Sanding Grit Schedule?

[Matt Meiser]

Since I'm buying the Festool sander (ETS 150/5) I need to buy all new sandpaper. Currently I'm sanding 80, 150, and 220. Any recommendations on whether to keep this schedule or switch to something new?

[Brian Hale]

I use 100/120/150 and 220. 150 gets the most use

Brian :)

[James Biddle]

Congrats on the new purchase. I'm finding that the 150/3 gives me a nice enough finish at 180, that I stop there most of the time. I start at 80 or 120 depending on the coarseness of the wood, then run through 120, 150, and 180. I've read that the 150/5 leaves more swirl marks because of the larger orbit (5mm vs 3mm) so you may need to sand once more at 220. If true, it might be a case for considering the 150/3 instead of the 150/5, which probably makes faster work with the rougher grits.

[Jim Becker]

I use 100/120/150 and 220. 150 gets the most use

Ditto. And I sometimes throw in 180 on a fine grained wood that I will be using an oil finish on without a film top coat. I do keep 80 grit for situations where I need to be a bit agressive, but don't usually start there unless it is necessary...judgement call. The Festool media is actually quite reasonable in cost, especialy when you consider the media lasts a bit longer due to both good quality and the excellent dust collection.

[Matt Meiser]

Ditto. And I sometimes throw in 180 on a fine grained wood that I will be using an oil finish on without a film top coat. I do keep 80 grit for situations where I need to be a bit agressive, but don't usually start there unless it is necessary...judgement call.
So are you guys using 100/120/150 each, then 180 or 220? Are you using the Brilliant paper for all grits, or the red stuff for the lower grits?

[QUOTE=Jim Becker]The Festool media is actually quite reasonable in cost, especialy when you consider the media lasts a bit longer due to both good quality and the excellent dust collection.

Its actually cheaper than the Mirka Gold I've been using.

[brent lenthall]

Matt,

I'm probably the odd man out, but after using the 80, 120, 150, 180 schedule I changed to 120, 120. This is mainly with cabinets. Belt sand FF with 120, DA with 120. It's a heck of a lot faster and the results are as good or better. Sheet goods get 120 with the DA. Most of my finishes are multi step. Stain or Dye, seal, glaze, seal, topcoat with conversion varnish.

brent

[Brian Hale]

I guess i should have been a bit more specific.... Normally, i power sand (ROS or orbital) with 100 and 120. Depending on the finish/stain and the desired effect, I'll hand sand with 150(stain) and/or 220 (clear film finish only). Like most things in WW, this can change depending on the desired final result. Ex... If i find a wood that doesn't stain dark enough I'll sand 1 grit coarser to give the pigments a place to sit. This may require additional sanding on the finish coat but not often. On woods like oak and ash, I'll hand sand to 120, stain something dark and allow it to dry and then sand 150-200 with a firm sanding block. This will take most of the stain off the closed part of the grain but leave it in the open pores, thus accenting the grain.

I always keep 100, 120, 150, 180, 200, 320 on hand.

Brian :)

[Rob Blaustein]

Rubin for up to 180; then Brilliant for higher. One bummer if you don't sand a lot is that the higher Brilliant grits come in either 100 packs or 5 packs. You can likely do some swapping with other Festool owners; I've done that with some of the grit sizes that either come in 100/pack, and even for others if someone wants to. They last a lot longer than my old 5" pads that I use with my Makita sander.

[Christian Aufreiter]

I mainly use P 120 and P 180. Sometimes I switch up to P 240 and P 320 for finish sanding. If quick stock removal is required I prefer a belt sander.

Regards,

Christian

[Matt Meiser]

I'm thinking of getting this list for starters:

P80 Rubin 50x
P100 Rubin 50x
P120 Rubin 50x
P150 Rubin 50x
P180 Rubin 50x
P220 Brilliant 100x

One question before I decide for sure--maybe for Jim Becker--any issues with the Festool papers and Target products causing fisheye?

[Mark Singer]

Matt,
The list looks good! The Rubin seems to hold up better than "Brilliant" which is the white. I usually go from 150 to 220...but it is probably good to keep it as you have it.

[Jim Becker]

One question before I decide for sure--maybe for Jim Becker--any issues with the Festool papers and Target products causing fisheye?

Nope.............

[Frank Pellow]

Matt, the grits you are planning on getting look good to me. But, I recommend that you get at least one packet of Titan paper. I know that the Festool manual says that Titan is for metal, but I really like it with wood. It has a stearare coating, which none of the other festool papers have, and that means it does not pick up as much dust.

Try the Titan P80 and I am sure that you will like it.

[Jim Becker]

Matt, the grits you are planning on getting look good to me. But, I recommend that you get at least one packet of Titan paper. I know that the Festool manual says that Titan is for metal, but I really like it with wood. It has a stearare coating, which none of the other festool papers have, and that means it does not pick up as much dust.

Try the Titan P80 and I am sure that you will like it.
Searated paper should not be used prior to spraying the Target Coatings water bourne finishes that Matt asked about...per the manufacturer.

[Matt Meiser]

Thanks Jim. Also, Frank, thanks for the suggestion. I would do that if it weren't for the issue Jim mentioned.

[JayStPeter]

I usually go 80 (if necessary), 100, 150, 220 with my 150/5. The 150 will probably be the first grit I'll need another box for. If I was going to add another grit, I'd probably go for 120.
I also have 400 up to 1500 for finishes. The 400 and 600 get the most use for leveling and de-nubbing the first coats.

Jay

[Steve Clardy]

Drum sander 80-100
ros 80-100-120
I usually don't go past 120 in my line of work, but sometimes go to 150.

[Matt Meiser]

Another Creeker and I are going to trade some discs, so I'm going to buy him a box of P100 and he's going to give me some P240 and/or P320 Brilliant paper so I'll end up with P80, P100, P120, P150, and P180 in Rubin and 240 and 320 in Brilliant.

[Jay Knoll]

Matt

Throw a five pace of 40 into the mix if you think you'll have to do any heavy duty refinishing work -- I used it to strip old varnish off a door, removing paint instead of chemicals. They sell a 5 pack and it might be cheaper to buy it with the "big order" rather than pay shipping later on when you might need it

Jay

PS have you thought about a buffing pad?

[Pete Lamberty]

I go about sanding a bit different from everyone else Matt. The first thing that I do is use a hand scraper (card scraper). After the scraper you can start sanding with 180 or 220. I have found that useing a hand scraper is much faster than going thru all of those different grits of sandpaper. You guys will think I am crazy but I like a hand scraper better than the new Fein Multi Master that I just bought. The only time I like the Fein is when I can't get the scraper into a really tight area.