Sanding pads

[live4ever]

Loving my 150/3, and a RO90 on the way!  Green fever in full swing.  I blame Paul.

One thing I don't really understand - the supersoft pad vs. the interface pad.  A festool video shows the use of the interface pad with the stock medium pad for sanding contours.  What are the situations you might want to use an interface pad instead of the supersoft or vice versa?

Thanks! 

 

[greenMonster]

I'd imagine the interface pad is MUCH "softer" than the soft pad.
Check out Brices video where he is sanding a design he carved out for his bathroom vanity, it really conforms to the shape of his relief

 

[MrToolJunkie]

The super-soft pad is squishy, but more support than either the standard pad or the hard pad.  The interface pad is a piece of foam that gives about 8mm of give to it -- meaning you can more easily get sand concave and convex curves and the interface pad will conform more to the surface.  The super-soft pad is generally used where you want a smoother surface that might not be as flat as the contours will get into any of the dips you may have in a surface. 

Scot

 

[PaulMarcel]

Er... sorry 'bout that...

It's what greenMonster pointed out: the interface pad is a very soft sponge with hook-n-loop on either side.  You can mash it into a curve and it shapes to it applying more or less the same pressure everywhere.  The pads are still relatively firm (even the super soft) so mashing it into a curve will apply less pressure to the deeper recesses possibly changing the profiled shape you're sanding.

If you are shaping with the sander, the soft or super soft pad may help finess curves.  Once you have the curves, work the grits with the interface pad to keep the same shape.  I have way too much experience with this on my vanity...  [blink]