Which Abrasives To Get?

[Jmaichel]

You might want to look into Indasa Rhynogrip abrasives.  They offer abrasives that fit Festool 5" and 6" sanders.  I found these to be a good all purpose abrasive and a good value at $14-$17 for a 50 count box.  The only downside is the hole pattern is for the old 9 hole style for the 6" pad but they will still work perfectly on the new pads too.  Indasa-Rhynogrip 6" abrasives for Festool sanders.

I used Rhyno when I got my first ETS150/5 with the old hole pattern. It is a good economy paper. Maybe a consideration if you want to save some $'s on the lower grits.

I use Indasa too sometimes. It's indeed a reasonably good economy paper. It's cheap and it does the job, but it wears out a lot faster than Festool paper.

I thought that was little disappointing, luckily my dealer gave me a stack of abrasives to tryout.

 

[Timtool]

I was also going to transit from rubin to granat, but my dealer didn't stock 150mm granat for some reason so i stayed with rubin. Now there is rubin2 i feel that the gap with granat is much tighter and granat is now maybe less cost effective for bare wood.

So my advice is rubin 2 boxes of P80, P120, P180 and P220, in my opinion going from 120 to 220 is too big of a leap and there is no way the 220 grit can work out the 120 grit scratches. The sand paper is of high quality and is not the kind you have to replace constantly because it tears at the first edge. The grit i use most is the P120, and with a box of 50 sheets i hold out one year, and i make furniture all day long!
The hard blue pad for the ETS 150/5 is a very useful accessory, mine is on it about 80% of the time. But for a non-pro it is likely overkill initially.

 

[skids]

Is there a 10 pack of 220 for the 150mm dimeter?

In 150 mm diameter Granat, there are 10-packs of 40, 60, 80, 120, 180, 320. They are $14 each.

Alternatively, I sell an assortment of the full Granat range up to 500 for $125.

Tom

To the OP--This is where you want to start your journey with abrasives. Call Tom, his mix packs are fantastic.

 

[ScotF]

I would opt for abrasives going through all the grits.  To remove some milling marks like the little ripples left on a joiner or planner you need to start at 80 grit and work your way up.  Can you start higher?  Sure, but you will spend more time sanding with that grit.  I also do not advocate skipping grits.  Several users do so and have success, but I find it take longer between grits if you do that and you risk over sanding in some areas trying toll work out the swirls left by the courser grit.  I like to draw pencil lines across the the face of the board to ensure that I do not over sand in one area over another and this helps me keep a uniform finish.  If you apply oil finishes then I would recommend sand up to 320 or even 400 grit.  220 would be the lowest grit I would use.  If sanding for paint, then you can stop earlier and only go to 150 or 180.  As others have said, the sandpaper lasts a very long time and while the initial investment might seem high, you will not need to worry about buying more for a very long time.  Also agree with getting the hard pad... I install that on all my RO Sanders and rarely use the one that comes with the tool.  I really like Granat, but Rubin and Brilliant II are excellent too. I think that Rubin II is supposed to last longer and have similar qualities as Granat and if that is true, that might be the ideal paper for sanding wood.

Scot

 

[Kev]

In my mind it stands to reason that Rubin 2 must have a significant purpose - they wouldn't have bothered releasing it if Granat was superior for bare timber. I settled on Granat as my all rounder - I'll be interested to play with some Rubin 2 and to also see what others think.

 

[Scott B.]

Granat is the best I have seen on painted (or any finished) surface. Also perfectly competent on raw wood and drywall.

 

[pghmyn]

Thanks for the help, all. I am going to try and pick up my sander after work today. If rockler has it in stock.

I bought a pack of 120 and 180 off amazon. They will be here Wednesday. Free 2 day shipping.