# Surfprep sander problems



## NewJerseyPainting (5 mo ago)

Does anyone have any issues with surprep sanders? I have used the 3x4 a fair amount and it gets unbearably hot after 10 or so mins of use. It will also randomly turn on my dust extractor while not in use and the scratch pattern is not very good imo. Any info would be great


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## jennifertemple (Oct 30, 2011)

Sounds like I'm glad I never got one!


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## NewJerseyPainting (5 mo ago)

jennifertemple said:


> Sounds like I'm glad I never got one!


Idk because a lot of people love them


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## jennifertemple (Oct 30, 2011)

NewJerseyPainting said:


> Idk because a lot of people love them


So I have read here or at least read of people wanting to get one. I'm happy with my Festool.


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## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

jennifertemple said:


> So I have read here or at least read of people wanting to get one. I'm happy with my Festool.


Festool with surfprep pads


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## fromthenorthwest (May 2, 2012)

For the amount of money they charge I'm sure you got a lemon, is it new?


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## NewJerseyPainting (5 mo ago)

fromthenorthwest said:


> For the amount of money they charge I'm sure you got a lemon, is it new?


I originally bought their 5 inch orbital which did the same thing and they replaced with a new one that also had problems. They then offered to replace the second sander with a new 3x4. That was a year ago and I still have problems. I have used festool and mirka orbitals and cheap sheet sanders that never got unbearably hot. With my experience I would not recommend the sander but I do use the 3x4 abrasives a lot without sander.


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## MikeCalifornia (Aug 26, 2012)

Just contact them?? I have two and they do not get hot after hours of sanding.


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## fromthenorthwest (May 2, 2012)

NewJerseyPainting said:


> I originally bought their 5 inch orbital which did the same thing and they replaced with a new one that also had problems. They then offered to replace the second sander with a new 3x4. That was a year ago and I still have problems. I have used festool and mirka orbitals and cheap sheet sanders that never got unbearably hot. With my experience I would not recommend the sander but I do use the 3x4 abrasives a lot without sander.


Hmm that's weird. I've never used surf prep but heard great things about them.


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## CharlestonPainter (Jun 3, 2020)

Strange, must be a bad unit, all the wood finishers and cabinet re finishers I know swear by them. They are family owned, really good people and well respected within the wood coating and finishing industry, I'm sure they'll help you like in the past. Electrical issue and scratch pattern and running hot, there has to be an issue with the motor. The sanding stroke on those is 3mm, that's pretty fine, so that should't be a problem if you're rolling through your grits right. I'm a Festool guy, 2 RTS400's, 2mm stroke, those things are my little beasts, superb for fine finishing yet strong enough for some serious but well controlled surface removal when needed, instead of an orbital. I've tried the Surfprep, prefer the more upright shape and balance and heft of the RTS. If you ever change, (they are reasonable at $289), Surfprep makes 80mm x 130mm pads for the RTS, they are fantastic for cabinet profiles and crown. TIP for RTS400: I use 6" Orbital Net discs as my main paper all the time, the 3M Extract Net discs, the Diablo Sandnets in 400 (my favorite), or Mirka/Festool. The 6" disc fits just perfect on the corners, and the flaps that overhang on all 4 sides just fold up when butting against an edge or on corners, that sands that edge, a great time saver for straight edge cabinet profiles, and using that flap edge with a backing pad works superbly on small 90 degree profile edges. Sorry I rambled on, love me my RTS's and the discs on them. Sidenote: How cool is it that Surfprep makes their Foam Pads in a different size specifically for a competitors sander, the Festool.


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## danielmeyers (5 mo ago)

I bought mine in March of this year. I love it and agree that it has both pros and cons. Surfprep customer service is amazing. A few days ago it stopped working. There was no power coming in at all. I tried different outlets but still nothing. I was so frustrated thinking about how I had been saving up for months to buy this grinder. I decided to look up the problem on their website and couldn't find anything related to my problem. A chat window popped up and I chatted with Wendy. She called me right away, we tried a recalibration, which didn't work, and we both concluded that it just died. I just got lucky. Not even 5 months later and it was already dead, I wanted to cry thinking the warranty was probably 90 days. Fortunately, it is 1 year. Madison, who does the repairs, called me the next day and arranged for free delivery of the unit for repair or replacement. I hope no one else has this problem, but know that Surfprep customer service is here to help in any way they can.


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