Hi, I'm planning to buy my first electrical sander. I need to sand for finishing some particleboard with sealer and lacquer. I'm concerned about the fact that teoretically I'll need to do the paint-sand-repaint process many times. Then which kind of sander I need for this? Orbital? I've seen some (orbital?) sanders that are labeled "finishing sander" or something alike. Which is the difference? How many sanders I'll need? Consider I really don't like to sand by hand...
Random orbital! I hate sanding and sanders but these are actually pretty cool. I have the variable speed PC but I'm not really sure the variable speed makes much difference. My girlfriend was hogging it to work on her deck so I talked her into a large one and it's sweet too.
I have a box full of sanders. If I were to limit that to one I would choose the random orbit sander, which _is_not_ the same as an orbital sander. That's what they used to call those crappy things Sears sold (and may still sell). The random orbit will do a wider range of sanding than any other I have found. I also have a finish sander and use it quite often but it will not do rougher sanding as a random orbit sander will. With fine sandpaper a random orbit will do almost as good of finish sanding as a finish sander will. And, you can get away with one.
If you are talking about sanding between coats, then hand sand with a sanding block. Hand sanding is a fact of life. Especially when finishing, you better learn to love it now because there are lots of jobs a power sander won't do (corners, inside edges, etc.). I never use power sander between coats. It is too easy to sand right through.
If you're doing lots of large surface areas (sheet stock), or aggressive sanding, then I agree with the other posters - start with a random orbit.
However, I personally find that I reach for my trusty DeWalt finish sander more often than my random orbit (PC). Why?
- It's much more controllable, and hence does a better job, with narrow pieces, near edges, etc. The RO is much more aggressive, often too much so.
- It can get into corners because the pad is square. The RO can't.
- It can get right up to an inside edge without damaging the adjoining surface. The RO has a tendency to gouge into the adjacent surface, no matter how careful you think you are.
- It uses regular paper (quarter sheets) which is easily mounted with 2 clips. I always have a good stock of regular paper on hand, I can change it in seconds, and it's easy to reuse sheets that weren't used up. My RO uses hook and loop, but I find that after being put on & off about twice, it won't stay on reliably. Plus it's much more expensive.
I used the DeWalt for years before getting the RO. It's just more comfortable in my hand, and it's the one I'd choose if I could have only one. That said, I really like the RO for large, flat surfaces, and for aggressive sanding where a belt sander is not suitable.
Long term you'll probably want both, plus a belt sander.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.