Help with right sander choice

[Graween]

Hi

Please help me solve my sander needs an dilemna.

Short introduction:
Usually only reader of the forum I'm taking the plunge in opening a (yet another) thread about sander.
I already own a few festool tools (Ts 55, of 1400, ctl 26) and gizmos (rails, base plates, guides). And fein Multimaster (so can send into corners).
I'm not a pro and usually work wood for leisure/pleasure, and mostly by hand. I build middle scale furniture pieces for my home, like child beds small tables (nightstand), cabinets etc
I live in France.

The reason for asking sander advices and/or choices :
We're currently remodeling our home.
This means I need some good sander for the below things to be done.

Inside
- Sand and prepare the walls ~200 sq. meters (1800 sq. feet I think) and ceilings (80 sq. meters) to paint them again (some with glossy paint/lacquer to remove). They're almost all drywall, painted by previous owner.
Some are in bad shape, meaning I must do some drywall patches (for holes and cracks), and for some filler/skim coating.
- Sand the trims (for some I'll change them)
- Sand the painted doors (all modern/sandwich panels not plain wood)
- Sand a little floaring in the bathroom (8 sq. meters)
- Sand the stairs (lightly) to put new coats of varnish

Outside
- Sand some paint on cement bands around the house
- Sand the board under the roof between walls and water extraction hal pipes (don't know english name sorry)
- Sand the metal fences and gates around the house

Choices and thoughts
I went to my dealer and he advised that I should take the Rotex 150. It's probably a good choice, but for walls and ceiling it felt very heavy for long sessions, and I'm not a strong guy.
Therefore I also looked at the new ETS EC 150, because it's really light (an pricy).
But there comes the hard time to decide because :

- From what I read the 150/5 should be the right choice for what I intent to do (especially if you want only one general purpose).
It covers well the range ~80 to 320, so should be ok and fast enough for removing old paint, sanding filler/skim coats, and wood finishing.
An maybe ok to sand lighlty the stairs. But I'm not sure.
But as I doubt it could sand the outside paint on cement or on the metal fences around the house, which is more a rotex task (and maybe stairs as well).
So whith potential need for a Rotex, the ETS EC 150/5 would overlap with it after interior paint work is done, since the 5 mm stroke is the same.

- So I'm evaluating the possibility of getting the 150/3 to start (and maybe then Rotex)
It covers as per my understanding the grit range ~150-400+, and is ok for both paint and filler
Should then work for the tasks I intend to do, but maybe slower.
On the other hand I would have a nice finish sander for woodworking after remodeling is done.
It clearly won't be adapted to exterior rough work and really need to be backuped with a Rotex.

My questions
What do you think ?

- Would the ETS EC 150/5 be able to do all the things I intend to do, by covering them all ? Aggresive enough to remove paint on cement walls, little floaring, paint on metal, etc ?
Therefore I could skip the Rotex ?

- Or Would taking the ETS EC 150/3, be a good choice ? Will it really be able to do all thing except exterior work and floaring ? And doing it fast enough ?
Or it really need to be backuped with a Rotex ?

- On the other hand for the ETS EC price you almost get 2 regular ETS 150/3 and 150/5 .... And a Rotex could be replaced by a Bosch DEVS1250 for heavy work ....
Even I could by a second hand powered pole sander to tackle most paint job (cheapo not planex), and then finish with and ETS 150/3 (EC or not)

- All in all given main type of work I have to do now, and with my regular needs for sanding (woodwork), what you be a good choice ?

Sorry for the long subject but I wanted to be precise on my needs to get helpful answers.
I've searched the forum, but there are many advices depending on people, what they do and like, and I was not able to make up my mind.

Thank you for you help  [smile].

Regards.

 

[semenza]

Hi,

  Welcome to the forum!  [smile]

  I think you will find that more than one sander is needed due to the diversity of the tasks you have listed. Especially the difference between sanding paint on drywall and things like floors.

  But if you are going with one sander to do the most jobs without being too heavy or awkward for sanding walls, then the ETS150/5 would be a good choice. And maybe the ETS150/5 EC due to it having a higher max speed, and being a bit more manageable on walls than the ETS150.

    One of those would be a good starting point and then add others as you find the need.

  I do think that great care will be needed to use any of the random orbit sanders on the drywall without sanding through. I think the best choice for the drywall will be a RTS400.  So you may want to consider the RTS400 and the Rotex 150 to cover everything.

 

Seth

 

[Graween]

Hi,

Thank you for this answer.

Yes I understand I'll need more than one sander  [big grin] maybe I was not clear about that, sorry.

I'm thinking about getting 2 sanders. The first I'm thinking to get is an ETS EC 150. And the second would be a Rotex 150 (need some savings).
Since the Rotex has a 5 mm and the fact that at term I'll work mostly wood, I'm considering the /3, to avoid having the same size or stroke (not sure about the word, maybe orbit ?). And to cover a good range.

To help you understand and help me take a decision, here is what work I'm referring to about paint prep. Below are two pictures of glossy paint that I need to remove/flatten and mat paint that I want to smooth before painting again. And an othet one about cemeny bands outisde.

Glossy walls (probably the most work  [unsure]):
View attachment 1
Mat finish, that would need light sanding I think.
View attachment 2

And for this summer, definetly a Rotex Task I think (the cement bands).
View attachment 3.

So could the /3 be able to tackle the interior work nicely ? I mean would it be fast enough to sand old paints, some drywall patches  and filler and also betwen coats ?
Or it would be too slow/not adapted and I will really be better with the /5, and so be it with the stroke size being the same that the Rotex (still needed for rough work)?

Thank about pointing the RTS 400, I did not think about it and will take a look.

Thank you.
Regards.

 

[Holmz]

All the inside work would be ideal with a Mirka DEROS, or the similar Festool ETS/EC.
Even the drywall.
Both are very good.

The rougher outside stuff may also work with either of those sanders too.

Franc'ly I would not waste € on the Rotex.
You either need a wire wheel on a drill, or a heat gun and a scraper, or if you need more than the ETS/EC then you need a cheap grinder or full rotary sander. You can get the wire wheel, heat huge, and rotary sander for 1/3 the price of the Rotex. And you will not use them very often.

 

[Graween]

Hi interesting comment here also.

The mitka compares to ets ec 150/5 from what I understand. Did not thought about this model.

Does it means a 5mm is the right choice ? Or did you mean a 3mm is ok ?

I have a heat gun and grinder already (well my dad  [tongue] so could borrow it).

Thank you.

 

[Holmz]

The Mirka model I have is a 150/5-mm (the one with both the 125 and 150 mm diameter 5650 or something like that)... And that is very similar to the ETS/EC, but with a paddle rather than a switch.

In the US the FT is a less and I am not sure about the Mirka in 110v. In France I have no idea on and warrenty issues, but the Eu plugs are ubiquitous across Europe, so it is clearly 230v.
And the ETS/EC one of the few Festool sanders that I really like. So you cannot go wrong either way (IMO).

The heat gun and the grinder may not work, but if Pops has one then I suspect he would have some ideas... and sounds easy enough to try it out before trying a different option.