Sanders Which One

[zgpeter]

I recently hauled my boat and am in the process of sanding her hull down to the gel coat. Unfortunately the Dewalt orbital I bought doesn't seem to be working out within 5 minutes of putting a hook and loop pad on it flies off, when I talked with Dewalt they said its only meant to be used on flat horizontal surfaces. What do you all use to sand down your hulls? thank you Peter

[Chotu]

I've used a DeWalt orbital upside down for years without this problem.

I suspect it's the hook and loop giving you the grief.

Don't rely on that. Use some 3M spray adhesive to hold your sand paper on any flat pad. You can skip the overpriced hook and loop system that way and get better results too.

Spray the sandpaper side with a liberal coat, let dry a few moments to get tacky. Stick it to the sander pad and you're good to go until the paper wears away.

[rbk]

For heavy stripping without spending a fortune or dragging a giant compressor around, a cheap belt sander can remove a lot of material rather quick. You’ll have to finish off with something else but the rounded nose does a great job on the rounded hull.

[Reefmagnet]

They're telling fibs. Random orbital sanders work fine in any position and on curved surfaces. I've owned about half a dozen over the years, including an AEG (although the AEG did spin like a grinder when unloaded, so would put "smiles" on soft stuff on first contact if not careful). I did buy a Ryobi that liked to fling it's sandpaper off when working on the hull after a couple of minutes. I returned it to the store and exchanged it for another brand. Of course I got the same story as you, but easily shot holes in the argument because I have been using these things on the hull and other jobs for years.

So take it back, and swap it for another brand. What I would suggest is that when purchasing a RO sander, don't worry about the advertised power too much when it comes to a sander for the hull, instead look at the maximum speed of the unit. Some units have 10000 rpm or less whilst others have up around 14000 rpm speeds. The higher speeds will obviously sand a lot faster.

Also, from bitter experience, don't try and re-use course sanding disks. Once pulled off the pad, they rarely stick back to it firmly and avoid those new fangled mesh style sanding disks. They don't stick to the pad very well at all compared to conventional sanding disks.

[Orion Jim]

I used a DeWalt orbital sander for years and never had problems with the hook and loop sanding disks flying off. Sounds like you need a new sanding pad.
I now use a Festool orbital sander with mesh sanding disks. They don’t clog and they last longer than standard sanding disks. The dust extraction is also superior. Good tools, good results, great tools, great results.

[rbk]

To add to the ^^above try and keep bottom dust off the sander and pad faces and vacuum it often.

[bstreep]

Couple of thoughts:


After using "cheapo" sanders for years, we bought a mid-priced Milwaukee. Holy carp, what a difference it made. I mean, it's only $60. But the cheap $30 stink.


Sanding pads on sanders only last so long. You can buy new pads on Amazon.



I'm not a fan of hook n loops. I prefer a clamping type, and the above Milwaukee is WAY superior to most.



Choose good sandpaper. It's not a place to skimp. If you have a soft bottom, try the screens they use for sanding drywall, you might like them better.

[masonc]

I own belt sanders, half sheet, what sheet, but thre only one I end up using is this one.
Bosch 3.3 Amp 5-Inch Random Orbit Variable Speed Sander with Dust Canister 3725DEVS https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008NFDM..._GhKYCbTP02TBK

[Fore and Aft]

I use this Bosch random orbital turbo sander on all sorts of boats and situations. It’s that good that when I wore one out I purchased another one. It’s not cheap at $450 AU but well worth it. Like everyone is saying it’s a pad problem not a sander issue.
https://www.totaltools.com.au/random...SABEgLwAfD_BwE
Cheers

[Van Der Beek]

Buy German tools and take good care of them.

I understand that if you don't do contract level work, and at most are a weekend warrior, that the cost may be hard to justify, however, once you actually NEED to use the tool (for anything more than a couple of minutes of work) you'll be happy you shelled out premium dollars.

Nothing's more frustrating than working with low quality tools, doesn't just apply to power tools, but to all tools.

[Marc1]

I agree with quality tools.
Orbital sanders have superseded belt sanders for some time now.
The two orbital sanders that stand out for professional use are Bosh GEX 150 turbo and Festool RO 150.
Festool costs double what Bosh does but Bosh is almost as good. Almost.

One more thing. there is no point in using the top sander and then skimp on sanding pads. Buy cheap sanding pads made in chinchulin and see them fly off the velcro before time.

[Spot]

Do people use 7" and 9" polisher/sanders from the automotive and surfboard glassing industry on boats? I am a hobbyist and a reluctant sander to begin with... but I do like using better paper (SIA and Indasa) and better backing pads (Flexpads from South Shore Mfg) for what little sanding I do. I find the decent hook and loop sanding disks can be used and then cut down to the next smaller size as the outer edge wears down. So 8" goes to 7" then to 6" and then to 5" on my random orbital sander. I dislike my belt sander and 1/4 sheet palm sander but they are secondhand and not investment tools. I have seen Festools in action and was impressed but I do not like sanding enough to justify (unless getting one would change my mind ?!?) It is a good thing that I do not have much brightwork or bottom paint to contend with so far this season...

[SV Siren]

I use a Porter Cable with dust collection and I really like it. It is rather heazy to use, but it has not ever let me down. I will say that you can tell when the heap bag on the Shop Vac is getting clogged as the dust collection slows down. Overall I really like it. For $180 it was a good price, even though I love Fein and Festool brands, and have a lot of them, I just could not justify the costs for them in this application. The hook and loop has never let go, and is as "sticky" as it was out of the box. I do use Merka Gold hook and loop paper off Amazon, it works really well for me.

https://www.amazon.com/PORTER-CABLE-...23&s=hi&sr=1-8

[sailah]

Probably not an option but my favorite sander for pro use is a pneumatic Dynabrade 6". Super light (no motor), no fade, tons of power, easy to control. But you need a serious air compressor to run. I have an 80 gal and it runs almost continuous when I'm using it. But for long jobs just the wrist fatigue is worth it.

I love hook n loop pads not sure why others have issues with them. Mine never fly off. I hate the sticky ones.

Also dust collecting makes a big difference, if you let the dust stay between the pad and the hull it acts like ball bearings or insulation. Getting the dust out with a vacuum (and filter setup) allows the sandpaper to cut faster, less heat and better working environment.

In lieu of all that buy a decent RO sander, not the place to save money.

[Allied39]

Having just stripped my hull down to gelcoat , and I mean in the last two weeks I can provide an opinion. I also have many years experience in the marine repair industry.

I used to have a porter cable 6 inch random orbitol sander. In my experience they are awsome.

I dont however believe in sucking in dust, especially bottom paint dust, so when I use a random orbitol it is connected to a rigid vac and the filter cleaned regularly. This sysytem pics up easily 95% of the sanding dust ...if not more.

So, because I do like being alive, I only use random orbitols with a vac. ( or to be honest I did wet sand with the porter cable and that was awsome too.)

The porter cable does not have a great vac setup. However the $100 rigid 6 inch random orbitol from home dopey is setup ready to go.

Connect two hoses together from your rigid vac, duct tape them to the connection of the sander and off you go.

I say this with confidence because I JUST did it, and not for the first time.

I will say I have worn out a rigid sander. I would still have the porter cable but it went when I sold my business.

One last point. Paper masks are for fools! Minimum use a respirator but best use a vac set up. If you really really dont want any toxic poison dust in your lungs use a vac system and a decent respirator.

The entire setup I just desribed, vac and all adds up to less than $200 at home dopey.

I will say it again......paper masks are for fools.