RTS 400 REQ - Accessories & Pads

[lewismalpas]

Hi FOG,

I recently brought my first Festool (RTS 400 REQ) which I'm excited to put to use in the near future when I redecorate our hallway. As I'm new to the system I wanted to ask about replacement / protection / foam pads and whether there's anything else I should be looking at to prolong the sander and get the best possible finish?

I'm a hobbyist so will use the sander for most home applications (Sanding trim, patch sanding drywall, denibbing paint etc). Any general advice would be much appreciated!

Thank you,
Lewis

 

[Coen]

Don't let the pad bump into things. You can use a protector to prevent that. Older RTS 400's didn't have that option.

For curved surfaces you can add interface pads in between pad and paper.

Always use dust extraction. Good for surface finish, personal health and sander life.

 

[thorp]

In this video the presenter talks about an interface pad.

 

[lewismalpas]

Thanks so much for your replies [member=8955]Coen[/member] [member=70135]thorp[/member] - Much appreciated and great to understand how the pad could be protected. I'll order a set of interface pads along with some Granat sheets and see how I get on but exited to see how it performs.

Thank you,
Lewis

 

[sancho57]

get the coutour (think that sthe name)  pad it helps a lot when smoothing out curved surfaces, be sure to have a wide variety of sandpaper grits and turn the suction down on yer vac to prevent swirl marks

 

[Coen]

Yeah, with full suction the sandpaper tends to 'stick' to the workpiece.

 

[jt073]

One helpful tip is:

* try to remember to actually put the sandpaper on the base *

after about 5 minutes of sanding, the Velcro base, whilst initially surprisingly effective(!), does tend to dull and it is an expensive replacement.

I would like to be able to say this is a mistake you make only once….

Cheers