I finally got around to changing the pad on my Deltex sander

[Frank Pellow]

I have owned this Festool Deltex DX 93 E sander for over 5 years and only today got around to changing the pad.

Boy was a change long overdue  :-[

[attachimg=#1]

The old pad took a lot of abuse but was still sort of usable.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

That looks like mine! 
I bought all new pads and the extender pad for
mine last. They are unused, still in the systainer
with my dx.

 

[AlexThePalex]

I had to replace the standard soft pad after 1 month of hard use stripping exterior paint. That was quite a disappointment as I was used to much longer use of the pad with my Metabo sander. That one took me over 3 years before I had to replace the pad, for the same type of jobs as what took me one month now. Replaced it with the hard pad and that one holds up better but still not that long. Had to replace it again after 4 or 5 months. It's not the foam material that's the biggest problem, it is the hook and loop material wearing out.

My soft pad after 1 month of use:

 

[Brice Burrell]

Alex, is the Metabo sander you're referring to a delta shaped sander too?

The thing that I think is important is note is the DX93 is am aggressive, gear driven sander, so I think it's fair to expect the sanding pad to wear. You can get a lot power focused on the small sanding surface of the DX93's pad, this causes heat, and we all know what that means. I'll take the power and fast sanding of this tool even if it means changing the pad fairly often. The alternative is a less powerful, slower sanding tool, no thanks. 

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

The pads are cheap for the dx93.

 

[Brice Burrell]

The pads are cheap for the dx93.

Another good point.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Alex, is the Metabo sander you're referring to a delta shaped sander too?

Of course it is. I'm not comparing apples with oranges here. But the pad of the Metabo was a lot harder than these Festool pads. Harder than the hard Festool pad even, which I don't think is so hard after all, compared to what I was used to.

 

[neeleman]

Before I became a Festool Junkie I had a few Metabo machines.
The Metabo sander type SR 357 had a much better sanding pad then the Festool types I now have on my RS 300 and RS 400.
The foam type Festool pads are not the best for durability. The Metabo pads are more hard-rubber like.
May be the Festools are better for protection of the materials around the sanding area.
And they cost a lot more.

 

[Frank Pellow]

I had to replace the standard soft pad after 1 month of hard use stripping exterior paint. That was quite a disappointment as I was used to much longer use of the pad with my Metabo sander. That one took me over 3 years before I had to replace the pad, for the same type of jobs as what took me one month now. Replaced it with the hard pad and that one holds up better but still not that long. Had to replace it again after 4 or 5 months. It's not the foam material that's the biggest problem, it is the hook and loop material wearing out.
...

That's the problem that I have had with the pad on my Rotex 150.  It's also 5 years old but, in the case of that sander, I am now on my 6th pad.  My Rotex gets a lot more use than my Deltex.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

I go through about 2 pads a year with my rotex.

 

[AlexThePalex]

I go through about 2 pads a year with my rotex.

Same here.

 

[Frank Pellow]

So, I guess that I hould be happy that I average only 1.2 pads a year.  Oh well.  [unsure]

 

[greg mann]

So, I guess that I hould be happy that I average only 1.2 pads a year.  Oh well.  [unsure]

Leave it to Frank to calculate his usage to a decimal point. Are you sure it isn't 1.23 or 1.24, Frank?  [big grin]