Swirl-free finishes with Festool sanders

[Scott B.]

I really like the way Larry explains things. He is a great guy and very knowledgeable.

Some folks might be able to live with just Rotex in their life, but for many, the world of sanding can be much more comprehensive than bench top grit stepping.

I wouldn't pack away those orbitals just yet, guys.

 

[tjbnwi]

Random mode for between coats.

Tom

Hey Tom,

Do you use the Rotex on random between coats or the ETS between coats? Or just on certain jobs?

The Rotex feels a bit aggressive for smoothing out between coats, but I don't have near the experience you do. I just bought the ETS/3 a couple weeks ago for smoothing out finishes, thinking this is what I needed. Any more insight you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks Mike

Primarily the ETS 125 between coats (I do not own any 150 sanders). On the last job we had 2 ETS's and the Rotex (plus an RTS and DTS) sanding between coats. I used the Rotex with the speed dialed down, 400 grit paper instead of the 320 the was on the ETS's. Held it like I do an ETS.

I prefer the ETS on veneer sheet goods also. Most of the veneers are to thin to risk sanding with the Rotex.

I agree with Scott, sander (and paper) choices are very situation dependent.

Tom

 

[Stone Message]

Shane,  Many thanks for kicking this thread off - I really appreciate seeing Larry Smith's video.

Peter

 

[JonSchuck]

After he put the polish on would he have put something like surfix on to protect the wood?  Or should he have put on surfix and then polish?  Or can you even use them together?  I'm not very sharp in the finishing department.  Surely he must use more than just polish.

 

[tjbnwi]

He can use a finishing wax to protect the wood. Oil should work over the polish also.

Tom

 

[Greg M]

Thanks for posting this.  Guess I'll have to rethink how I sand.  I'll try the RO and see how it works for me.

 

[sancho57]

He can use a finishing wax to protect the wood. Oil should work over the polish also.

Tom

I just started using a good wax, put it on by hand and buffed it with a brush, had a nice sheen and feel to it

 

[Michael Kellough]

A very good video but I want to point out that while he says not to skip grits in the courser range
he progresses in roughly 50% steps which does skip grits if you consider the full range available.

40 50 60 80 100 120 150 180 then he does make a significant skip up to 320 (rather than the predicted 240) and then an even bigger jump to 1500.

I've found 50% steps to be efficient but until now I've continued that through the finer range as well.
Time to re-consider...

 

[eddomak]

A very good video but I want to point out that while he says not to skip grits in the courser range
he progresses in roughly 50% steps which does skip grits if you consider the full range available.

40 50 60 80 100 120 150 180 then he does make a significant skip up to 320 (rather than the predicted 240) and then an even bigger jump to 1500.

I've found 50% steps to be efficient but until now I've continued that through the finer range as well.
Time to re-consider...

Hi,

I've just acquired a ETS 150/5 and am about to get some sandpaper for it. I am doing woodwork (dressed all round) with oil or PolyX finishes, so am guessing that I want Rubin in 80, 120, 180 prior to oiling, then 220 after the finish has been applied. Would you suggest otherwise?

Thanks!

 

[Stone Message]

A very good video but I want to point out that while he says not to skip grits in the courser range
he progresses in roughly 50% steps which does skip grits if you consider the full range available.

40 50 60 80 100 120 150 180 then he does make a significant skip up to 320 (rather than the predicted 240) and then an even bigger jump to 1500.

I've found 50% steps to be efficient but until now I've continued that through the finer range as well.
Time to re-consider...

Hi,

I've just acquired a ETS 150/5 and am about to get some sandpaper for it. I am doing woodwork (dressed all round) with oil or PolyX finishes, so am guessing that I want Rubin in 80, 120, 180 prior to oiling, then 220 after the finish has been applied. Would you suggest otherwise?

Thanks!

Sand to 220 BEFORE applying Osmo. There is no need to sand after applying your first coat of oil.

Peter

 

[wow]

A very good video but I want to point out that while he says not to skip grits in the courser range
he progresses in roughly 50% steps which does skip grits if you consider the full range available.

40 50 60 80 100 120 150 180 then he does make a significant skip up to 320 (rather than the predicted 240) and then an even bigger jump to 1500.

I've found 50% steps to be efficient but until now I've continued that through the finer range as well.
Time to re-consider...

I commonly use similar grit 'pairings' as he did on the lower end, as there is no need to use every grit available. I often use 50 - 100 and 150 - 180/220 (depends on wood and finish to be applied) combinations for the front and rear drums on my SuperMax dual drum sander.

The fact that he 'hit it twice' with the 320 since he skipped the 240 grit seems to point out that there is no particular benefit in skipping 240, but you could use 320 if you didn't have 240 available.

But I too was surprised at the jump from 320 to 1500. To be fair, I typically stop at 320 - or at the most 400. I seldom (thinking I maybe should say never) use grits above 400. I *may* have used some 600 grit a few times (once?) but I've never gone finer than that.

Then again, I've never had a sander quite like the Rotex. I am anxious to try this out on my next project. That reminds me - I need to check what grits I have for the RO150. Based on this video, I might be a little light on the finer ones.

I wonder how long a 1500 grit disc will last if I don't munge it up somehow?

 

[Stone Message]

I really like Larry Smith's video. It is informative and easy to watch.

Can any clever FOGgers tell me if they have inspected the surface of wood (please state species) with a magnifying device to see if the surface can actually be improved by 1500 grit abrasives? Also, if one is stopping at 400 grit do most finishes (oil or wax) manage to fill the surface?

