Sanding between finish coats: by hand or powertool?

[ear3]

[member=10147]jobsworth[/member] When you raise the grain, do you generally use water or mineral spirits? 

I use water base products in the states so 1st raise grain,,Hand sand to knock the nibs down, apply 1st coat Power sand with RTS400 lightly with 320 - 400 , 2nd coat depending on how the finish turned out but usually hand sand 320 - 400 foam backed sand lightly, then final coat..

 

[Steve-Rice]

[member=9555]Chris Wong[/member], I'm genuinely surprised to hear you have problems with the Festool 27mm hose as I've had no issues with it at all - although I do use a home made boom arm with it.

 

[tjbnwi]

[member=10147]jobsworth[/member] When you raise the grain, do you generally use water or mineral spirits? 

I use water base products in the states so 1st raise grain,,Hand sand to knock the nibs down, apply 1st coat Power sand with RTS400 lightly with 320 - 400 , 2nd coat depending on how the finish turned out but usually hand sand 320 - 400 foam backed sand lightly, then final coat..

I don't recall mineral sprits ever raising grain. Water to raise grain.

Tom

 

[Cheese]

Because mineral spirits is a solvent based liquid, I don't think it will raise the grain in wood. As far as I know, only a water based fluid will produce the desired results so that you can sand down the nibs...as an advisory, use distilled water to prevent any discoloration from any mineral contamination.

 

[sancho57]

[member=10147]jobsworth[/member] When you raise the grain, do you generally use water or mineral spirits? 

I use water base products in the states so 1st raise grain,,Hand sand to knock the nibs down, apply 1st coat Power sand with RTS400 lightly with 320 - 400 , 2nd coat depending on how the finish turned out but usually hand sand 320 - 400 foam backed sand lightly, then final coat..

It's a water based product so I use water.

 

[Holmz]

Gazing at my avatar and thinking rain water.

 

[Holmz]

[member=40772]Holmz[/member] - Just for the record, the Festool hand sanding block is only slightly larger at 80mm by 130mm, whereas the Mirka hand sanding block is 70mm by 127mm.  Certainly not a difference worth three and a half times the price.
...

I ordered the Mirka 115x230 one today ~70Au (55 US$).
That way the I can use the same media on the hand unit as the uva uses.

I also ordered a whipy thin Mirka hose what was about 20$ Out of the U.K./axminxster (but ~40+$ on Amazon.)

I suppose if the Festool ones come with the hose, then it is not a bad deal.

 

[ear3]

Thanks.  I think I was confusing it with cleaning the dust off, which is why I was thinking of the mineral spirits.

[member=10147]jobsworth[/member] When you raise the grain, do you generally use water or mineral spirits? 

I use water base products in the states so 1st raise grain,,Hand sand to knock the nibs down, apply 1st coat Power sand with RTS400 lightly with 320 - 400 , 2nd coat depending on how the finish turned out but usually hand sand 320 - 400 foam backed sand lightly, then final coat..

I don't recall mineral sprits ever raising grain. Water to raise grain.

Tom

 

[sancho57]

I use a damp wet cloth for cleaning the dust off sometimes. Works pretty good. But only for water base finishes and stains

 

[Dogberryjr]

I hand sand using this Mirka hand sanding block with 600 grit Abranet abrasive and my CT 26 dust extractor.  It works great and there's no dust residue.  Just a couple of quick passes and your done in no time at all.  Leaves an extremely smooth surface.  I sand after the last coat as well.  The sanding block only costs about $20.  I use it on every project.

Thanks for the heads-up on this, I just received mine and will give it a try on a project I've been letting linger because of dust concerns.  The price is definitely right.

 

[Steve-Rice]

[member=46611]Dogberryjr[/member]  By the way, if the Festool hose bothers you (as others have mentioned), Rockler's Universal Small Port hose kit is only $35.00 and the hose is extremely flexible.  The large port will fit over the Festool 27mm hose and the small port will fit on the Mirka hand sanding block.  Best of all, your total cost for the sanding block AND the hose kit is STILL less then the cost of the Festool hand sanding block alone...

Enjoy!

 

[semenza]

[member=40772]Holmz[/member] - Just for the record, the Festool hand sanding block is only slightly larger at 80mm by 130mm, whereas the Mirka hand sanding block is 70mm by 127mm.  Certainly not a difference worth three and a half times the price.

Just sayin'...

Oh, and by the way, the Mirka fits perfectly on the Festool 27mm hose.

