Which sander for removing paint on exterior wooden walls ?

NuggyBuggy

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Mar 29, 2010
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Hi all,

I have an separate garage at my cottage which is need of repainting soon.  The exterior is mostly wood.  I expect to spend the better part of day up a ladder doing a sand just to get the loose stuff off.  It's a cottage so I am not aiming for perfection. 

The only sander I have is the RO150, but am wondering if this is the right tool for the job.  It might get heavy after a whole day and it has been HOT in this neck of the woods.

What's the ideal tool for this job ?

And given the scenario, sanding outside, would you guys be hooking it up to a dust extractor, or would you wear a mask ?  I imagine managing the hose up a ladder could be quite awkward.
 
First off, is the cottage really old as in Victorian ? there is a good chance the paint has lead in it....bad news.

If this is the case then strip it off with paint strippers and then finish off with a rough sand down by hand with dust mask and paper overalls. If you use a dust extractor the filters and bag will be full of paint dust, even worse than stripping/sanding how do you remove the dust from the bags/filters ?

If you are certain it doesn't have old lead based paint I use an ETS125 a its fairly light to use.

Hoe this helps.
 
While the RO 150 is heavy, you'll probably find that with a good coarse grit (Saphir 36 or 50 will *tear that up*!) and in rotary mode you'll be done in no time.  Turn the speed down so you don't melt the paint and wind up with a gooey clogged disc. 

On the other hand, the RO125 FEQ is about 1.5 lbs lighter, and can be controlled quite well on vertical surfaces.  I used it for several hours on my kids playhouse and would highly recommend it, if you were jonesing for a new purchase.  Keep in mind costs of pads and new sandpaper...
 
The Ro150 is most certainly the best sander for this job, perhaps with exception to the RAS 115. The RAS is quicker, but since you don't have it it means you'll have to invest some money. But if I had the Ro 150, and I have, just like you, then I wouldn't think twice about it. Forget about the advice of using an ETS125 for this job. Unless you got a couple of ice ages spare time.
 
tdfiver - the cottage garage is old, but I'd guess the paint is about 20-y old, maybe 30.  I have no idea how to tell if it is lead-based - were such paints around that recently ?

I also realized I will probably need drop cloths.... we get our water from a well.  

Wood_junkie: I'm always jonesing for a new purchase ... which is partly why I'm asking here ;).  I figure if I can make a day or two go by more easily, it's worth the price of a new sander.  But maybe I will do as Alex suggests and see if I can manage with the RO150.  I could always tell my wife I bought some other tool to help with the painting ;)

What about dust extraction, would you guys be fighting with your hose up a ladder ? Or just let the chips fall to a cloth below ?
 
The RAS 115 is not quicker if you factor in clean up for that job. If the chips and mess can be left fine, otherwise I would use the RO150 with dust collection.

Actually, I would probably use the RO 150 with dust collection even if it took a bit longer. I do not want poison dust flying in my face.

I would purchase the 115 anyway,  as you say it's a great excuse for the wife and there will be times it will come in handy.
 
If the building was built before 1978, it may have lead paint.  The only ay to tell is by taking a sample and testing it.  If it was built before 1960, it is almost gauranteed to have lead.

We used a RAS115 at Festool class and it collected about 80-90% of the paint when used properly, keeping the dust collector brush rotated to the most effective position.  Only the biggest chunks hit the floor; all the fines went in the hose.  It is essentially a right-angle wood grinder.  

The new RRP rules require collection of all potentially hazardous dust, so a drop cloth would be required in addition.  Power tools must have HEPA filtered exhuast control.  If this is your personal residence, never rented and no children live there, the requirements do not apply, but if you sell the property later and lead is detected where you did the work, you may be required to abate the lead.

The bag and filters can be easily replaced and disposed of in plastic bags.  If you are going to use the dust extractor for other duty, you might have to thoroughly clean the inside of the unit after taking out the bags.  It has been recommended to maintain separate machines for lead paint removal and other woodworking tasks.

http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/sbcomplianceguide.pdf

[eek]
 
The RO150 will definitely do this job for you.. lickety-split.
Definitely use the vacuum.  I found the hose helps stabilize the sander on the vertical by adding some "tail" weight... but it is extra weight...
Given the RO150E's oval dust port you might need to help the hose stay on with a bit of tape. Maybe not..

