Which Festool sander?

[dlaut]

Hi, new guy here.

I have a number of other Festool products, but no sanders...I've not needed one to this point.

I want to refinish my Ipe wood deck.  The product I want to use - and the age of the deck - require that I sand the old oxidized wood and oil finish off.  I have a number of places: railings, steps, around rail posts, etc., where I'll need to be careful not to remove the adjacent Fypon material.  These places also have adjacent vertical perpendicular material of various types that could be damaged without care (and an over agressive sander).  I want to be able to sand as close to these areas as possible, so that there isn't an unfinished *grey* border around the whole thing.

In addition to all of that, there is obviously a lot of straight, uninterrupted straightforward Ipe.

I would be grateful for any recommendations/methods you can supply!  BTW, don't be afraid to "oversimplify" your answers...I've never had to sand an area this large before. [cool]

 

[tbellemare]

If you're trying to sand up to an adjacent surface, the DTS 400 is about as good as it gets. It is an orbital that has a 100 mm wide x 150 mm long, delta (iron-shaped) pad with a beveled edge. The spongy part of the pad is what is beveled so it makes it easy to not hit the adjacent edge with the hard part of the pad.

[attachimg=#1]

You can see the beveled edge in the image above.

Tom

 

[AlexThePalex]

A Rotex with edge protector is also very good for sanding up to an edge. For a larger area like a deck the RO 150 would be my first choice. But for railings and posts a DTS 400 or a RO 90 might fit better. But if I had to choose only one sander for this I'd take the RO 150.

[attachimg=1]

 

[tbellemare]

I concur, Alex. I wouldn't want to do a deck with anything less that the Rotex 150. I think he's going to need two sanders, from the sound of it.

Tom

 

[Scott B.]

I kind of specialize in ipe deck initial coatings, restoration and maintenance. Not that that matters. But I am also a daily user of the Festool sander fleet.

The fundamental question is what is the width of the ipe decking? Usually it is either 4" or 6". In either case, the RO 150 is not my first choice. If 4", you may find that the RO90 serves all purposes of face and detail sanding. If 6", the RO125 is actually a better choice. Can't go by dimensions and stats on this one, real life dictates otherwise.

 

[kmdwoodwork]

I agree with Scott, the ro125 works better with the 5 1/2" deck boards.

I just sanded my 10 year old Ipe deck, i had to start with the ras115 because i had a lot of build up on the part of the floor that has a roof over it. I used 40 grit with the ras and 40 through 100 on the ro125, i also used a dts for edges and between the boards.

If you have never sanded an Ipe deck before get ready for a good workout because Ipe does not sand easily.

 

[erock]

I recorded this video a couple weeks ago thinking I would make a video of me sanding my steps using the RO125, DTS400 and DX93,  but I don't think

people would want to watch me sand my steps.  So to back up what Tom said the DTS400 is great for sanding up to an edge.

I know you would want to use a bigger sander for your deck.  But this little video should give you some idea what the DTS400 is capable of.

So when you think that you only need one Festool sander, you find reasons to buy them all.  [wink]

I hope this doesn't confuse you more with your decision.    [tongue]

                               

Eric

 

[Scott B.]

Good vid, er. I love the DTS and it is built for situations just like that. Of all the opportunities I have had to put it on ipe, though, I don't bother. Ipe (and deck work in general) is Rotex and RAS terrain. That said, the DTS could do that type of work (sorta kinda), it would just take a boatload of time by comparison to its more muscle bound cousins.

 

[erock]

Oh yeah Scott, without a doubt the RO would be the sander of choice for sanding a deck.

I was trying to get Dlaut to think about buying two Festool sanders  [big grin]  [tongue].

Eric

 

[tbellemare]

I kind of specialize in ipe deck initial coatings, restoration and maintenance. Not that that matters. But I am also a daily user of the Festool sander fleet.

The fundamental question is what is the width of the ipe decking? Usually it is either 4" or 6". In either case, the RO 150 is not my first choice. If 4", you may find that the RO90 serves all purposes of face and detail sanding. If 6", the RO125 is actually a better choice. Can't go by dimensions and stats on this one, real life dictates otherwise.

I happily defer to the expert(s) on this one. My thoughts on "bigger is better" were generated by thinking about sanding a floor.

Tom

 

[Scott B.]

Oh yeah Scott, without a doubt the RO would be the sander of choice for sanding a deck.

I was trying to get Dlaut to think about buying two Festool sanders  [big grin]  [tongue].

Eric

It is hard to pick just one. It varies for me, almost by the week, which one I have to have in the car with me at all times. Literally, changes constantly. There has yet to be a day or a week where there was not one that was up to the tasks at hand. I do agree, though, and I have this discussion with hundreds of tool users every year...it is hard to pick one sander that can do it ALL. It depends on what type of work the person does the most, but usually within 2-3 acquisitions, most people can cover all the bases.

 

[Scott B.]

I kind of specialize in ipe deck initial coatings, restoration and maintenance. Not that that matters. But I am also a daily user of the Festool sander fleet.