I don't understand this.  The picture shows a Festool hand-sanding block with what looks like a Festool 27mm AS hose.  But that hose is too big for that sanding block.  That sanding block fits a gray 21.5mm (if I remember correctly) non anti-static hose.  Seth did a review on it a few years ago which was brought back recently.  That 21.5mm hose is super.  It is way lighter and more flexible than the 27mm one.  Seth also showed that it is very tough.  It is also long (I think 5 meters).  I have been using it a lot lately, along with 2 interface pads, trying to restore an old airplane.  The Festool sanding-block may not be any better than the Mirka one but that hose is worth every penny.

There is / was a 22mm AS Festool hose , which is what the one in that picture looks like to me. The D22 hose uses a downsizing adapter to fit the block port.  There is a picture of this in that review.

Seth

 

[Holmz]

...

There is / was a 22mm AS Festool hose , which is what the one in that picture looks like to me. The D22 hose uses a downsizing adapter to fit the block port.  There is a picture of this in that review.

Seth

I ordered the Mirka hose which they says will fit into the CT26. It screws onto the Mirka block, whereas the CT26 hose slides over the Mirka thread. I guess I'll see how that goes.

And I also ordered the Mirka 115x230 which is pretty close dimensionally to FT's hand block (115x227).
Assuming that some people use the RS2E with Mirka screens, then the 115x~230 would facilitate using the screens for hand work.
When it arrives I'll give it a whirl (which is really a linear stroke)  [wink]

 

[junk731]

I've been using the Mirka sanding blocks for about 4 years now. I have three in the shop. The first one was given to me by a Mirka rep with the small hose and a roll of 120P Abranet. The Mirka hose does fit most vacs as its a tapered unit. Its extremely light and easy to maneuver. They work well but I never use them for sanding between coats, that job is reserved for 500P Granat foam back paper. The foamback paper easily comforms to most surfaces which can't be said of any sander, block or powered. The piece then gets vacuumed or wiped with a microfiber cloth. The only problem I've found with the Mirka sanding blocks is the Hook and Hoop pad separates from the block and has to be glued back on overtime and use. A hobbyist may never have this problem but with regular use it seems to show up.

John

 

[Vondawg]

Agree with you ...And I clean the foam backed sanding pad when it gets loaded up with the air nozzle and use the micro fiber for the work...seems I deal with more and more rounded/curved situations these days....by the time finish goes on the work it is as smooth as it gets anyway, and using a machine would remove too much material for me...exception for me would be a large flat surface, realizing everyone's projects/work are different .

 

[SS Teach]

QuailRider, when I refinished my kitchen cabinets I used Minwax wipe on poly and used either my RTS 400 or ETS 125 and 320 grit paper. I put on three coats sanded between each and it's as smooth as glass. I ran the sander over each piece lightly and quickly. It worked for me.

 

[QuailRider43]

Well, I ended up with a Mirka sanding block and a Festool ETS EC 150 3 mm.  I'm a bit scared of the ETS for my thin oil-varnish blend finish coats however, so I may just end up lightly hand sanding.

 

[McNally Family]

...

There is / was a 22mm AS Festool hose , which is what the one in that picture looks like to me. The D22 hose uses a downsizing adapter to fit the block port.  There is a picture of this in that review.

Seth

I ordered the Mirka hose which they says will fit into the CT26. It screws onto the Mirka block, whereas the CT26 hose slides over the Mirka thread. I guess I'll see how that goes.

And I also ordered the Mirka 115x230 which is pretty close dimensionally to FT's hand block (115x227).
Assuming that some people use the RS2E with Mirka screens, then the 115x~230 would facilitate using the screens for hand work.
When it arrives I'll give it a whirl (which is really a linear stroke)  [wink]

Today I ordered the Festool 496963 115mm X 226mm Hand Sanding Block together with both the Festool 495019 Hose HSK D21.5 5m and the Festool 492832 Brilliant 2 Sandpaper RS2 P400 Grit 100 Pack.

I only expect to hand sand between coats of finish, along with a final sanding (hence the 400 grit), but in a pinch, I could use this sandpaper with my RS 2E.

 

[Holmz]

You can't beat having the same papers as your rS2E... So any other RS2E papers cann also go back-n-forth between em both. Seems a no brainer.

 

[McNally Family]

You can't beat having the same papers as your rS2E... So any other RS2E papers cann also go back-n-forth between em both. Seems a no brainer.

Definitely efficient.  I was a little worried at first about committing to the larger size for hand sanding, but then I realized I could use the shorter dimension as my stroke as well, since hand sanding is a one direction affair between me and the grain.  Kudos to Seth (also known as SRSemenza), who long ago (on: July 28, 2013, 01:06 AM), started a thread about his hand sanding block.  Certainly got me thinking!
http://festoolownersgroup.com/festo...-sanding-block-and-hoses/msg274234/#msg274234