# Festool Thread, tips, insight, comparisons.



## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

I'm new to Festool equipment, although I've been a fan for a while now. I've read about every post on PT that had the word, "Festool" in it and I've read hundreds on FOG, (Festool Owners Group). I thought it might be useful for those of you Festool veterans to share your opinions, wisdom & any little tricks or tips you've picked up along the way. 

Here's a few topics:

-Vacuum hoses, how much can we attach to our Festool vac, are antistatic hoses worth the money, any certain non-Festool hoses online available that don't cost a fortune?

-What's the advantage of RAS versus RO? It seems to me that with the exception of being cheaper, the RAS wouldn't be near as useful, since it's a single-mode tool, (more of a grinder, right?)

-How much more powerful is the RO125 than the RO 90? -How much more powerful is the RO150 than the RO 125?

-Any resources for best deal on abrasives and accessories?

-Anything you were surprised or disappointed by with your Festool?

I only have the CT Mini & RO 90, but I'm almost certainly buying a RO 125 this week. Although I can offer very little insight, I will say that the RO 90 is extremely useful in regards to being able to switch from a round pad to a delta pad for corners. I was surprised by how effective it actually cleaned the corners up. 

I'm eager to hear your thoughts regarding useful tips for operation, must-have accessories, money-saving ideas for incorporating non-festool equipment, or anything else you wish to share. 

I think this thread could save many folks some precious time. Thanks in advance for the knowledge. 


Stelzer Painting Inc.


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## Brian C (Oct 8, 2011)

I have two rotex sanders, a belt sander and a small triangle sander from Festool along with their vacuum dust extractor. Great tools.


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## Epoxy Pro (Oct 7, 2012)

We have 2-RO125, 1-RO90, DTS400, RO150, CT-26 & 48.

RO150 is a powerful sander, heavy using one up high on a ladder. RO125 is a great sander, easy to use up high or low, siding & trim. RO90 I myself haven't used it at all yet, our crew has and they like it a lot.

Abrasives we get at the paint store we bought the tools at, I haven't looked else where yet for them.

My biggest issue is the vacs. If you don't get the bag clipped in tight it can blow the bag off and make a mess of the inside and hepa filter.

The vac hoses we have 2-12' section we bought the adaptors to put two hoses together for a total length of 24'. You can buy a 24' hose. I left the ct26 on yesterday with the 2 hoses and tried to disconnect it from the vac, the suction through the 24' hose was hard. It shows how powerful these vacs are.

Definitely buy the anti static hoses. If you don't the non static will build up a charge and give you a decent little kiss. I never thought I would be spending over $100 on a vac hose. 

I will say overall we are very happy with these tools. I still want to buy a few more but not this year, we already spent 3k on them this year.


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## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

cdpainting said:


> We have 2-RO125, 1-RO90, DTS400, RO150, CT-26 & 48.
> 
> RO150 is a powerful sander, heavy using one up high on a ladder. RO125 is a great sander, easy to use up high or low, siding & trim. RO90 I myself haven't used it at all yet, our crew has and they like it a lot.
> 
> ...



I bought 2 Ridgid hoses, (11' each), connected them first, then to festool hose. I know I lose the antistatic feature, but the shock I get from the hose don't hurt as bad as payin for 2 more festool hoses 


Stelzer Painting Inc.


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## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

Brian C said:


> I have two rotex sanders, a belt sander and a small triangle sander from Festool along with their vacuum dust extractor. Great tools.



Which Rotex sanders?


Stelzer Painting Inc.


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## shofestoolusa (Dec 1, 2011)

I'm attaching a PDF to my post that outlines maximum hose lengths and how to extend the hoses to those lengths. If you have any questions on this topic, let me know and I'll help you out. Also, please take advantage of our application specialists, who are there to answer your questions by phone.

The RAS is similar to a grinder in its sanding action. Of course, it has the dust shroud that helps with dust collection. It would be a good tool if you're doing heavy stripping of surfaces.

The Rotex sanders are more versatile since they can be used as random orbital sander or flipped into gear driven mode with the flip of a switch. That mode makes them more like a belt sander, expect you don't get the deep linear scratches produced from a belt sander. In this mode, they can strip surfaces quickly and efficiently.

