Sanding - Which Grits do you use the most? New Rotex

[sofa_king_rad]

New to woodworking hobby and will be doing some beginner projects. Getting either Rotex 150 or new ETS EC 150/3 Brushless. I have no idea how quickly I will burn through the discs. I'm probably going to get Rubin. I will be buying lumber that is as pre worked as makes sense.

My thought was to get 40, 60, 80, 120, 220 maybe some Ganat 800

Of course I don't want to run out, but don't want to have tons go unused. Do I need to buy 50 unit sets or is 10 okay?

Which grits do you guys use the most and have to reorder regularly.

 

[Brandon]

I'd suggest you didn't bother with the 40 or 60, even 80 doesn't get much use in my shop. Most used would be 120,150,180, and 220 doesn't hurt but not always necessary.

 

[Holmz]

I use 120, 180, and 220 mostly...
I did use some 60 and 80 last weekend, which is rare for me.
You may also wish to try the Mirka adraidnet screens as well.

Therefore I would suggest you get 10 packs initially, and try a few types out. E.g. Safire, Rubin, adraidnet.

 

[Tinker]

IMO get sets of 10.  I got some sets of 50, and because I did not understand the signicance of each classification, I have ended up with lots of, so far, unused discs.  Some might never get used.  I am slowly learning which ones get used the most for different problems.  I now only buy 10 pacs of discs.  I use mostly between 80 and 180 grit in Granat.  I still have a lot of Rubin and Crystal that I might never use.

You will find what works best for you and your work.  Don't get the 50 pacs until you have a better idea, or if you find you will spend a lot of time sanding. 
Tinker

 

[RKA]

If you want I can put together a small selection from 120-400 so you can test the grits.  Just send me a PM.  I agree with the others, 120-220 or so will meet 80% of your needs.  Lots of 10 should be sufficient.  I use Granat and it's quite durable.

 

[Birdhunter]

I find the coarser grits (60, 80, 100, 120) last a lot longer than the finer grits (150 - 320). So, I buy more of the finer grits.

 

[zapdafish]

I use 80 the most but I use a Rotex. Looks like you aren't despite the subject. Prob 3-5 x more  80 than anything else because once everything is happy at 80, the rest are just to hide any marks made by the previous grits.

I started off with 10 of each, 40 - 400 and found I use 80, 100, 120, 150 but I primarily use red/white oak. Maple I would go higher.

I do alot of panel / table top glue ups so 80 is mainly for glue removal. Rotex mode until all the glue is off and its's flat then another pass in random mode, then I stay in random until 150.

Occasionally I dip to 40/60 if I did a lousy glue up job but Domino keeps me straight.

 

[Tinker]

I use mostly unfinished rough lumber and reused wood.  If I suspect any hard material in the wood, such as sand and/or nails, I sometimes use a hand plane to flatten to a point where 40 grit grenat will do the flattening.  Once I have flattened with the 40grit discs, I can then go quickly thru the finer grits to the final finish.  If I find a nail or pece of sand, it is far less time consuming and far less expensive to change a disc than to sharpen a plane iron.  AND FAR LESS PROBLEM than changing blades on the planer.  For that reason, I find I use more of the 40-80 discs than the finer discs.  By the time I get to 100 grit, the work has been done and all I am doing is working to get the swirles out. 

If I have wood that I know is clean, I can start with hand plane to planer and start sanding with maybe 100 grit.
In the winter, I take all of my wood off of the lumber rack or from my supplier.  That is always clean.
During weather when I can move outside, or bring lumber in from outside, I use lumber that has been used or from unknown sources that from experience, I know I should always suspect to have hardware or sand grits involved.  That is when I use a lot of 40grit sand discs.
Tinker

 

[Tayler_mann]

I have access to an Oliver wide belt so maybe a few more lower grits would be good, but rarely does my Rotex see grits lower than 180. If I have a lot of material to remove and I didn't plan accordingly to sand the piece in the wide belt than I'll got to about 120 and a few times I've gone to 80. One rare very very rare occasion I used 32.

 

[Master Carpenter]

I bought a sandpaper assortment from lee valley tools. Comes in a systainer that I keep with the sander all the time.

I use 100.120.150 the most and buy full boxes to keep the systainer stocked when I'm on the job.

 

[MrGinCT]

IMHO I would go with the Mirka Abranet mesh disks.  When I first got my Rotex 150  and my ETS 5 sanders, I bought only Festool paper.  A friend suggested that I give the Abranet mesh disks a try and I've never looked back.  Dust collection is excellent, the Abranet disks last much longer than the Festool papers and you can get just about any grit you need.  The only item I suggest you purchase if you are going to use the Abranet mesh disks, is the interface pad.  The interface pad will prevent your Festool pad from prematurely wearing out.

 

[RKA]

I think there is a little confusion in this thread the OP needs to clear up. In the body you mention an ETS sander. The rest of the body led me to believe you would be purchasing milled material (planed on both sides at least) that would only require a finishing sander. That may be an incorrect assumption. Could you clarify?  The subject mentions a Rotex which is an animal with different stripes. There is overlap between the sanders, but the sander choice and what you aim to do will materially affect the grit recommendations you receive.

 

[sofa_king_rad]

Thank you for all the responses, I realize now I had some confusion with the new brushless ETS sander. I think I've been looking at the Rotex 150, but for some reason was thinking the new ETS was just a brushless Rotex, which it isn't.

