Festool Sandpaper

[Gary Keedwell]

Creekers,

I have posted previously about my interest in the Festool line of sanders. I think after long consideration, I have it narrowed down.
My question now is; what do I order for sandpaper? I have searched for threads that mentioned sandpaper, but come up empty.
When I look on the Festool site I see names like; brilliant...ruben...titan...saphir...and platin. Can someone direct me to a link or some other source that I can learn of these different kinds of sandpaper that Festool offers?
That is the only hurdle I have left before I take the Festool snanding-plunge. By the way; I have the Festool 15.6 cordless drill and fell in love!!! LOL
Gary K.

[James Biddle]

Gary,
I think you'll find most Festool owners (Festoolers?, Festoolians?, Festoolites?) use the Festool paper; it's pretty reasonaly priced and lasts as long as anything else. Of the 5 types, I only use the Rubin (bare wood) and Brilliant (bare wood & finishes), although I don't quite understand why Rubin ends at 180. Obviously, its most economical in the larger quantities. If you can find another local Festool owner, it's nice to split some of the infrequently used size packages. Also, I recently picked up the Systainer for the paper and find it to be a great way to keep it organized.


Rubin for bare wood
Brilliant for paints and varnishes
Titan for solid surface and automotive
Vlies for light sanding and degreasing
Saphir for heavy-duty use

[Larry Crim]

Gary,
Per Swenson turned me on to a site for festool users that has some good info, I think all the paper I have and use for bare wood is the rubin.
here is the link for the site.


Moderator removed direct link to another public forum - TOS Violation

[Gary Keedwell]

OK. I'm starting to get the gist of this. I guess I can eliminate the Titan, Saphir,and the Platin...so that leaves me with the Rubin and Brilliant. Now if I can figure the differences between those two, I think I'll be 3/4 the way over the hurdle.
I think I'm making progress. Decisions, decisions,decisions......
Gary K.

[Dan Clark]

I heard something similar, but I thought it was the Fein DC.

Dan.

[Gary Keedwell]

Dan,
Your absolutely right. Guess it was wishful thinking. lol Probably gonna go with ES 125 and Ct 22 Combo. Will be submitting my order not too long down the road with Uncle Bob. LOML will not have to bust her chops coming up with a Christmas present for me this year. Wait a minute!!! My birthday is coming up later this month. HMMmmmmm Now about that Rotex.........

Gary K.

[Dan Clark]

Gary,

When you said "combo", I wasn't sure if you meant buying two tools or you were referring to one of the Festool combo packs. I think they are a great deal.

Also, from www.Festool.com (http://www.Festool.com), it looks like Festool is offering a $30 rebate per tool if you buy three or more tools. I don't know if they can "combined" with a combo pack. You might want to check with Uncle Bob and see what is the best way to go.

Choices, choices... :D

Dan.

p.s., Rotex RO 150 FEQ is excellent! (In my ever-so-humble opinion.)

[Bob Marino]

Gary,

This is from Festool's "Knowledge Base" on their web-site and while it does nothing to explain the etiology of the names of the various abrsasives, it should clear up some of the confusion regading their applications.

Also, regarding the rebates, the tool packages - (CT and tool) count as one tool toward the 3 tool offer.

Bob
Question :
What type of sandpaper should I use? http://www.festoolusa.com/faq/images/imgAnswer.gifAnswer :
Rubin is recommended for bare wood, its coating prevents wood fibers from clogging. It can also be used for removing old paint. For finer grit paper than the 180 offered in Rubin, use Brilliant. Never use Titan on bare wood.

Brilliant is recommended for paints and varnishes and for sanding between coats. It has an antistatic coating to prevent clogging. Brilliant may also be used on solid surfaces and plastics.

Titan is recommended for solid surfaces and auto painting. The stearate coating prevents clogging.

Saphir has a durable cloth backing and is ideal for removing old finishes, and can be used for grinding concrete products or metal.

Vlies 100 is for roughening, cleaning or degreasing. Vlies 280 and 800 is used for polishing solid surface.

Platin is for high gloss finishes.