I hope that this is not too much of a distraction from the plot and does not open up a can of worms !

Peter

 

[Greg M]

A very good video but I want to point out that while he says not to skip grits in the courser range
he progresses in roughly 50% steps which does skip grits if you consider the full range available.

40 50 60 80 100 120 150 180 then he does make a significant skip up to 320 (rather than the predicted 240) and then an even bigger jump to 1500.

I've found 50% steps to be efficient but until now I've continued that through the finer range as well.
Time to re-consider...

Hi,

I've just acquired a ETS 150/5 and am about to get some sandpaper for it. I am doing woodwork (dressed all round) with oil or PolyX finishes, so am guessing that I want Rubin in 80, 120, 180 prior to oiling, then 220 after the finish has been applied. Would you suggest otherwise?

Thanks!

Sand to 220 BEFORE applying Osmo. There is no need to sand after applying your first coat of oil.

Peter

Except maybe to use a non abrasive pad to rub the surface between coats!  Watched your video yesterday

 

[Stone Message]

A very good video but I want to point out that while he says not to skip grits in the courser range
he progresses in roughly 50% steps which does skip grits if you consider the full range available.

40 50 60 80 100 120 150 180 then he does make a significant skip up to 320 (rather than the predicted 240) and then an even bigger jump to 1500.

I've found 50% steps to be efficient but until now I've continued that through the finer range as well.
Time to re-consider...

Hi,

I've just acquired a ETS 150/5 and am about to get some sandpaper for it. I am doing woodwork (dressed all round) with oil or PolyX finishes, so am guessing that I want Rubin in 80, 120, 180 prior to oiling, then 220 after the finish has been applied. Would you suggest otherwise?

Thanks!

Sand to 220 BEFORE applying Osmo. There is no need to sand after applying your first coat of oil.

Peter

Except maybe to use a non abrasive pad to rub the surface between coats!  Watched your video yesterday

Excellent - well done. I do intend to use the white pads between coats from now on. I am still experimenting with using them after the last coat - I suspect that I will not do this normally.

Peter

 

[mike_aa]

The video was very informative and I learned a lot.  Shane, thank you for posting it.

What I'm confused about is the polish he used at the end.  I did a search here, but didn't find much help.  What is the type and purpose of the polish?  Is it used instead of a finish?  Or, can a finish be put over it?

Thanks,  Mike A.

 

[mike_aa]

The video was very informative and I learned a lot.  Shane, thank you for posting it.

What I'm confused about is the polish he used at the end.  I did a search here, but didn't find much help.  What is the type and purpose of the polish?  Is it used instead of a finish?  Or, can a finish be put over it?

Thanks,  Mike A.

Hi, I posted this last week.  I'm still a newbie with the sanders.  Can anyone point me in the direction of where I might get more information on the polish Larry used at the end of the video and how to use it?  Can it be used by itself, over or under another type of finish, etc?

Thanks, Mike A.

 

[DougG]

Can anyone point me in the direction of where I might get more information on the polish Larry used at the end of the video and how to use it?  Can it be used by itself, over or under another type of finish, etc?

I don't have any experience with it, but I believe Larry was using Festoo'sl MPA 8000 Grit Polishing Compound - 493816 (https://festoolusa.com/power-tool-accessories/sanders/polishing-accessories/mpa-8000-grit-polishing-compound-493816).  There is also a 5000 grit polishing coumpound, #499021 (http://festoolusa.com/power-tool-accessories/sanders/polishing-accessories/mpa-5000-grit-polishing-compound-499021).  The 8000 grit bottle has a red stripe on the bottom, like the one shown in the video, so I'm pretty sure that's what was being demonstrated.  Hopefully that will help you search and find more info about it, as again, I have no experience with it.

 

[mike_aa]

DougG,

Thanks for responding.  That stuff is pretty awesome.  I looked at a couple of videos and it can really bring out a gloss finish.

I still am not clear on why Larry was using it directly on the wood.  Maybe it was only for demonstration purposes.  I guess I have to do more research and some experimentation.

Mike A.

 

[jbasen]

After watching the video I'm considering upgrading my ETS-150/5 to RO-150 because of the added flexibility the Rotex mode offers for both aggressive sanding and polishing. 

However, I am confused by sanding stroke. The RO-150 has the same 5mm stroke as my ETS-150/5.  Can I get the same sanding result with either of the above sanders by going one grit finer as I would achieve with an ETS-150/3?  For example, if I normally sand  to 400 grit with my 150/5 is that giving me the same results as I would achieve with 320 grit paper with a 150/3. 

This is another way of asking is the RO-150 the correct sander to buy as a replacement for my ETS-150 or should I purchase an ETS-150/3 to complement my 150/5

Thanks

 

[wow]

This is another way of asking is the RO-150 the correct sander to buy as a replacement for my ETS-150 or should I purchase an ETS-150/3 to complement my 150/5

Thanks

Neither? I went with and would suggest the combination of the RO150 and the ETS 150/3. The ETS 150/5 seems too similar in finish ability to the RO150, while the ETS 150/3 gives you all of the advantages of the ETS (size, weight, etc.) PLUS the performance of a 3mm orbit.

Of course, I didn't already own the ETS150/5 like you do, so that wasn't a consideration for me. I guess you could always sell your ETS150/5 and get an ETS150/3 to make the 'ultimate' combo...