuously for hours at a time. The fest tool is the only hook and loop sander I have. The pads wear out and the paper will not stick. I replace pads often but it is quite expensive. I seldom if ever replace a sticky pad sander pad. I like the Festool sander but it is simply too expensive to run. The last pad I bought broke no apparent reason it just broke. Is there a good solution? Am I doing something wrong? Is there a way to convert to a stick pad?

I have replaced the pad on my Porter Cable  twice in the same time period as using my Festool that has not needed a pad.

Are you borrowing out the Festool on site. It only takes 1 minute of using the sander with no sandpaper and it will ruin the pad pretty quickly. I did this once . I was sanding away until I realized no sandpaper. The pad never held the paper the same again.

Just a thought. On site mistakes happen because speed is usually a necessity.

 

[semenza]

Hi,

  Welcome to the forum     Most likely the pad is getting too hot and  ruining the plastic "hooks" . Most likely causes would be too much down pressure on the tool, and or no vacuum hooked up. 
    About how any abrasive disks of what type do you go through before the pad is shot?

Seth