What abrasive for ETS150/3 and DTS 400?

[outfitter]

I started the plunge about 2 months ago with a TS55 and absolutely love it! Now it's time to continue down the slippery slope with a couple of sanders.  I  am pretty set on the ETS 150/3 and the DTS 400. My question is what abrasives will be the best bang for the buck? I will be using them to refinish stained oak furniture that I convinced my wife that we could re-stain and not have to spend $3000 on new bedroom furniture. Sneaky me- save money to buy tools!

What grit is recommended for basic refinishing of furniture? What grit should I start with and then work up to?

 

[JJ Wavra]

I have both of those sanders and working as a tandem they are great.  I started with about 80 for the dts.  That shoud work on furniture.  I was suprised that that was pretty aggressive.  It was easy to remove old lacquer and stain from a project i did.  If you are going to do rough stock you may need a more aggressive abrasive but so far I have started there and went all the way up to 400.  I would probably just match the dts and ets' grits.  Both sanders seem to be very similar in there stock removal.

JJ

 

[Ned]

Welcome to FOG, outfitter.

Recently, Seth said:

The different abrasives do have noticably differing effects. My current line up is                        40  Cristal
                                                                                                                                                        80  Cristal
                                                                                                                                                        100 Rubin 
                                                                                                                                                        150 Rubin
                                                                                                                                                        180 Brilliant 2
                                                                                                                                                        220 Brilliant 2
                                                                                                                                                        320 Brilliant 2
                                                                                                                                                        400 Brilliant 2

Some people use nothing but Brilliant.  Many others start the process with Rubin and switch to Brilliant for the finer grits.

As I said at the time, buying Seth's list would be a good beginning.

Ned

 

[John Langevin]

Welcome Outfitter.
   I have done a lot of furniture refinishing/finishing with my RO150 and LS130.
A few suggestions, depending on what you are trying to accomplish; if you want to remove the finish completely use 80 grit Cristal or Brilliant, keeping in mind it is generally more efficient to scrape away finish than sand it off. This is especially true since both of your sanders are considered "finish sanders". Then you progress through the grits based on the species/hardness of the wood and the intended finishing method; i.e generally no finer than 180 for staining hardwood or 220-280 for softwood.
   In between coats of finish the grit also varies but is generally in the range of 280 to 400. Always try the finest you think might work first and back up only if you have to. I wouldn't use Rubin to remove paint or varnish as it might clog, Cristal is better, Brilliant is very good between coats and cheaper than Cristal which is longer lasting.
   For 'buffing out" the finish proceed through (as desired) 4000 grit followed by various auto body compounds or waxes on sponges/felt pads.

 

[semenza]

Hi,

        I have the ETS150/5. Since I was planning it to be my only sander for a while I figured the 5mm stroke would be more all purpose than the 3mm. It is very good for all around tasks, and I can  still get a very fine finish. My abrasive line up that Ned posted combined with the super soft , soft and hard pads does a very nice job. The 3mm may be better for sanding between coats. I am not sure but am contemplating getting it also.  With the hard pad and cristal you would be surprised how fast this will take down material (or strip) for a finish sander.

Seth