Which sander for a stair refinish project ?

[Thomas001]

Hello , I own few festool tools but no sanders . About to start a stair refinish project ( white oak hiding under a carpet ) hence I would like your advise on which sander or sanders I should consider . I will be also purchasing a dust extractor either midi or ct 26 so any words of wisdom will be appreciated . Mostly I do work in my garage on the MFT but occasionally a remodel project will pop op. Thanks in advance . Thomas

 

[ear3]

Welcome to the FOG!

Do you see a finish on the wood when you pull up the carpet?

I did a huge commercial stair refinishing project last year with the Rotex 150, which I would probably recommend over any other sander for this sort of project:http://festoolownersgroup.com/home-improvement-other-projects/horror-show-stairwell/

The problem is that you will need something to get into the corners.  Here your options are the DTS400, the Rotex 90 (which has the delta head attachment), or you could even try to find a used DX93, which was Festool's original detail sander before it was superseded by the RO90.  EDIT: If you already have an oscillating/multi-tool, you could also get the detail sanding attachments to do the corners, though this will be much slower than a normal sander and will lack dust collection.   

If you have bull nose edges, you can get the interface pad to replicate the roundover.

Stair refinishing ain't a fun job, but with the RO150 it's at least tolerable.

If there's a heavy finish/paint on the material, you might also consider the Metabo LF724S.  Haven't used it myself, but have heard good things:
https://www.amazon.com/Metabo-LF724S-7-Inch-6-4-Amp-Stripper/dp/B009ATG28G

Hello , I own few festool tools but no sanders . About to start a stair refinish project ( white oak hiding under a carpet ) hence I would like your advise on which sander or sanders I should consider . I will be also purchasing a dust extractor either midi or ct 26 so any words of wisdom will be appreciated . Mostly I do work in my garage on the MFT but occasionally a remodel project will pop op. Thanks in advance . Thomas

 

[Sanderxpander]

I don't know what your stairs look like but mine are way too narrow to move the Rotex 150 around in a useful way. It also depends a lot on what the wood looks like right now and what you want to do with it - if there's paint or varnish that needs to be stripped then a Rotex is definitely quickest but if you only need to smooth it and are going to cover it with white paint or something else opaque a Rotex is overkill, too expensive and too heavy.

 

[ear3]

The RO125 would be my second option if the stairs prove to be too narrow.  The nice thing about Festool is that you have the 30 day return window to test things out and see if the tool works for you.  Just don't overbuy abrasives at first if you think you might be on the fence between the 125 and the 150.

 

[HarveyWildes]

If there's a heavy finish/paint on the material, you might also consider the Metabo LF724S.  Haven't used it myself, but have heard good things:
https://www.amazon.com/Metabo-LF724S-7-Inch-6-4-Amp-Stripper/dp/B009ATG28G

I'd never seen that before. Have you thought about whether it could be used instead of a scrub plane?  It's made to strip finish without gouging.  It looks like it should produce a relatively flat surface.

 

[aloysius]

Hello , I own few festool tools but no sanders . About to start a stair refinish project ( white oak hiding under a carpet ) hence I would like your advise on which sander or sanders I should consider . I will be also purchasing a dust extractor either midi or ct 26 so any words of wisdom will be appreciated . Mostly I do work in my garage on the MFT but occasionally a remodel project will pop op. Thanks in advance . Thomas

Open or closed treads?  It does make a difference:  you'll need a small delta headed sander if you have corners.  By delta I mean a proper, 90mm delta head sander the likes of a F/tool DX93E or Bosch GDA280E, not one of those reciprocating rotary sanders of the Fein type, which lack the requisite orbital action.

My preferred sanders for stairs (I've done quite a few over the years) are Metabo's SXE 400 80mm ROS & the Bosch GDA 280E/PDA240E.  The former for it's small dimensions, light weight, ergonomics & gentle action, & the latter for its remarkable versatility through its extensive range of standard, extended, fine & oval finger bases, which allow access to those diabolically narrow spaces between many stringers, risers & treads.

