random orbital sanders (Bosch green)

I managed to find a cheap Velcro pad that fitted my Bosch sander.

Where - I keep buying new ones as they don't last long

Jonathan

I've got the Bosch PEX 400 AE - bought a few years ago. The Velcro works as well now as when bought. I have used fairly cheap discs - and a few slightly more expensive ones. Just about to try some much more expensive Hermes as on coarser grades the cheaper discs have not been lasting at all well.

I wondered why I had put up with standard orbital sanders for so long.

You'll wonder why you put up with cheap abrasives too! Especially if you buy the Hermes anti-clog-coated stuff

The choice of speed is not always as intuitive as you might expect - depending on what you are sanding and the type of abrasive, you can find that slower works better than faster in some cases. Sometimes a speed of

As long as you have not overheated the velcro pad, or worse, tried sanding with it without a sanding disc, then it should be ok. How difficult is it to pull a paper off the disc? IME they get quite a strong grip.

New backing pads are probably £10 - £15.

Still on my first - had the sander for several years....

Perhaps you are applying too much pressure? (you don't want much on a RO sander)

Mitre10 in New Zealand :)

I found with the setting at one that it didn't rotate properly but perhaps that means I was pressing too hard? I think after those first few minutes I learned to apply less pressure.

When I first attach a disc it holds; it flies off after a few minutes use. That's the strange thing: if the velcro was worn, surely it wouldn't hold the disc at all? Why throw it off halfway through?