The RO 90 is actually the most powerful of the three Rotex sanders when looking strictly at power to surface area of the pad. But, I can lean all of my weight on any of the three Rotex sanders when in aggressive gear driven mode and they will not stall. So, all have more than enough power.

Remember, we have a 30-day money back guarantee on all of our tools. So you can try them risk free.

If you have any other questions, I'd be glad to help out.

Shane Holland
Festool USA


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## Epoxy Pro (Oct 7, 2012)

I have been told by a few festool reps and other contractor the RAS will only contain roughly 75% of the dust. This was my main reason for passing on it for now. I still want one but not for RRP work.


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## Damon T (Nov 22, 2008)

We are doing a RRP job currently and are.using the paint shaver, the RAS and the RO125. I prefer the RO for the superior dust collection and the added control. If I had two RO's on the job we wouldn't have used the RAS for this. It was a little too messy for my comfort. It is very fast for feathering which is great. It's a great tool for some things. I have a latex solid peeler walkway coming up that it will be perfect for. Also used it to strip paint on non-lead siding with good results. Our state RRP people told me that because it has a dust containment system and is hooked up to a HEPA vac that it would be compliant. And at the end of the day the jobsite is clean as a whistle, so maybe I should give the RAS another chance. 




Sent from my iPad using PaintTalk.com


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

Yesterday was my first time prepping an exterior trim job with my RO90. That little sander is so powerful, I fell head over heels in love.  :yes:


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## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

Rbriggs82 said:


> Yesterday was my first time prepping an exterior trim job with my RO90. That little sander is so powerful, I fell head over heels in love.  :yes:



Agreed. Definitely takes some getting used to when working in aggressive mode. I've heard by dialing down the suction it'll help keep the sander from jumping off the wood, but I'm not sure if that's good advice or not. The job I'm on now is 120 year-old home, so not the place I wanna experiment, especially when it comes to deliberately trying for less suction. 


Stelzer Painting Inc.


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

I would be interested to hear some reviews on using Festools for finish sanding. Specifically for sanding drywall patches and skim coating. I know they have the Planex, which seems to be a fancier version of the Porter Cable 7800. But what about using the smaller units for sanding patches or small areas of skim coating? 

Currently I'm using a Dewalt variable speed orbital and a shop vac. This set up works pretty good. With the sander on low speed, and using fine paper, sanding patches is easy and mostly dust free. But for several reasons, I would like to upgrade. Does anyone have experience with using Festool for this purpose? Which one would be preferred?


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## shofestoolusa (Dec 1, 2011)

stelzerpaintinginc. said:


> Definitely takes some getting used to when working in aggressive mode. I've heard by dialing down the suction it'll help keep the sander from jumping off the wood, but I'm not sure if that's good advice or not.


Dialing down the suction is helpful with our smaller sanders. But, I would say with the exception of the RO 90. The reason for reducing suction is because our dust extractors suction can be so strong that the sander has trouble overcoming the friction created by the suction and the abrasive. The RO 90 is a more powerful sander and shouldn't need a reduced suction, but experimenting certainly won't hurt anything (other than potentially lower dust collection).

You may want to consider technique, especially with the Rotex sanders. Check out this blog post to see what I mean. Give this technique a try, putting one hand on the front of the sander over the pad and the other back near the dust port.

http://blog.festoolusa.com/post/2011/02/18/Why-Technique-Matters.aspx


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## shofestoolusa (Dec 1, 2011)

Jmayspaint said:


> Does anyone have experience with using Festool for this purpose? Which one would be preferred?


I'll leave it to other forum members to offer their opinions and feedback.

But, I would suggest looking at the DTS 400. It's a delta (triangular) shaped sander. It's lightweight and the delta shape let's you get into corners well. It's also not terribly aggressive, so it's well suited to patching.

http://www.festoolpaint.com/power-tools/sanders/dts-400-eq-orbital-finish-sander-567871


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## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

shofestoolusa said:


> I'll leave it to other forum members to offer their opinions and feedback.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



What advantage would the DTS 400 have over the RO 90 for sanding drywall? Seems to me the RO90 might be well suited for drywall patches because it can be dialed down so as to not be too aggressive. Plus, the flexibility of having the option to interchange round and delta pads is handy. 