I won't have a planar or "quick" method to plane anything as I am just getting started. So I plan to buy lumber that requires less prep work before its useable. Please forgive my lack of knowledge and nomenclature, hopefully I'm making enough sense.

I'm only buying one sander, so hoping to get the one that is the most universal.....along with the papers to go with it.

 

[Tayler_mann]

Thank you for all the responses, I realize now I had some confusion with the new brushless ETS sander. I think I've been looking at the Rotex 150, but for some reason was thinking the new ETS was just a brushless Rotex, which it isn't.

I won't have a planar or "quick" method to plane anything as I am just getting started. So I plan to buy lumber that requires less prep work before its useable. Please forgive my lack of knowledge and nomenclature, hopefully I'm making enough sense.

I'm only buying one sander, so hoping to get the one that is the most universal.....along with the papers to go with it.

My most used sander is my RO 150 over my ETS 150, and RTS. The Rotex just helps you get the job done faster imho. However, the ETS EC sander is a dream of a sander so you might just get both.  [big grin]

 

[Holmz]

Thank you for all the responses, I realize now I had some confusion with the new brushless ETS sander. I think I've been looking at the Rotex 150, but for some reason was thinking the new ETS was just a brushless Rotex, which it isn't.

I won't have a planar or "quick" method to plane anything as I am just getting started. So I plan to buy lumber that requires less prep work before its useable. Please forgive my lack of knowledge and nomenclature, hopefully I'm making enough sense.

I'm only buying one sander, so hoping to get the one that is the most universal.....along with the papers to go with it.

My most used sander is my RO 150 over my ETS 150, and RTS. The Rotex just helps you get the job done faster imho. However, the ETS EC sander is a dream of a sander so you might just get both.  [big grin]

If you had the ETS EC you would probably have that and the RTS. [wink]

 

[tjbnwi]

100 thru 180 on the Rotex.

I keep all the Granat grits in stock for my 125 sanders, 40-1500.

Tom

 

[Peter_C]

It depends what you plan to do for which sander to get. For me my first was an RO150, and when I start building furniture/cabinets for fun I will pick up an ETS EC150 sander. Doing remodeling the RO150 is the better sander. For fine furniture the ETS will work better. The RO150 does things the ETS can't obviously, so it is more versatile and for some folks makes a better first sander. Course sanding is often the name of the game in home ownership and remodeling.

All of my sandpaper is Granat as I only want to stock the most versatile sandpaper, except the lower grits for which I do go down to 24grit. Then 36, 60, 80, 120, 150, 180, 220, 320, 360, 500. I wound up buying a "lot" of Granat sandpaper off of Ebay so I wound up with some closer than I would normally buy grits. Most used is 80grit, then 120grit.

 

[grbmds]

Actually Granat seems to be the recommended type for sanding bare wood for finishing, although I have used Rubin also. Both work well.

I wouldn't buy boxes of 50 unless you are going to spend a lot of time woodworking/sanding and make a lot of projects. Festool's sandpaper tends to last much longer than other brands. I have way too much and I bought a selection that Woodcraft had available for the 125 sanders and separate boxes of 10 for my 150 sander.

As for grits, if you are going to be working with solid wood boards, you can probably use coarser grits than 120. If using a lot of veneered plywood, I'm told that plywood is sanded to 120 grit already so there would be no point in using anything coarser than that on plywood. I bought way too many different grits when I started and now mainly use the 100, 120, 150, and sometimes 180 and 220 (but mostly 120 and 150).

Since you are a beginner you might want to have some coarser grits around, like 60 or 80 to assist in leveling flat glued up panels or are trying do some minimal shaping with the sander.

I always try to get things as close to flat and final before going to sanding and sand as much as possible before glue-up. I found that limits my need of coarser grits because there is less sanding. What other tools you have may govern whether you can do this or not.

One other thing, don't skip grits. If you start with 100 and want to end up with 220, then make sure you sand with 100, 120, 150, 180 and 220. This ensures that the scratch pattern from the previous grit is removed. Plus wipe off any remaining dust between grits. The Festool sander in combination with a Festool CT doesn't leave much on the surface, but there still may be some.

Just some suggestions about things I've learned over time the hard way.

 

[ear3]

A note on higher grit sanding (+220).  It's important not to skip too far up the grits, otherwise, you'll just be burnishing the top of the scratch pattern rather than truly removing it.  So you would be wasting your time (and abrasive sheets!) sanding with 800 something that had been sanded only up to 220.  General rule of thumb at the higher ends is don't go more than double the grit count.  So 220 to 400 to 800 is a better route.  When I go that high my pattern is usually 220, 320, 400, 500, 800, 1200, 1500, but I'm anal about that stuff since it tends to be for pieces that are going to be left bare with only a wax finish.  If you're doing a clear coat poly, there's not usually a need to go past 220 or 320 at the most. 

 

[grbmds]

Actually some finishes, like General wipe-on poly, actually recommend going to only 150 grit on bare or stained wood. I've done it according to their instructions and found that it works well. I'm using a satin finish, not high gloss, and maybe did one extra coat, but the results were great without sanding to a very fine grit. Sanding between coats of finish at 320 or above is a good idea, however.