Rotten sanding pads

[Michael Kellough]

A big LS 120 kit is posted in Classified today. There are a lot of sanding pads. It reminds me that most of my LS 120 pads are decaying. This is not a comment on the condition of the pads in the kit for sale, mine are quite old but still...

I was thinking about those rotten pads just a few days ago when I used my big old Fein 8” random orbit sander (1200 watts!) for the first time in a few years. That Fein sander is about twenty-five years old and the sanding pad is still in perfect condition. Why doesn’t Festool use that composition?

 

[squall_line]

Which part is falling apart?  The abrasive from the paper, the paper itself, the hook & loop attachment, the pad on the sander?

The easy answer is the always-generic "storage has a large part to do with it," but that's not necessarily always a satisfying answer.

If it's the pad on the sander itself, I think of some of the pictures I've seen of collections of "classic" tennis shoes/basketball sneakers that, despite proper storage, have just completely broken down over the years.  I've also seen the same thing with the old Rubbermaid RoughTote lids; some of them are still perfectly fine while others crumble at the slightest touch.

 

[Samo]

Yes they decay. 

My original 125 palm sander pad also failed.  Not from the decay or UV light damage but from constantly changing paper.  [tongue]

 

[mino]

I am not sure the LS pads can be made from the same material as normal orbital sander pad can.

The LS pads seem to be from a pretty light material, this may limit the options Festool had when making them.

Making foamy materials which are light and elastic - bu just the right composition of elastic - is hard. And then comes the question not only if they can keep together but also if they will maintain their properties over time. Probably not or it is either/or.

Pads are consumables. So when buying old tool, unless first-hand, I would go by assuming pads one will need a replacement eventually.

 

[RustE]

Just a guess: perhaps the compounds used to make the foam had to meet some environmental criteria? Like an early version of RoHS.

 

[semenza]

The gradual color change is the tell tale sign. White, yellow, pinkish orange, dark pink.  When most of the pad starts getting to light pink and dark pink it is really on it'd way out. They will start to crumble as that color stage progresses.

The thing with pads being a "consumable" on the LS130 is that there are a lot of pads. In my case I like to have them all on hand in case a need arises. Less of on issue on sanders that just have one or two different pads.

Seth