Power Sanding Between Finish Coats?

[JuliMor]

Well using the LS130 would be like hand sanding in straight lines. So if you happen to not be aligned with the grain exactly you will get cross grain scratches.  The orbitals make little "circles" (can't think of a better term) aka wax on/ wax off sort of motion. So do the random orbitals but the pad also turns to make the little circles less patterned. The idea is that the little circles disappear on the finish due to lack of direction.

LS130 linear sander

DTS, RTS, RS 2  orbital

ETS random orbital

Rotex random orbital and rotary

Seth

Thanks Seth!  So basically, the LS would be doing pretty much the same thing I am doing by hand, as I'm scuffing up the top coat.  Wouldn't that make it the best tool for this job?  You can see from the picture, the door panels are inset but flat throughout.  No profiles to mess with.  This makes only the top and bottom sanding difficult, because I'm hand sanding with the grain.  I'm mimicking that linear motion by hand when I get there, just not nearly as fast.  So I'm thinking for this purpose, the LS would be the best choice.

I had an orbital pad sander that I recently gave away.  Once I went to the ROS, the pad sander started collecting dust.  So I don't know how much I would use the RTS.  But a sander that has a different motion would seem to compliment what I already have.  The only problem I see if the LS abrasives only go up to 400 grit (except for Vlies).  But maybe that's enough when working through to the final coat. 

Tom, it looks like you found another creative way to cut veneer!  [not worthy] When I saw the doors I wondered how you cut those large veneers so crisply.  Nice job!

I like that foam backed sanding roll.  I didn't see that in their catalog or on their website, and I was looking for something like that.  Thanks for the link!

If I keep absorbing all this knowledge I might actually get good at finishing... and start to like it too.  [bite tongue] 

 

[semenza]

The difference is you have more control by hand  if the LS happens to shift sideways or jump  bit it will mess things up, and it can be a little jumpy.  Personally I would choose random orbit whenever possible because its motion is designed to hide the scratches/swirls. Although, from what I understand,  a gentle orbital in high grits doesn't show either. I can't speak from experience on the orbital as opposed to random orbital because I don't have an orbital.

Seth

 

[tiralie]

Julie:
Your doors look great!

The panel is sapele and with hand sanding it's looking like the top and bottom of the panels aren't sanding out as even as the rest of the panel.

I was wondering about your comment above. Do you mean that after hand sanding the color of the top and bottom of the panels look different than the middle or do you mean the texture or the nibs are not sanding out as evenly?
Tim

 

[JuliMor]

You know how finish turns white when sanded?  That's what's not happening and the nibs remain.  I have to take paper in hand (not on a block) to get that area smoothed.  The dye isn't coming off, it's just that with the block, that area seems to be getting missed.  I thought it was dished but I put a straight edge on it and it's flat across the entire length of the panel.  I've done about 10 so far and they are all like that.  Maybe I need an engineer.  [big grin]

 

[JuliMor]

So I don't waste any more of your time on this issue, the problem was in the sanding block.  It's one of those rubber ones that is impossible to install the sandpaper on it tightly, so there's always some movement.  After my last post, I took a piece of scrap, planed it flat and cut it to hand size to use as a sanding block.  Problem solved!  And the sanding is going faster.  Now all I have to do is find a hypnotist who can hypnotize me into believing sanding is fun.

As for another sander, I'm thinking a better investment would be the TS55.  I could use it to cut sheet goods in the garage instead of trying to lug them down into the basement and cutting them on the table saw.  THAT would be awesome!  [thumbs up]