Festool 125mm Sandpaper choice or other brands

[ChrisA Edwards]

I have a lot of primed painted pieces that I need to sand prior to finish painting.

220 grit gives me a good surface for my final finish spray coat.

I currently have a lot of Festool Rubin 220, which is working, but tends to clog, even with using the sander attached to my CT26.

I think I should be using Granat on the paint.

Are there other brands that I should consider.

Also, is there a proven method to remove the clogged paint off the sandpaper. I tried a wire brush, but that kind of just glossed over the paint deposits. The primer, that I am sanding, was painted on about a week ago.

Thanks.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Although I do not really know the correct answer, I can say the following:



Granat is their longest lasting (best??) sandpaper. I pretty much assume that I can use it for anything.
Brilliant has an antistatic coating and I think is usually used on things that have a coating on them (so not bare wood). So maybe your painted surface.
Rubin I think is primarily designed for bare wood and should easily shed those wood fibers, so, I would not use Rubin for this application. So think "bare wood"
Titan. Not really sure what they do with this one. I think it is more for finishing work.
Vlies is more for the tough jobs I think, like when I want to remove rust from an old saw or really get in there.


So, given your list, yes, use Granat.

For cleaning off your sandpaper, try googling "sandpaper erasure" or similar. You will find things like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RYTPZ91

You can buy them at big box stores, probably a hardware store. I read somewhere that someone just used the bottom of old exercise shoes. I never tried it since the abrasive cleaning sticks are not expensive and last a long time. I don't remember if i have used one to remove paint from sandpaper, but I have used these often with good effect.

[Neil Gaskin]

We use Klingspor products in our shop. Always been happy and cost less than festool.

You might try calling and asking for a recommendation.

[Robert Engel]

I buy Festool-compatible disks from Industrial Abrasives. IMO they are just as good as Granate.

[Erik Loza]

I've always used Klingspor and never had a complaint. Are these other brands really that much better? No opinion, just curious.

Erik

[ChrisA Edwards]

Well I couldn't wait and with Amazon next day delivery, my box of Festool Granat arrived about an hour ago.

So far I've sanded about 6 boards and have no clogging.

It actually feels a little more aggressive than the same grit Rubin, but that may be the Rubin clogging and sliding on the surface.

[Mike Wilkins]

I recently had a need to sand some painted projects for additional coats and used 3M paper at 150 grit. With this style of paper there is no need to worry about hole placement as this product has holes over the entire surface.

[Dave Sabo]

Rubin = raw wood. Absolutely sux for paint
Granat = general purpose
Brilliant = between coats. No longer produced
Saphir = shaping. This is for the tough jobs
Viles = scotchbrite pad
Titan = ??????? Think it's for the automotive industry and contoured work.


I'm now using net/ mesh abrasives for most finish work on everything but RO90. I have a lifetime supply of brilliant2 paper for that. Particularly Freud's Diablo mesh. If you catch a promo at the depot you can get them for as little as 30cents a disc. - dirt cheap. Be sure to use the interfaces with mesh abrasives. You'll need the Festool ones for their sanders as the universals don't have the center hole.

Ive not had much luck with the erasers on rotary sanders removing the corn. If your primer is corning up your paper, it's been put on too thick or its crap primer. Good primer like BIN shellac based or Coverstain should produce a fine chalk like dust when sanded and not pill up your sandpaper. Too much pressure and too fast a rotation is also going to corn your paper from excessive heat generation.

[Jim Becker]

I have not used the Granat simply because I pretty much only power sand raw wood, so Rubin it's been, but I've heard nice things about the Granat and may get a supply at some point to ascertain where it might play in my work. I'm looking forward to hearing how it works out for your application!

[Rod Sheridan]

I use Mirka Abranet with my Festool sander.........Rod.

[ChrisA Edwards]

Below is a picture of the primer and paint that I'm using for this project. I did the first phase of 10 Windows, about a year ago, and am in the painting phase of another 10 windows at the moment, although this actually have a few more shutters. This is a new batch of paint.

The primer is sanding to dust. I applied it with a roller and pretty sparingly. It doesn't take very much time to sand. It I stay in one spot for about 4-5 seconds, with just the weight of the sander (ETSC) applying pressure, I'll sand through the primer.

Although the Granat appears to be much better than the Rubin, Home Depot has the Freud Sand Net 220 in stock, so I think I'll give my arm a rest and pop down and buy a pack to try.


https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/i452/cedwards874/Woodworking/Shutters/.highres/ShemanWilliamsPaint_zps7bvz9gwn.jpg

[Jim Becker]

Unless you really slopped the primer on, a quick pass with some paper in your hand to knock off the fuzzies and so forth should be all you need since that Emerald will level out nicely when applied correctly. It may be a lot faster, too...grab a louver piece, swipe up and down and along the edges with the paper, set it aside and move to the next. Do the same to dust them off assembly line fashion and then move on to your top coats.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I found, in my first batch, where I didn't sand the primer smooth, and the primer feels like 220 grit paper prior to sanding, that the top coat sprayed on, still showed the surface of the primer and didn't look like a nice sprayed on surface.

I initially, again on my first batch, used an Apollo Turbine V HVLP, but even with the correct size cap and tip, I couldn't get a wet coat on that would allow the paint to flow out.

I've since switched to a Graco Magnum X5 with FFLP 208 tip (Fine Finish Low Pressure), and that puts the paint on very evenly without any thinning, which means I can also spray directly from the gallon paint can.

When I start the Louver piece of priming and painting, I'll sand the bare wood Louvers (260+), probably with 220 Rubin on my ETSC and foam blocks for the edges, spray on the primer, sand that with Granat 220 and then finish spray. It's quite a task, I have frames setup, for drying, where I can do about 6 sets of Louvers at a times.

https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/i452/cedwards874/Woodworking/Shutters/.highres/LouversCutToLength_zpsq8m7rrg7.jpg

[ChrisA Edwards]

Tried the Freud Diablo Net Sanding disc. It didn't work well with the foam backing pad not having the correct hole position for my ETSC, so I went back to the Festool Granat and finished this piece of my sanding project.

[Dave Sabo]

Tried the Freud Diablo Net Sanding disc. It didn't work well with the foam backing pad not having the correct hole position for my ETSC, so I went back to the Festool Granat and finished this piece of my sanding project.


Not surprised.

see my previous post regarding the mesh abrasive backer pads:


I'm now using net/ mesh abrasives for most finish work on everything but RO90. I have a lifetime supply of brilliant2 paper for that. Particularly Freud's Diablo mesh. If you catch a promo at the depot you can get them for as little as 30cents a disc. - dirt cheap. Be sure to use the interfaces with mesh abrasives. You'll need the Festool ones for their sanders as the universals don't have the center hole.


this one:

https://www.festoolusa.com/accessory/203344---pp-stf-d125-2

[ChrisA Edwards]

Thanks Dave, ordered one.