Random Orbital Sander Recommendation?

mjd · 23 Mar 2014 at 18:45

I am currently in the process of trying to undo the painting efforts of the previous owner. The plaster is sound, but the walls were painted with anything they could lay their hands on, leaving a nasty texture to the finish.
I have a Bosch PEX220 currently, but it is extremely slow going and in around 6 hours I managed to only correct an area 6ftx6ft.
The finish is good, but I suspect I need a but more oomph!
Any recommendations would be most welcome. The cheaper the better!

Nightglow · 23 Mar 2014 at 19:43

Is it something like polycell ripple texture coat, horrible stuff use to be popular in the 80' & 90's
Nothing wrong with a Bosch PEX220, probably down to the sanding discs your using, grit size & quality.
Some discs just aren't up to the job, Mirka Abranet Sanding Discs are very good discs for stripping plaster, paint,etc, I use the 150mm ones, they also do a 125mm version,available in various grits, but you will need the special backing pad to protect the machine hook & loop disc.

Start with a 80 grit disc, then finish off with 120 grit, or even 180grit.

Could always hire a heavier 6" orbital sander for a week.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mirka-Abr...t=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item3f1e6d095b

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mirka-Abr...Garden_PowerTools_SM&var=&hash=item43c366d801

mjd · 23 Mar 2014 at 20:00

The texture is purely born out of a combination of brushes, rollers, too much and too little paint and a general slapdash effort at getting paint on the walls as far as I can tell.
I have tried the bosch 'for paint' discs, but they seemed a little weak for the job, so got some general purpose 80 grit discs. The finish on the area I have done is good, but its a very slow process. I think I may have under estimated the work involved whilst trying to avoid just getting a plasterer in to skim the lot

Nightglow · 23 Mar 2014 at 20:19

When you work out the cost of discs, hours spent sanding, then skimming is sometimes the cheaper option.

I prefer 3M or Mirka discs, discs, they are aluminum oxide based, harder & last longer than some other brands.

But, I buy Mirka 150mm discs @ £15:95p for a box of 100.

Westyfield2 · 24 Mar 2014 at 10:19

I've just ordered the Makita one that uses the same 18V Li-Ion batteries as the other power tools. Not arrived yet though.

Lopéz · 24 Mar 2014 at 11:56

Nightglow said:
When you work out the cost of discs, hours spent sanding, then skimming is sometimes the cheaper option.

Especially when you consider the amount of dust sanding makes. I'd never do that again, skim every time now.

mjd · 24 Mar 2014 at 18:57

I made the mistake of forgetting to shut one of the doors on the landing when sanding. Couldn't see huge amounts of dust whilst sanding so assumed the bosch filter effort was doing its job. Went into my playroom later that day to find a generous layer of yellow dust of just about everything.

Think I'll give some better discs a try before admitting defeat.