Sanding progression for a lazy cheapskate with a shiny new RO90

[Wuffles]

So, I've finally taken the plunge.

I bought some 40 grit, 120 & 240 Granat discs when I picked it up today. Am I missing a step...or perhaps two?

If I am doing any posh sanding, up to 240 grit (which was new to me until Ed Bray kindly sent me some 240 grit for my 450 SXE) I'd most likely be starting at 120 and going to 240. If I'm likely to be using 40, it'll probably be for outdoorsy stuff and probably won't go much higher than the 40 I started with.

Considering I'm essentially lazy, if I were to go from 40 to 120 to 240, is that ok? Should there be an 80 in there...I think I know the answer.

Should I be stopping at 240 for general stuff? 240 is pretty fine in my opinion and blows my mind having never bothered going above 120 previously.

I also got the hard pad, interface pad and polishing pad (got an 80mm wool bonnet coming in the post). Anything else fundamental I might be missing out on?

I'll also get some delta ones too, but am still aching after the set up costs of a new sized sander.

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

You're going to spend a lot of time sanding at 120 to get the marks out from the 40 grit. Same going from 120 to 240. You'll probably burn through more paper having to spend so much time sanding versus just getting the right grit progression.

You should have 80 in there and probably 180, at a minimum.

 

[Wuffles]

Right on, I'll let the initial shock wash over me during the weekend and grab some of those.

I'm not sure if I'm ever likely to go from 40 through to 240 really, I was thinking two separate jobs if you follow me, but it's bound to happen sometime. Plus, I'm guessing I could (worst case) go from 40 to 80 for outdoor jobs and I'll need to get 180 anyway for the other jobs.

Cheers for that.

Any other vital accessories?

 

[Tinker]

When i was in the army a few moons ago, my southern buddies used to mention "hominy 'n grits."  It really had nothing do do with what we are talking about here.  Switch it around to "harmony in grits" and it sort of fits the answer to your question.  Don't make too great a gap between grits and you will satisfy your habit of laziness quite satisfactorily.  Squeeze in some 60, 80 and 100 grits. 

Some woods and finishes work together better if you stop at 150  while other situations will require much higher grits.  I'm not the greatest here to give advise on sanding and finishing, but my own observation, being somewhat lazy myself, indicates it takes less time to change paper on my sander and keep the progression as slim as possible than to skip along and try to rid the swirls from paper 100 grits  back.
Tinker

 

[jacko9]

I have been using my RO90 this week and the 80 to 125grit is a good progression sanding white oak (I finish with 180grit).  I would save the 40 grit for some serious material removal.

Jack

 

[Wuffles]

When i was in the army a few moons ago, my southern buddies used to mention "hominy 'n grits."  It really had nothing do do with what we are talking about here.  Switch it around to "harmony in grits" and it sort of fits the answer to your question.  Don't make too great a gap between grits and you will satisfy your habit of laziness quite satisfactorily.  Squeeze in some 60, 80 and 100 grits. 

Some woods and finishes work together better if you stop at 150  while other situations will require much higher grits.  I'm not the greatest here to give advise on sanding and finishing, but my own observation, being somewhat lazy myself, indicates it takes less time to change paper on my sander and keep the progression as slim as possible than to skip along and try to rid the swirls from paper 100 grits  back.
Tinker

You are quite correct. Just had a play with it on some rough wood to prove what Shane had said.

I have been using my RO90 this week and the 80 to 125grit is a good progression sanding white oak (I finish with 180grit).  I would save the 40 grit for some serious material removal.

Jack

Yes, the 240 is super fine to my mind, really does make the wood shine though which is remarkable.

Cheers for the advice fellas.

I've come from a battery Bosch delta sander where it'd be lucky if I bothered to change the grit from 80 to anything for anything. And the 450SXE which is good for sanding filled walls. Not really used it in anger for anything else.

The 450 is really good at dust extraction, wasn't expecting the RO90 to be as good as it is given my only experience was with something with none whatsoever  [huh]

 

[Birdhunter]

I've learned something new from this thread. I learned there is such a thing as 40 grit sand paper.

Might as well scrub the wood with gravel

 

[jacko9]

I've learned something new from this thread. I learned there is such a thing as 40 grit sand paper.

Might as well scrub the wood with gravel

Actually, when I installed the motor dust cover on my table saw the cross brackets ends on my sliding table were in the way so, I used my RO90 with 40 grit and ground the steel away until it fit.  It was a pretty quick operation and kept me from going out and getting an angle grinder (which I don't need most of the time).

jack

 

[Wuffles]

I've learned something new from this thread. I learned there is such a thing as 40 grit sand paper.

Might as well scrub the wood with gravel

I've used 40 grit loads of times (probably why I selected it), but I am moving away from wood butchery now. For the discerning "rustic" gentleman, 40 is the new black.

It's not as vicious as it sounds though.

