Planex Setup

[Shushu]

Hello Everyone,

I am so excited I just bought the Planex Sander last week.  However, I am not a professional painter.  I am just a lady starting out as a do it yourselfer fixer upper.

I am totally hooked on Festool as I have most of their tools.  Love the weight of the tool.  My first tool was bought in the UK when I lived there.

This weekend I tried to use the Planex and ohhhh the drama. The tool danced with me and I messed up the wall and the tool won as I landed on the floor with the tool beside me. 

Now, I am ready to get back to sanding but I will need an advice as to how to set this tool up so that I dont want mess up the walls again and not hurt myself as that would be bad. 

Your help is greatly appreciated.  This tool is a beast and I need to tame it

Cheers Shareen

 

[Shane Holland]

Had a look at this video, starting around the 2:15 mark.

The Planex can take some practice to get proficient.

I would suggest making sure you are starting with the sander on the wall. Sounds like maybe you weren't. That can cause the sander to gouge the wall and/or kick off the wall if you don't place it down flat. With practice, you can move it on and off the wall while keeping it flat.

 

[leakyroof]

Right, there can be a learning curve with any rotary sander or polisher since unlike a Random Orbit Sander, a Rotary moves in a plain , even circle. With you moving against that rotation, things can get squirrelly on you until you get accustomed to the tool.

 

[flair woodworks]

As Shane mentioned, be sure to position the sander flat on the wall or ceiling before turning it on, and switch it off before taking it off the surface. When getting used to the tool, turn the rotational speed down to about 3.5, and remember that you can control the suction force with both hands on the tool.

 

[Throwback7r]

sounds like the suction was set too high, or the grit of paper was too low. I start with 180 or 220 with a speed of 4 and a suction of 3-4. It is a arm workout though.

 

[leakyroof]

Hello Everyone,

I am so excited I just bought the Planex Sander last week.  However, I am not a professional painter.  I am just a lady starting out as a do it yourselfer fixer upper.

I am totally hooked on Festool as I have most of their tools.  Love the weight of the tool.  My first tool was bought in the UK when I lived there.

This weekend I tried to use the Planex and ohhhh the drama. The tool danced with me and I messed up the wall and the tool won as I landed on the floor with the tool beside me. 

Now, I am ready to get back to sanding but I will need an advice as to how to set this tool up so that I dont want mess up the walls again and not hurt myself as that would be bad. 

Your help is greatly appreciated.  This tool is a beast and I need to tame it

Cheers Shareen

  I forgot to ask, were you just sanding a painted wall in prepping for repainting it, or drywall sanding?  Also, as others have noted, what abrasive and what grit were you using with the Planex?

 

[Jeremiah9675]

I use the sander all the time. There is a learning curve for sure. Like others have said flat on the wall etc. practice on a wall and not a ceiling first as the walls are easier to learn on. But make sure you use a very light abrasive paper first. The lightest available. Like 300+ grit. This will aid in getting the learning curve time sped up. Also make sure you are using the suction on the outer perimeter only. Using the center suction on the pad draws the pad to the wall creating more friction again hampering the learning curve. And lastly, and I know it sounds crazy but run the sander at full speed. It's easier to control when your sanding most surfaces.  especially with light grit paper. I should make a learning curve video for that sander. It can be a real downer when u first use it and it doesn't do what u want it to do. If you don't have the hang of it by day 30 I'd return it. No sense in having a sander u can't use. But we have faith in you!  8)