Sanding Machine & Sand Paper?

Merlin5

Merlin5

Merlin5

Soldato
Joined
17 Aug 2009
Posts
18,794
Location
Finchley, London
Hi guys. I want to start preparing a door and the door frame today before painting. Can anyone recommend a relatively inexpensive sanding machine I can pop out and buy, possibly from Toolstation? It's not a flat door so I've no idea what machine would be best for it. I mean I can certainly do some hand sanding for nooks and crannies if I need to. Door frame is also not flat. And I also need to sand the wooden step.

This is the sandpaper I have, 80 grit and 240 grit. Are they suitable for the job and for a sanding machine or do I need another grit? I also have a rubber sanding mould. I don't think I need to remove the paint completely? I guess just enough for a key and then primer.







I also better get a decent mask. Is this one good enough?

www.toolstation.com

Maverick FFP3 Moulded Valved Disposable Face Mask

• Ergonomic face mask designed to provide the perfect fit for optimum comfort and an airtight seal.• EN149:2001+A1:2009 FFP3• Protection against non-toxic solid and liquid aerosols• Adjustable nose clip prevents glasses or eyewear from steaming up• Easy-flow exhalation valve for lower breathing...
www.toolstation.com www.toolstation.com
 
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Depend on what kind of paint's already on it, it might dictate what you need to do. I'm no expert at all, but I'd probably dive right in and tackling that with 80 and 120 grit's mostly with the intention of using some kind of Zinsser product on it as an undercoat/primer and hope for the best lol. Looks like it could do with a bit of repair work first however with potentially wood filler as a minimum. Random orbit sanders will probably help on the larger sections but the detail is trickier. Some kind of detail sander would likely get into the corners and a few tricky areas but there's certainly going to be plenty of manual sanding here too. An oscillating/multi tool with a sanding head would likely do the job. I have a Milwaukee M12FDSS and it's been lovely to use for interior trim and awkward places and I've found it sands better than an osculating tool because it's more like a random orbit sander. Not cheap though!
 
Are you sanding it to remove all the paint or just to knock back for prep?

A random orbital sander will probably do you fine.

The mask should be ok, just make sure it fits well - when we had everyone at work fit tested for masks the longer disposable ones fitted everyone, the cup shaped ones not so much.
 
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All the panels are split so I'd measure the door and check places like facebook marketplace, gumtree, freecycle etc... to see if you can find one thats in better condition.

If you want a temp fix you could try using filler but I'm not sure it would last very long so I wouldn't want to spend a lot of time and money trying to fix it; so just a quick sand to key the surface fill the holes and slap a coat of gloss on and cross your fingers.


I would have used an oblong orbital sander for the flat bits but then you would probably need a detail sander as well; FFP3 disposable masks should be fine, the half face masks with the cartridges are obviously better but they aren't cheap.


For the frame you might be better with a heat gun or paint stripper and wire wool but thats a lot of work, also worth checking for people replacing PVC doors and selling their old one then you don't have the maintenance to worry about every few years.
 
Thanks guys. I'm just sanding the door, frame and step enough to give it a key. Too much work to get all the paint off. I'll be filling the gaps with flexible filler.

I would buy a new door but including fitting wouldn't that be close to £1000? I own the ground floor flat and the flat above me is owned by a buy to let person. I know he's not too keen on spending money towards a door as I've mentioned it to him in the past. I could push it but I thought I might as well have a go at some DIY. I've ended up buying 120 grit paper, FFP3 masks and a sander which was only £26.99 from Screwfix where you cut from the roll and clip the paper to the machine. I wanted a Black & Decker which is £32 but out of stock everywhere. I hope this machine is decent.

20260413-134633.jpg
 
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For light sanding I would just do it by hand, sure it will be a bit of a workout but you'll have more control over it than a power tool. Less likely to damage the door too.
 
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Merlin5 said:
I would buy a new door but including fitting wouldn't that be close to £1000?
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For a new PVC yes they aren't cheap but you can sometimes get secondhand / reclaimed doors it just depends whats available locally.

There are a lot of splits in the panels so it will need replacing but some filler and a coat of paint might last you a season until you find a replacement or get your neighbour to contribute if its a shared door.
 
NetMan said:
For a new PVC yes they aren't cheap but you can sometimes get secondhand / reclaimed doors it just depends whats available locally.

There are a lot of splits in the panels so it will need replacing but some filler and a coat of paint might last you a season until you find a replacement or get your neighbour to contribute if its a shared door.
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It does need replacing, absolutely. However as you say, if it lasts a few months to a year I'm happy enough. I'm just having some blue paint made up for me as I type this so I'm commited now! :D
 
Furniture scrapers and a burnisher for resharpening. It will do the work when the paint stripper fails..
 
Merlin5 said:
It does need replacing, absolutely. However as you say, if it lasts a few months to a year I'm happy enough. I'm just having some blue paint made up for me as I type this so I'm commited now! :D
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Are you doing the frame as well?
 
I used wet cloth backed sandpaper on all my indoor doors and did it by hand, and kept rinsing the sandpaper in a bucket of water.

Zero dust in the house and no need to use a mask.

I only need to take off a thin layer of gloss though, to go deeper I would remove the door and take it outside to do.
 
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I have a JSP force 8 mask (but the older non 'press to check' filters). https://www.toolstation.com/jsp-force8-mask-with-p3-presstocheck-filters/p80177

They've done really well, the mask needs a bit of pressure to seal but works with serious abuse. (think a sanding flapper, with 40grit and 120grit turning the garage into a breaking bad accident) Now onto a second set of filters and will continue if I can - good mask in my experience. The two part head strap really keeps it snug.

The paper masks seem to end up just starving me of oxygen then allow dust in for kicks and giggles.
 
Merlin5 said:
I would buy a new door but including fitting wouldn't that be close to £1000?
Click to expand...

The door itself should set you back about £400 and they're not exactly hard to fit. And it's a good opportunity to fit decent 6" screws.

Beyond that it looks like the frame needs more work than the door: is it jus paint damage or is there rot.
 
I would get them cracks/panels stabilised with some external PVA dribbled into the cracks
If they can move then flexible filler may hold up but the paint isn't going to

If the wood is soft from water ingress your going to probably need to use a hardener

Remember to remove the metalwork before you sand/paint

I would aim to have the door fully prepped and primer applied so that you can start the door first thing on a decent day after a good day the day before.

Prep is everything on this sort of project to avoid wasting your time.

Looking at the door and frame you either need to spend a hell of a lot of time sanding or do a repeat sand, prime, sand undercoat, sand undercoat regime.
Assuming you want it to look good
 
For cracks on external timber I'd recommend using a two part filler such as ronseal high performance.

Edit: lovely tiles by the way.
 
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