Stelzer Painting Inc.


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## shofestoolusa (Dec 1, 2011)

stelzerpaintinginc. said:


> What advantage would the DTS 400 have over the RO 90 for sanding drywall? Seems to me the RO90 might be well suited for drywall patches because it can be dialed down so as to not be too aggressive. Plus, the flexibility of having the option to interchange round and delta pads is handy.


The biggest advantage would be the size of the pad. So, you're covering more area in less time.

But, the question that was asked was which sander would be a good complement to the Planex or PC 7800. I was assuming that he doesn't own any other Festool sanders. 

The RO 90 is great for trim, stair treads, face frames and similar applications where there's narrow stock or corners.

Remember, we have a 30-day no risk money back guarantee on tools if you find that you try a tool and it doesn't work out for you.


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

Jmayspaint said:


> I would be interested to hear some reviews on using Festools for finish sanding. Specifically for sanding drywall patches and skim coating. I know they have the Planex, which seems to be a fancier version of the Porter Cable 7800. But what about using the smaller units for sanding patches or small areas of skim coating?
> 
> Currently I'm using a Dewalt variable speed orbital and a shop vac. This set up works pretty good. With the sander on low speed, and using fine paper, sanding patches is easy and mostly dust free. But for several reasons, I would like to upgrade. Does anyone have experience with using Festool for this purpose? Which one would be preferred?


Pardon the cheesy video/music (I really suck at making vids) but this is me using an ETS 125 with 150grit paper, the suction a hair below half, and the sander at full speed. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkpDLafDuJA
Sorry I can't get the stupid thing to embed.


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

Well look at that, it embedded.


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

Thanks Ryan that awesome!


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## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

Cool video. I thought the music worked well for it. 


Stelzer Painting Inc.


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## Epoxy Pro (Oct 7, 2012)

Jmayspaint said:


> I would be interested to hear some reviews on using Festools for finish sanding. Specifically for sanding drywall patches and skim coating. I know they have the Planex, which seems to be a fancier version of the Porter Cable 7800. But what about using the smaller units for sanding patches or small areas of skim coating?
> 
> Currently I'm using a Dewalt variable speed orbital and a shop vac. This set up works pretty good. With the sander on low speed, and using fine paper, sanding patches is easy and mostly dust free. But for several reasons, I would like to upgrade. Does anyone have experience with using Festool for this purpose? Which one would be preferred?


We have used our DTS400 for sanding a little drywall patches so far. The only other sanders we had used before were Dewalts, the DTS400 was much much better at containing the dust. Since we have a variety of Festool sanders as we get back into interior painting we will be trying them all out.

The RO90 is a little beast I have to say. Right now we are almost fighting over who will be using it. I always win since I'm the boss and bought it. JK. The RO90 is great for window casings and smaller trim boards. I think next year we will buy 1 or 2 more RO90's.


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## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

The RO 90 is like the utility player that can play any position well. Sure, there are better sanders for specific tasks, but I doubt there's another sander as diverse. 

P.S. If there IS a better one, please don't mention it til September. These things might make me broke before they make me money. 


Stelzer Painting Inc.


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

stelzerpaintinginc. said:


> The RO 90 is like the utility player that can play any position well. Sure, there are better sanders for specific tasks, but I doubt there's another sander as diverse.
> 
> P.S. If there IS a better one, please don't mention it til September. These things might make me broke before they make me money.
> 
> ...


I agree. Often times, if I throw one sander in the truck for a survival mission, it is that one. Can do so much.


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## Epoxy Pro (Oct 7, 2012)

stelzerpaintinginc. said:


> I bought 2 Ridgid hoses, (11' each), connected them first, then to festool hose. I know I lose the antistatic feature, but the shock I get from the hose don't hurt as bad as payin for 2 more festool hoses
> 
> 
> Stelzer Painting Inc.


Do you have to tape the Rigid hoses to the Festool hose? Yes the Festool hoses are expensive. I never thought I would see the day when we spent $150 for a vac hose.