 

[grbmds]

This is probably just overkill, but I have never found any shortcuts to getting the desired results from sanding for finishing. Start with 80 or 100 if you need to take off significant imperfections. Then, 120, 150, 180, and 220 (sometimes not necessary). Some go beyond that, but with Festool's sanders (for me, using the ETS10/3 and ETS125, 220 seems to be enough to get a desirable final finish. I don't know anything about the RO model line. This is just general information. When I skip grits, I usually pay for it in some way in the end. Plus, if you don't skip grits, the sanding required for each grit is much less, especially with a great sander.

 

[John Beauchamp]

I just went through this a month ago, bought new ro90 and didn't know which sandpaper to buy. Tom Bellemare from this board will sell any grit any quantity so I got 5 of some grit and 10 of more common both round and delta. Now I can easily find out which ones I will use a lot. It was very helpful. The low grits have more use than I thought. I am now changing paper way more than I used to. I haven't worn any out yet though.

 

[Wuffles]

I just went through this a month ago, bought new ro90 and didn't know which sandpaper to buy. Tom Bellemare from this board will sell any grit any quantity so I got 5 of some grit and 10 of more common both round and delta. Now I can easily find out which ones I will use a lot. It was very helpful. The low grits have more use than I thought. I am now changing paper way more than I used to. I haven't worn any out yet though.

Yep, I'd watched some videos before purchasing of people changing paper up and up and up. Totally new to me  [smile]

 

[Sparktrician]

Another thing to consider is that you need to wipe down the material being sanded with a rag slightly dampened with a 50/50 mix of water and denatured alcohol between grits to remove all sanding residue at the previous grit so that when the higher grit gets going, it is ONLY that grit on the surface being sanded. 

 

[Wuffles]

Another thing to consider is that you need to wipe down the material being sanded with a rag slightly dampened with a 50/50 mix of water and denatured alcohol between grits to remove all sanding residue at the previous grit so that when the higher grit gets going, it is ONLY that grit on the surface being sanded.

I will take the advice under consideration  [smile]

 

[Scorpion]

This is probably just overkill, but I have never found any shortcuts to getting the desired results from sanding for finishing. Start with 80 or 100 if you need to take off significant imperfections. Then, 120, 150, 180, and 220 (sometimes not necessary)....

Since I bought an RO90 I now sand face frames differently than I ever did before.  Only 220 on the large orbit and finish on the small orbit.  Large orbit can remove some material even with fine paper.  Love the RO but would like to get an RO125 at some point.

 

[Wuffles]

This is probably just overkill, but I have never found any shortcuts to getting the desired results from sanding for finishing. Start with 80 or 100 if you need to take off significant imperfections. Then, 120, 150, 180, and 220 (sometimes not necessary)....

Since I bought an RO90 I now sand face frames differently than I ever did before.  Only 220 on the large orbit and finish on the small orbit.  Large orbit can remove some material even with fine paper.  Love the RO but would like to get an RO125 at some point.

Which pad are you using for face frames?

 

[Scorpion]

This is probably just overkill, but I have never found any shortcuts to getting the desired results from sanding for finishing. Start with 80 or 100 if you need to take off significant imperfections. Then, 120, 150, 180, and 220 (sometimes not necessary)....

Since I bought an RO90 I now sand face frames differently than I ever did before.  Only 220 on the large orbit and finish on the small orbit.  Large orbit can remove some material even with fine paper.  Love the RO but would like to get an RO125 at some point.

Which pad are you using for face frames?

Soft/Black pad and the material is red oak. 

 

[Greg M]

I've found by not skipping grits sanding goes a lot faster.  Start at 80-120 on the RO125 and then switch to the ETS125 and use consecutive grits to 220.  The one grit on the RO takes longer and then the first grit on the ETS takes a little bit but then each consecutive grit on the ETS goes very fast.

 

[Wuffles]

This is probably just overkill, but I have never found any shortcuts to getting the desired results from sanding for finishing. Start with 80 or 100 if you need to take off significant imperfections. Then, 120, 150, 180, and 220 (sometimes not necessary)....

Since I bought an RO90 I now sand face frames differently than I ever did before.  Only 220 on the large orbit and finish on the small orbit.  Large orbit can remove some material even with fine paper.  Love the RO but would like to get an RO125 at some point.

Which pad are you using for face frames?

Soft/Black pad and the material is red oak.

Ok cool, cheers.

I've found by not skipping grits sanding goes a lot faster.  Start at 80-120 on the RO125 and then switch to the ETS125 and use consecutive grits to 220.  The one grit on the RO takes longer and then the first grit on the ETS takes a little bit but then each consecutive grit on the ETS goes very fast.

Bought some 'in-between' grits today and will give it a go. It'll all be on the RO90 though, my only other sander is a Metabo 150mm.

 

[shaneymack]

This is probably just overkill, but I have never found any shortcuts to getting the desired results from sanding for finishing. Start with 80 or 100 if you need to take off significant imperfections. Then, 120, 150, 180, and 220 (sometimes not necessary)....

Since I bought an RO90 I now sand face frames differently than I ever did before.  Only 220 on the large orbit and finish on the small orbit.  Large orbit can remove some material even with fine paper.  Love the RO but would like to get an RO125 at some point.

I just got an ro90 and didnt realise i can select two different orbits. We can chamge from 5mm to 3mm orbit? How is this done?