I've tried a few other sanders along the way, too.  A range of variously sized rectangular based orbitals (universally too large & too slow), Rotexes large & small (90 & 150), which are just not the right tool for the job in my opinion, being either too tall, wide and/or unruly and interchangeable bases on a linear LS130 sander for the convex nosings & right angled concacvities between treads & risers, which are just way too frustratingly slow at the task.

My ideal combo has been the above pair (Metabo & Bosch) with twin power cords, hoses & double outlet vac & power adapters connected to an extractor with the power turned significantly down.  This way, for each individual tread, nosing, concavity, 3 way corner, and between balusters & newel posts the ideal sander & head is always at hand even in narrower stairwells, and multiple interchanges can be made between tools, heads & abrasives over a single rather than multiple passes.  In some circumstances, a couple of treads can be done at once, but the whole staircase in its entirety is treated both progressively & sequentially, rather than over several time-wasting passes.

Having extra bayonet pads pre-loaded with different abrasive grits, and a plywood & dowel abrasive alignment template with several discs preloaded also speeds progress.  A breast pocket or two of spare abrasives & a handful of preloaded delta bayonet heads (which do far less work overall) should cover a narrow flight with a standard floor rise.  Expect to have your coarser abrasives heavily loaded with paint or traditional varnishes if you intend to completely strip existing finishes. You'll probably require plenty of spares.  It helps to have longer power cords & hoses here.  5m seems to be an ideal combination of length to weight.  I usually replace all my sander cables with 5m x 0.75mm square CSA rubber ones.

An alternative compact extractor could very well be a CTL SYS Systainer vac.  I've been pretty critical of mine, especially its lack of suction variability & abysmal dust capacity, but as a lightweight stairwell combo with twinned shorter lightweight hoses & power cables it could very well be the ideal combination.  Allowing safe & secure placement on a stairwell's treads, this is precisely the type of task at which the compact, non-rolling boxy little vac will excel as opposed to being the frustrating liability it is in so many other roles.

If you have open treads, then perhaps the midsize RO125 might work instead if it fits the riser voids between treads.  There's nothing that can abrade with that "ideal" combination of speed & finesse better than a Rotex provided it fits.  Try to resist the temptation to go for the smaller "all in one" RO90, however, which superficially at least appears to be the obvious, economical & versatile solution.  Yes, it will do the job but at least for me anyway it's just too rough, ill-mannered and tiring to use in comparison to the others I've mentioned.  It's so bad in fact that it can all too easily damage rather than renovate in softer, more delicate or valuable joinery.  I consider it to be the very worst sander I've ever owned.

You may also find that judicious use of Bahco/Sandvik Wolfram Carbide scrapers (or their Skarsten or Linbide alternatives) may be useful on complex or delicate mouldings too if present.  Only the former offers a range of different complex moulding compatible blades.

 

[AlexThePalex]

My goto sanders for stairs are the RO150, DTS400 and DX93, covers any aspect of the stairs, flats, corners and difficult to reach places.

 

[Sanderxpander]

FWIW I think the Rotex 90 is a great sander, it's just more "complicated" than it being able to do "everything" as you might think from the included accessories. My main "problem" with it is that it's not very comfortable to use because of the balance (in all modes) and power (in rotary mode).

 

[SS Teach]

Welcome to FOG. If you get a Ro make sure you get a hard pad for the sanding. If the stairs have rounded fronts an LS 130 will do the trick. Slow, somewhat, but it will make the job easier. Also with the flat pad you can get into corners. There isn’t a lot about refinishing that’s fast. From my experience I have found the idea of one or two Festool sanders isn’t reality. Somehow you end up with more. Good luck with your choosing and good luck with the refinishing.

 

[PA floor guy]

I do tons of staircase work every year. All you need is a rotex, a 5” ets, and a good steel scraper w a new file to sharpen it.
  The scraper will do a lot of work.  All corners, bullnose.