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## slinger58 (Feb 11, 2013)

Rbriggs82 said:


> Pardon the cheesy video/music (I really suck at making vids) but this is me using an ETS 125 with 150grit paper, the suction a hair below half, and the sander at full speed.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkpDLafDuJA
> Sorry I can't get the stupid thing to embed.


Good video, Ryan and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that music.:thumbup:


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## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

cdpainting said:


> Do you have to tape the Rigid hoses to the Festool hose? Yes the Festool hoses are expensive. I never thought I would see the day when we spent $150 for a vac hose.



No tape. Fits right on. I bought the heavy duty orange rigid hoses. 


Stelzer Painting Inc.


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## epretot (Dec 17, 2011)

I have been using the RO90 for latex paint removal on an exterior. I recently used it with the Delta head to sand a deck. I experienced a problem this week. The Delta head kept vibrating off of the tool. After examining the head, I noticed the plastic teeth were worn. We had put a lot of hours on it, so I figured it just needed replaced. However, within 15 minutes of using the new head, the plastic teeth were destroyed and continued to vibrate off. 

I then examined the tool itself. The area the head seats into was lined with a thick film. It had collected pieces of latex paint softened by the heat of tool (friction). Because of the build-up, the head wasn't seating into the tool properly. Also, because of the tight area it was being used in, more pressure was being applied to the tip than the rest of the pad. It seemed to be putting added pressure on the plastic teeth. I haven't tried another new head yet. I hope picking the paint film out solves the problem.

Here is a pic of a new head next to the damaged one. You can see two of the teeth are damaged...actually they are missing.


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## Epoxy Pro (Oct 7, 2012)

epretot said:


> I have been using the RO90 for latex paint removal on an exterior. I recently used it with the Delta head to sand a deck. I experienced a problem this week. The Delta head kept vibrating off of the tool. After examining the head, I noticed the plastic teeth were worn. We had put a lot of hours on it, so I figured it just needed replaced. However, within 15 minutes of using the new head, the plastic teeth were destroyed and continued to vibrate off.
> 
> I then examined the tool itself. The area the head seats into was lined with a thick film. It had collected pieces of latex paint softened by the heat of tool (friction). Because of the build-up, the head wasn't seating into the tool properly. Also, because of the tight area it was being used in, more pressure was being applied to the tip than the rest of the pad. It seemed to be putting added pressure on the plastic teeth. I haven't tried another new head yet. I hope picking the paint film out solves the problem.
> 
> Here is a pic of a new head next to the damaged one. You can see two of the teeth are damaged...actually they are missing.


We haven't used that attachment yet but thanks for the heads up. At the end of the day I pop all the heads off and hit the tools with the vac. I wonder if I shouldn't do that every day, I didn't think of the plastic teeth wearing out.


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

I broke the teeth on the extended delta attachment my first day using it. Don't know if it was my fault or not but they gave me new one for free. Haven't had a problem since.


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## epretot (Dec 17, 2011)

Can you remember if you were applying pressure to the extreme tip of the head?


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

epretot said:


> Can you remember if you were applying pressure to the extreme tip of the head?


Prolly, I was stripping off latex stain from a deck under the railing. It was a tough area to reach even with the longer delta head and there was a lot of it.


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## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

I've been using the RO 90 heavily for the last week. Every time I remove the delta head I gotta dig that hardened gunk out or else the delta head becomes difficult to remove at all. 

From what I've read, the dust extraction when using the delta head is less than stellar. Not sure if it's due to the vibrating motion of the delta, (versus the centrifugal motion of the round attachment), but in any event, I just make sure to clean it out each time. 


Stelzer Painting Inc.


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## shofestoolusa (Dec 1, 2011)

Hmm, can't say I've ever seen or read about the delta pad's fastening mechanism breaking. As you mention, I suspect it could be because the pad was not entirely engaged or fastening.

Just a note for sanding in general, this isn't necessarily the cause of the breakage, but try to let the sander and abrasive do the work. If you find yourself wanting to apply more pressure, you probably need to be using a lower grit abrasive to increase the removal rate. By letting the sander and abrasive do the work, you will extend the life of your pad (velcro) and abrasive.

