Rotex--what accessories?

[Matt Meiser]

I picked up a 6" Rotex a few weeks ago (which I'm LOVING--wish I'd bought it a long time ago) and before the sale ends I was thinking of picking up some of the accessory pads. What do others find useful? To be honest I'm not even sure what the stock pad is--soft/medium/hard (pretty sure its not hard.)

[Chris Tsutsui]

I saw all the accessories for the rotex and I don't think I would use any of them other than a very soft backing pad to use on automotive paint. However I saw that their fine grit sand paper had a soft sponge backing to them already.

If I had money to spend, I'd get sand paper pads. I like 150 and 220, with the occasional 80 grit.

[Tom Ewell]

I have the "old" version and the included kit was fairly complete (including a replacement pad) for what I needed. I've only added a few buffing pads and a good supply of sanding disks.
I occasionally rework old solid cabinets and a heavy grit comes in handy for grinding off the finishes, which this sander will do with ease.

[Gary Curtis]

My Rotex ( RO 150E+) is 5 years old. Only used it for wood sanding. So abrasives were all I bought. Now I'm starting on some car restoration. Just today I perused the Festool-USA website and my impression was that the accessories were not only overpriced, but not tailored to automotive detailing or restoration.

Not enough variety of foam pads, and too pricy. Cobra pads, also from Germany, offer a greater selection, super quality, and prices about 30-40% less than Festool. It would help if you could define your objective. If it is sanding, then what I said isn't valid. Festool is the best in abrasives.

[Jim Becker]

Matt, I've only ever used the "stock" pad with my Rotex since I use it for "heavy" work and leave finish sanding to my 150/3. Even there, I only have the regular pad, although I've replaced it twice over the years. (hook and loop pads do degrade from the heat of friction over time) I would personally characterize the stock pad as "medium". It's relatively hard, but still has some flex. I could see an application for a harder pad for when sanding large panels to help insure it stayed absolutely flat.

[Jeff Monson]

I'd agree with Jim, the stock pad should be in the medium range. I bought the soft pad when I purchased mine, its definately more flexible.....but I have not found a use for it yet. Still in the package, maybe an automotive use one day??? The only add on I use with my 150 is the edge guide, otherwise its just as it came. The ETS and the RO150 are IMHO the best sanders on the market, I dont dread sanding with either of these machines.

[Randall Houghton]

Matt
The pad that comes on this sander is describe in Festool literature as soft. In reality it is their medium pad with superssoft being the most flexible and hard being the stiffest. I've used this sander in a commercial application for the past thirteen years and I have found the hard pad is great for leveling joints and fillers. I use the soft for general sanding and the supersoft for moderate curves. For more radical curves I use an interface pad that conforms to most any shape. I also have a buffing pad that we use on the vehicles. Best sander I've owned in the last fifty years of woodworking.
Regards
Randy