The fundamental question is what is the width of the ipe decking? Usually it is either 4" or 6". In either case, the RO 150 is not my first choice. If 4", you may find that the RO90 serves all purposes of face and detail sanding. If 6", the RO125 is actually a better choice. Can't go by dimensions and stats on this one, real life dictates otherwise.

I happily defer to the expert(s) on this one. My thoughts on "bigger is better" were generated by thinking about sanding a floor.

Tom

I figured, Tom, and I hope my response didn't come off as blunt or boastful. The only thing decks have in common with floors are horizontal orientation and square footage. On decks, each board is an adventure. And ipe is pretty wild.

 

[Wooden Skye]

Scott

Have you done any videos or a review of the RTS 400?  What are your thoughts about going RTS vs. DTS?  I am building up my sanders, I have the RO90, ETS 150/3 and LS130 (will be returning, since i feel it isn't real versatile).  I am not concerned about the abrasives from the LS130, since I have 40 grit from a test stripping project.  I will be redoing trim, baseboards and some doors as part of my renovation. 

 

[Scott B.]

Scott

Have you done any videos or a review of the RTS 400?  What are your thoughts about going RTS vs. DTS?  I am building up my sanders, I have the RO90, ETS 150/3 and LS130 (will be returning, since i feel it isn't real versatile).  I am not concerned about the abrasives from the LS130, since I have 40 grit from a test stripping project.  I will be redoing trim, baseboards and some doors as part of my renovation. 

WS

That is a tough call, between the RTS and DTS. I love them both. Probably, if I had to choose one, I would choose the DTS, but I know there would be lots of days I would regret that because the RTS is just so perfect dimensionally for so many things. Also, I have not AT ALL experience any of what some users have describe as "tippiness" with the RTS. I think that is a operator issue. With both sanders, the key is to have extraction turned all the way down, and to be judicious in grit selection per task. I find the best results with sander motor speed at 6.

If you describe to me more of the task types you are looking to fill, I can better advise on a choice between the two.

Here is one video I did last year running them head to head. I have not written a formal review on either yet. Although they are both high on the todo list.

 

[Wooden Skye]

Scott

Thanks. The biggest chore/task is going to be stripping paint (not necessarily with sander) and refinishing baseboards and other trim and the doors in the house.  The molding is very old and the misses wont change.  Plus some of the doors are custom sizes, and cost way to much to replace, refinishing makes the most sense.  I will also refinish the stairs, and for the corners, I figured the delta pad on the RO 90 would work, maybe I am wrong.  The LS130 going in a single direction just isn't working for me, my technique over the tool itself.

 

[semenza]

I kind of specialize in ipe deck initial coatings, restoration and maintenance. Not that that matters. But I am also a daily user of the Festool sander fleet.

The fundamental question is what is the width of the ipe decking? Usually it is either 4" or 6". In either case, the RO 150 is not my first choice. If 4", you may find that the RO90 serves all purposes of face and detail sanding. If 6", the RO125 is actually a better choice. Can't go by dimensions and stats on this one, real life dictates otherwise.

I happily defer to the expert(s) on this one. My thoughts on "bigger is better" were generated by thinking about sanding a floor.

Tom

I could see the 150, being wider than the boards, causing a problem if they are spaced close and not perfectly coplanar. The over width pad may be bouncing off the adjacent boards. And if boards are slightly cupped the wide pad would tend to span the center of the board.

Seth

 

[greg mann]

When I re-built my decks two summers ago, replacing PT with Ipe, I used my RO150 to remove mill marks and generally clean up the surfaces before applying Messmer's Oil. The deck boards were 6 inch and I had no trouble with overlap or cupped boards. I need to do a touch-up before I satin again this year so I will find out if a couple seasons makes a difference. I am sure there is a bit of cupping that's taken place since day-one but I am hoping to just do what worked before. Scott has me worried now. [unsure]

 

[Scott B.]

Scott has me worried now. [unsure]

Not worried, just aware. 6" ipe cups for sure. When it cups, it starts to hold casual water, which leads to checking, which leads to finish failure. On new ipe, RO150 is a great choice because the boards are nice and flat usually. After a few seasonal cycles, things change.

 

[greg mann]

Figures. I have the Ro150 and the 90. Got everything covered, right? Not so, according to Scott. No way am I using the 90 to do 1K sq.ft. of Ipe. I need the 125, he says.  :

Well that's another batch of paper too. Might as well get the ETS125 while I am at it. Of course there is always the 5 inch Mirka.  [unsure]

 

[Scott B.]

Figures. I have the Ro150 and the 90. Got everything covered, right? Not so, according to Scott. No way am I using the 90 to do 1K sq.ft. of Ipe. I need the 125, he says.  :

Well that's another batch of paper too. Might as well get the ETS125 while I am at it. Of course there is always the 5 inch Mirka.  [unsure]

That's why it's pronounced "eeeePAY"!

You can probably get a nice cushy soft pad for your 150 and work through it just fine.