Shoot me an email with your name, address and phone number and I'll send out a replacement delta pad for you as a courtesy. Sorry for the issues. [email protected]

Troy, that sawdust build up is normal and shouldn't present an issue with dust extraction or longevity of the machine. So, it shouldn't be necessary to clean it each time. Of course, it won't hurt anything to clean it out either. It's just the nature of the air flow in the machine.

Shane


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

^^^^ yet another reason why Festool rules, superior customer service. :yes:


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## epretot (Dec 17, 2011)

Rbriggs82 said:


> Prolly, I was stripping off latex stain from a deck under the railing. It was a tough area to reach even with the longer delta head and there was a lot of it.


That EXACTLY what I was doing.


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## shofestoolusa (Dec 1, 2011)

For stripping latex, I would suggest using our Granat abrasives which are available down to 40 grit, which should be pretty aggressive. If you have some really gnarly stuff you're removing, consider our Saphir abrasive.

You can find the right abrasives for your sander and application with this search tool on our website. http://www.festoolusa.com/abrasives


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

One tip to remember on the delta is to be sure to rotate both the backing pad and abrasive frequently to get full mileage and equal wear on all 3 sides of both. 

It's very hard to resist bearing down on that delta tip because you can do so much with it in detail sanding. 

I do a lot of low grit prep with that.


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

Reporting for duty Friday morning.


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## epretot (Dec 17, 2011)

shofestoolusa said:


> Hmm, can't say I've ever seen or read about the delta pad's fastening mechanism breaking. As you mention, I suspect it could be because the pad was not entirely engaged or fastening.
> 
> Just a note for sanding in general, this isn't necessarily the cause of the breakage, but try to let the sander and abrasive do the work. If you find yourself wanting to apply more pressure, you probably need to be using a lower grit abrasive to increase the removal rate. By letting the sander and abrasive do the work, you will extend the life of your pad (velcro) and abrasive.
> 
> ...


Another example of Festool's excellent Customer Service.
The new head came today.


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## shofestoolusa (Dec 1, 2011)

Glad it arrived quickly! Hit me up if you ever need anything.


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

Delta tips are hard to keep from wearing out. I use the extended delta head on the RO90 a fair amount lately (getting between spindles in the field and sanding bondo on new spindles in the shop). The extended one does not have a rotating pad to help distribute the wear. I have a new head for the extended delta waiting to be picked up at Woodcraft.


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## South-FL-Painter (Jan 17, 2012)

Does anybody notice a quick wear out on ets125 sanding pad velcro? We use our sanders a lot,but always have to keep new pads handy because all of the sudden sandpaper won't stick?


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## shofestoolusa (Dec 1, 2011)

South-FL-Painter said:


> Does anybody notice a quick wear out on ets125 sanding pad velcro? We use our sanders a lot,but always have to keep new pads handy because all of the sudden sandpaper won't stick?


Are you using dust extraction with the sander?

Heat is the enemy when it comes to pads. Dust extraction keeps the temperatures much lower.

Accidentally sanding without paper can do it, too. 

A lot of pressure on the sander will also create a lot of heat.


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## South-FL-Painter (Jan 17, 2012)

shofestoolusa said:


> Are you using dust extraction with the sander? Heat is the enemy when it comes to pads. Dust extraction keeps the temperatures much lower. Accidentally sanding without paper can do it, too.  A lot of pressure on the sander will also create a lot of heat.


Yes we are using ct36 extractors on all of our sanders.


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

shofestoolusa said:


> Accidentally sanding without paper can do it, too.



I hate it when I do that.


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## Epoxy Pro (Oct 7, 2012)

DeanV said:


> I hate it when I do that.


I did that yesterday. This is already tough trim paint let alone forgetting to put a sanding disc on :blink: , Ours wont even hold a sanding disc any more.


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## csv (Jul 26, 2012)

I have the RO 90, 150 and the Ras. Of the 3 I like the power and speed of the 150, sometimes it's just too big. It covers a lot of area quickly. One negative is at full speed it screams. The 90 is a pretty awesome little sander. I use it the most, mainly because the 2 heads. 