Wear a dust mask also!

 
Enough with the lead paint, he is from canada and it is his own house.

Secondly, the Ras when used with 36g, 50g and 80g  will get you a real nice surface to paint.

Unfortunately, I think the Ras is hard to come by right now.

I use a ras, ro125 and a dx93 for my interior and exterior work.

All hooked up the the 22, the Ras will do a pretty good job of collecting debris (you just need a little practice with the shroud)

I suggest Saphir or Brilliant for most of the sanding.  Maybe a final with some Rubin or I use 100g cristal a lot as well.
 
Wood_Junkie said:
Given the RO150E's oval dust port you might need to help the hose stay on with a bit of tape. Maybe not..

Maybe not is the answer. The oval dust port's connection with the hose is very tight.
 
The RAS will be lighter and faster, and with no orbit vibration. Use the DC to collect the dust and to keep the paper lasting longer. Get it if you can find it.
 
NuggyBuggy said:
Hi all,

I have an separate garage at my cottage which is need of repainting soon.  The exterior is mostly wood.  I expect to spend the better part of day up a ladder doing a sand just to get the loose stuff off.  It's a cottage so I am not aiming for perfection. 

The only sander I have is the RO150, but am wondering if this is the right tool for the job.  It might get heavy after a whole day and it has been HOT in this neck of the woods.

What's the ideal tool for this job ?

And given the scenario, sanding outside, would you guys be hooking it up to a dust extractor, or would you wear a mask ?  I imagine managing the hose up a ladder could be quite awkward.

Well, just made some experience with my Ro150.. after successfully renovating an old oak stair with the RO150, i could not imagine any other tool for the job. It was my first heavy job for the Rotex and i used an CTL Midi as Dust Extraction on proposal of my dealer. he told me the abrasive last much longer, if i use ?roper Dust Extraction.
Just to give you an idea how quickly i could finish the coarse sanding.. it took about 2 1/2 hours with Rubin 60/80 paper to remove the old stain and painting (about 1mm) and then another hour to do some fine sanding with Crystal 120.

After the staining with water based dye i left the stair for the night. The other day I used Crystal 180 for the presanding before i applied a solvent based clear primer. A finish sanding with Crystal 240 was followed by three coats of Urethan based  laquer. Applied with a compressor driven HVLP spray gun.

The Rotex was heavy after all, but it was the best for the Job, the stair over all had a surface of about 194sqft and the sanding took about 4 hours. I used 2 Rubin 60, only 1 Rubin 80, 2 Crystal 120/180 and 3 Crystal 240.. and 1/2 dust bag from the CTL Midi. (to be honest, i re-used it with the cut and tape method :)

hth,

kind regards, Mike
 
Rubin sucks for removing stains, paints and varnishes.

Saphir, Brilliant2 or Cristal.

That is my favorite order of those.

I really despise Rubin except for the price of it.
 
WarnerConstCo. said:
Rubin sucks for removing stains, paints and varnishes.

Saphir, Brilliant2 or Cristal.

That is my favorite order of those.

I really despise Rubin except for the price of it.

You shouldn't use Rubin to remove anything but wood. It doesn't last as long as other types of paper but it does work on bare wood like no other.
 
Alex said:
WarnerConstCo. said:
Rubin sucks for removing stains, paints and varnishes.

Saphir, Brilliant2 or Cristal.

That is my favorite order of those.

I really despise Rubin except for the price of it.

You shouldn't use Rubin to remove anything but wood. It doesn't last as long as other types of paper but it does work on bare wood like no other.

Yeah, I know that but, the poster before me must have spent a lot of extra time just using rubin to strip that varnish.
 
Wow, I can't believe the number of responses.  Thanks everyone.

Wonderwino - I will look into testing for lead.  We have two young children and we want to keep them healthy.  I think the cottage predates 1978 but not sure about 1960 - have inquired with previous owners, but might have to invest in  a lead testing kit.

Question: a few if the above posts make  it sound like the RAS115 might be hard to find.  Why would that be ? Peter's thread makes me think that getting one would definitely pay for itself in time saved.  I have precious little time at the cottage as it is.  If I can get one I think I might invest in a dust shield.

thanks again everybody !
 
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