[Gary Keedwell]

I'm definetly getting the CT 22....just can't pull the trigger on a sander yet. I want to get a combo from Festool.

Gary K.

[Gary Keedwell]

Thanks Bob....I just can't make up my mind on which sander to get. One day it is one sander...the next day another. The CT 22 is the only decision that I keep on a daily basis. lol

Gary K.

[Russ Massery]

I would suggest the 150/3. I have a Rotex also but the 150/3 gets the most use.

[Dave Falkenstein]

Bob Marino and some of the other Festool ISA's will sell you sandpaper in broken packs, so you don't need to restrict your paper selection to the packaging that Festool offers. I buy the less used grits in packs of 10 or 20 from Bob. I use mostly Brilliant and some Rubin. Bob can point you to a good selection for starters, and then you can reorder what you find you use up. Remember that the paper outlasts anything you are used to experiencing, because of the excellent dust extraction. Buy three tools before the end of the year and get $30 rebate on EACH. The sander and dust extractor package are one - so get two more tools and you get the fourth tool really cheap. My advice would be a Rotex or a 150/3 or 150/5 for the first sander and a DS400 or Deltex for the second one. I have found that I use the 150/3 and DS400 most often.

[Sam Shank]

Gary,
Moderator removed direct link to another public forum - TOS Violation

It's like you have a show on NBC, and go on David Letterman on CBS and have to say "I have a show an another network." This is a silly policy. Any chance of getting it changed?

[Tim Sproul]

One day it is one sander...the next day another. The CT 22 is the only decision that I keep on a daily basis.

What type of work do you do? What are you looking for?

IME, I have been pleasantly surprised with the half-sheet, RS2 sander. It is very versatile and despite its relatively large size, is quite maneuverable. For sanding projects prior to finishing, it has become my go-to sander. I find it really shines in frame and panel. We've all put together our carefully mortised and tenon frames only to run our fingers over the joint and find the stile is just proud (well, in my case, a bit more than 'just' proud)...the RS2 is better than a circular ROS for flattening that imperfection. If you are looking for a sander that will also excel for polishing, a Rotex model should be considered. For reference, I have the 150 RO, 150/3, 125, DS and RS sanders too.


Regarding Festool abrasives. IME/IMO, I've found the brilliant papers leave a more polished surface than the rubin papers, at the expense of speed. If I sand a bare wood surface with 120 rubin, I can see fine scratches under intense raking light and my fingers tell me the surface is textured. If I sand with 120 grit brilliant, the bare wood surface has more gloss because I really cannot see scratches on the surface and my fingers tell me the surface is like float glass. I'm very impressed with the brilliant papers ... and find they could be graded at higher grits than Festool grades them at. The polish doesnt' seem to be burnishing as my projects have accepted finish without problem.

[Gary Keedwell]

Regarding Festool abrasives. IME/IMO, I've found the brilliant papers leave a more polished surface than the rubin papers, at the expense of speed. If I sand a bare wood surface with 120 rubin, I can see fine scratches under intense raking light and my fingers tell me the surface is textured. If I sand with 120 grit brilliant, the bare wood surface has more gloss because I really cannot see scratches on the surface and my fingers tell me the surface is like float glass. I'm very impressed with the brilliant papers ... and find they could be graded at higher grits than Festool grades them at. The polish doesnt' seem to be burnishing as my projects have accepted finish without problem.__________________
AHHHHhhh Tim, now that's the kind of information I was looking for. Thank-you very, very much!!!
Gary K.

[Gary Keedwell]

Was watching "This Old House" last nite and they had a hardwood floor contractor pull up someones carpet and then he proceeded to sand real fast to show a nice floor underneath. Well, you guessed it; a Festool. Boy, it only took a few seconds to see a beautiful looking long pine floor.
After he stopped the dust extractor kept going for a couple of seconds and then the camera went straight to the dust extractor. I thought it was kool and a little like an advertisement. LOL
Just thought I would share this info.
Gary K.

[Jim Becker]

Good catch, Gary...the Silva crowd has a very nice stable of Festool gear...and we can thank our own Uncle Bob for that! ;) You sometimes see similar pictures in TOH magazine.