best brand sandpaper for power tools? Festool 125

[Scubaseas]

3M, Norton or Klingspor. 3M lasts longer but is more expensive. Had an autobody shop for 30 years. 3M was our go to.

[Alan Troll 33]

Mirka is brilliant. Keeps an edge, doesn't clog. Dust extraction is excellent. I am a full-time boat-builder. Also good is Norton - the blue discs. I've used the very coarse grits 40 and 60, sharp and long lasting

[Benz]

Originally Posted by svloki

Do you punch the holes in the paper yourself? I tried it with some 3m plain discs. Not too difficult!

There is a little plate with spikes you can buy to punch holes, but they're always sold out of it when I come by. Some day we'll coincide, or else I'll jury-rig one with nails.

[svloki]

Originally Posted by Benz

There is a little plate with spikes you can buy to punch holes, but they're always sold out of it when I come by. Some day we'll coincide, or else I'll jury-rig one with nails.

A punching tool could save a bunch of time and money. Here is one I found

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpei-MZTg5M

[svloki]

Originally Posted by Scubaseas

3M, Norton or Klingspor. 3M lasts longer but is more expensive. Had an autobody shop for 30 years. 3M was our go to.

I punched holes and jest tested a 3M gold 236U disc in the Festool. The 3m did cut faster and maybe 30% longer, and the price was cheaper than Granat. Winner so far!

[toolbar]

If you haven't tried it out, you should give Mirka Abranet a go: https://www.google.com/search?q=mirk...&tbm=isch&sa=X

They are basically a mesh, and they really give you "sandless sanding" (i.e. with a good vacuum you ask yourself why you are wearing a mask, because there seems to be nothing in the air).

Paul

[svloki]

Thanks Toolbar

I just put in a sample order for a few Abranet discs. Looks interesting.

[svloki]

Attachment 228374

I messaged 3m and Festool about Cubitron. They both say that the spiral 3m hole pattern will work very well with the Festool and others. 3m says this disc is the best they have for marine coatings in general.


I ordered a few to test.

[George_SD]

3M for me, but generally any real name brand is decent. The big difference between name brand and cheap no name is durability. 3M and such will hold up long and you will get more use out of it. Especially if doing wet sending. This is where cheap stuff falls apart in about 90 seconds.

[Seighlor]

I found Klingspor to be superior to any other. Cuts better and last longer. Check at www.woodworkingshop.com or call 800-288-0000.

[Mickeyrouse]

I used Festool for quite a while. They offer a variety of abrasive media, but I would point out that Festool- a fantastic, German-built tool- markets their products to all skills and trades requiring abrasives, including automotive and any other kind of finishing and re-finishing skills. My needs are almost exclusively varnishing. For that, I have used Klingspor discs. Klingspor compares favorably to Festool Platin, and much cheaper. For the final Steinway piano-like polishing I have switched to 2000 and 4000 grit Abralon pads by Mirka, also equal to Festool. Regarding quality- Festool is expensive with great customer support. I have spent on Festool equal amounts to what I have spent on Ryobi and DeWalt over the years. I have a lot of exterior teak, and I have gone through a fair number of sanders over the years. Besides features such as variable speed and random orbit, they all do the about the same job. Festool has a comprehensive system including their dust “ extractor” that will have little benefit if one mostly works outside. Over time, and depending on how much work you do, you will spend about the same on the tools, whether Harbor Freight, Ryobi, or Festool.