Sander Quandary

KevinW

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Joined
Apr 29, 2008
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I am repainting the interior of my house and in places have to sand chipping paint from the drywall which I don't want to do by hand.  I was considering a DTS 400 ( that is small sander with the triangular pad).  I also saw that the RO 90 comes with a triangular attachment. Has anyone used one or both for the application I have?

The main advantage I can see is that DTS 400 is somewhat lighter.

Also I am going to get either the MIDI or MINI dust extractor. They seem very close in most respects.  Is there general understanding as to which one is better?

Thanks

Kevin W.
 
I would get the MIDI (and did).  The extra height likely doesn't make a difference in your situation, and you might as well have the few extra liters of capacity per bag.
 
While the Rotex90 is great sander, it's not ideal for paint prep on walls and ceilings.  It's on the heavy side and can't really be used one handed.  And because of the cord/hose management, it's a real PIA to use on a ceiling.

For the same money, I'd get the DTS400 and the ETS125.  Those two sanders will cover the same bases as far as wall/ceiling prep go and be better suited to the task. 

In addition, 90mm paper is pretty tough to find locally and there are basically zero choice besides festool - which is great paper BTW.  The 400 is pretty much in the same boat, but the ets1125 can use paper from lots of sources.  Get the interface pad and the 125mm mesh options are numerous.  Get em at any home depot.

As far as the vacs, the MIDI is probably the best value in the lineup currently.
 
Agreed on not using the little 90 on the walls.  The surface area makes it tougher to keep flat which would be very noticeable on the walls.  Something with a 5" or 6" pad.
The ETS150 would work for the large, flat areas.  Maybe just hand/block sand/scrape in the corners.
 
I’ve used the DTS 400, ETS 125, RO 90, and Pro5 around my house trying to work drywall, with mixed results.

All with a CT26

The RO 90 is really almost unusable. Too heavy, and too small for drywall sanding. Also really powerful, easy to lose control.

I haven’t really liked the DTS for drywall, except deep in corners. The dust extraction isn’t nearly as good as the ETS.

I really like both the ETS and Pro5 for this... great dust extraction, light weight, easy to control... I keep grabbing for these when I have drywall patch work.

Just bought a refurbished planex, and super excited to try it.
 
Most of it is in small patches where paint is flecking at various locations. I would have thought that the DTS would be easier to work with and handle then the ETS 125. (There is not a lot of corners) 

I have an older model of a Festool orbital sander and while I have never used it on drywall, it seems like it would be too heavy and cumbersome. Perhaps the new ones are better in that regard?
 
I find the ETS and Pro5 easier to control than the DTS, even given my ETS is the old brushy version, and the DTS is brushless (I think).

If there aren’t a lot of inside corners involved in your repair I would definitely recommend the ETS over the DTS.

I think this also exactly the sort of thing festool made the Pro5 for...
 
Pro5 and ETS 125 are the same sanders. I also think the ETS 125 is easier to handle than the DTS, due to the round pad it just has a more even surface. But not that the DTS is in any way difficult to handle, in the contrary, it's a breeze.

But the DTS is A LOT more versatile though than an ETS125, you can use it anywhere.
 
The ETS125/Pro5 are great for walls and ceilings. Easy to grip at the waist which reduces tipping (which results in gouging). There is very little cantilevered weight which helps too.

They’re especially great on ceilings. You can turn the suction up (since gravity pulls the sander off the surface) and the sander is almost weightless. You do have to be more mindful of hose management.
 
To sum up;

- The Rotex sucks for this application
- The ETS is recommended (I'll add that the EC version is significantly lighter which is nice for walls and ceilings)
- The DTS is a great all-round sander, even if the ETS likely has the edge in this case
- The Midi is not that much bigger or more expensive but holds a lot more volume, I'd argue that most people doubting between the two end up with the Midi for those reasons (I did too)
 
- The ETS is recommended (I'll add that the EC version is significantly lighter which is nice for walls and ceilings)

um, no it's not. 

Officially they weigh the same at 1.2kg.  In the wild they are within a few mg of each other. Some prefer the balance point of the EC units to the more traditional sanders, while others don't.

Personally,  I think the 2mm orbit of the ETS125 is better suited to drywall work.  Again, I think feel will trump all in this arena, though many will find the EC doesn't feel $200 better !
 
Oh I'm sorry, I'm susprised at that. I must've assumed it since all my brushless tools are lighter than their brushed counterparts. My Mirka is brushless and a little lighter, it was a selling point.
 
assumptions aside, the EC unit can "feel" lighter than the ETS depending on how you hold it because of the balance points.

I have both and just can't use and wouldn't recommend the EC for drywall work.  Good thing is the 30day policy allows one to try before you buy.
 
Sanderxpander said:
Oh I'm sorry, I'm susprised at that. I must've assumed it since all my brushless tools are lighter than their brushed counterparts. My Mirka is brushless and a little lighter, it was a selling point.

With sanders, lighter isn't necessarily better. A big selling point in tools these days is vibration control, and since sanders exclusively rely on vibration, you should not make them too light. The more mass a sander has the easier it is to control its vibration.
 
The Deros has the lowest vibration of any sander I've held, except perhaps the Mafell UVA 115 which is an entirely different animal. They have their own vibration sensor that hooks up to a phone app and warns you when your vibration exposure is getting too high for the day.

I can see it would be helpful with engineering to have a heavy object to negate inherent vibration, but it isn't necessarily true that a lighter sander will vibrate more.
 
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