The RAS I have only had a short time. It is the out awesome sander I have used. I would say on a good day it will catch 90-95 percent of dust, but it is so easy to make it not catch it. I thought the 150 was fast at removing material, it doesn't even hold a candle to the RAS. Pretty quiet too. 

Since I do a lot of remodeling, I am starting to really lean towards festool as my first choice.


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

shofestoolusa said:


> Are you using dust extraction with the sander?
> 
> Heat is the enemy when it comes to pads. Dust extraction keeps the temperatures much lower.
> 
> ...


I wish festool made wear pads like others for the their sanders like Mirka. Its like an interface pad but only just a layer of velcro. They are cheap about a buck each and wear instead of the velcro on the actual pad which isn't cheap.


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

straight_lines said:


> I wish festool made wear pads like others for the their sanders like Mirka. Its like an interface pad but only just a layer of velcro. They are cheap about a buck each and wear instead of the velcro on the actual pad which isn't cheap.


I dunno, that sounds a little too easy. :blink:


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## MikeCalifornia (Aug 26, 2012)

I bought a MIDI and ETS125 a few months back. Had some difficulties at first, but found out with this little sander the suction needs to be dialed back by half. Made it work like a champ. I floated a bunch of moly holes and where the old wood closet was. I was using 220 grit, but switched to 180 and it sanded it all out so fast. Ended up sanding all the walls because it was so quick, this is the 5" RO sander.


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## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

MikeCalifornia said:


> I bought a MIDI and ETS125 a few months back. Had some difficulties at first, but found out with this little sander the suction needs to be dialed back by half. Made it work like a champ. I floated a bunch of moly holes and where the old wood closet was. I was using 220 grit, but switched to 180 and it sanded it all out so fast. Ended up sanding all the walls because it was so quick, this is the 5" RO sander.



How's the dust extraction with the ETS? Prolly good if you dialed down the suction I'm assuming. 


Stelzer Painting Inc.


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## MikeCalifornia (Aug 26, 2012)

stelzerpaintinginc. said:


> How's the dust extraction with the ETS? Prolly good if you dialed down the suction I'm assuming.
> 
> 
> Stelzer Painting Inc.


Little to no dust. You will have a small amount that falls because you hit an edge or booger. There was very little on the paper over the base that I could see. Usually just sanding patches with a block or pole will produce massive amounts of dust. I have set up a small trough under a patch with paper and tape to catch it before, but even that was a pain. This is way faster and cleaner.


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## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

I'm looking for a definitive answer as to whether or not Festool sanders require fitting a shroud to them to be RRP compliant. Not the edge protector that comes with many of them, but something NOT included which must be purchased in addition. 

The guy at Woodcraft looked at me like I was smoking crack when I asked him this question. 

P.S. I was in fact NOT smoking crack. 


Stelzer Painting Inc.


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

stelzerpaintinginc. said:


> I'm looking for a definitive answer as to whether or not Festool sanders require fitting a shroud to them to be RRP compliant. Not the edge protector that comes with many of them, but something NOT included which must be purchased in addition.
> 
> The guy at Woodcraft looked at me like I was smoking crack when I asked him this question.
> 
> ...



We've discussed this before and it seems to be somewhat up to interpretation and how you actually use the tools. 

If we take this quote from prohibited practices;

"3. The use of machines designed to remove paint or other surface coatings through high-speed
operation such as sanding, grinding, power planing, needle gun, abrasive blasting, or sandblasting unless such machines have shrouds or containment systems and are equipped with a HEPA vacuum attachment to collect dust and debris at the point of generation. Machines must be operated so that no visible dust release of air occurs outside the shroud or containment system."

It can be reasoned out that a HEPA vacuum attached to a sander can be considered an effective 'containment system' on its own provided that no visible dust escapes the system. 

If the vac and sander on their own cannot eliminate all visible dust, as can be the case with more aggressive rotary style sanders, then the addition of a shroud is necessary to eliminate visible dust. 


Here are a couple threads where we talked about it, no definitive answers from any authorities I'm afraid, but it seems fairly straight forward if we simplify it to avoiding prohibited practices. 

http://www.painttalk.com/f12/festool-ras-115-ro-125-full-dust-shroud-24662/

http://www.painttalk.com/f2/shrouded-power-tools-rrp-28049/


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