# Has anyone ever used abranet abrasives on a pole sander?



## mpminter (Mar 21, 2011)

Has anyone ever tried putting this abrasive on one of these sanding heads? It looks like it might be an inexpensive way to sand walls and drywall patches on interior repaints. Any thoughts?


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

mpminter said:


> Has anyone ever tried putting this abrasive on one of these sanding heads? It looks like it might be an inexpensive way to sand walls and drywall patches on interior repaints. Any thoughts?


 I haven't tried that set up. I have not heard great things about the hyde tool. 

I would go with this and this . 
http://www.festoolusa.com/products/dust-extractors/ct-mini-dust-extractor-583360.html


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## mpminter (Mar 21, 2011)

Eventually that's exactly what I'll do, but I could buy the Hyde AND the roll of abranet 5 times and still be out less than the festool setup before buying abrasives. I'm kind of slow right now so I'm watching the cash outlay pretty closely. There are several festool products that I have my eye on (RO 150, RO 90, RTS 400, RAS 115.4, CT MIDI or 26 E) but I don't want to wait until I can afford festool before going dustless.


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

mpminter said:


> Eventually that's exactly what I'll do, but I could buy the Hyde AND the roll of abranet 5 times and still be out less than the festool setup before buying abrasives. I'm kind of slow right now so I'm watching the cash outlay pretty closely. There are several festool products that I have my eye on (RO 150, RO 90, RTS 400, RAS 115.4, CT MIDI or 26 E) but I don't want to wait until I can afford festool before going dustless.


I know what you mean. 

I am sure that some have tried the Hyde I know Bill has/is using/used something similar to it so maybe he will chime in. 

I say give it a shot and let us know how it works for you. My guess is that it will allow more dust than other systems such as Festool but it will probably keep it down to a minimum.


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

Dale just did a review and a video for BP, I should have it up shortly.


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

mpminter said:


> Eventually that's exactly what I'll do, but I could buy the Hyde AND the roll of abranet 5 times and still be out less than the festool setup before buying abrasives. I'm kind of slow right now so I'm watching the cash outlay pretty closely. There are several festool products that I have my eye on (RO 150, RO 90, RTS 400, RAS 115.4, CT MIDI or 26 E) but I don't want to wait until I can afford festool before going dustless.


If your plan is to end up with Festool equipment, I would get this set, which is extractrable, and this one, which is not. These two sets are the ultimate recycling program for those abrasives that have been broken in on power sanders, and both sets work well.


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

vermontpainter said:


> If your plan is to end up with Festool equipment, I would get this set, which is extractrable, and this one, which is not. These two sets are the ultimate recycling program for those abrasives that have been broken in on power sanders, and both sets work well.


Nice article Scott, I had not seen that hand tool before. :thumbsup:


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## mpminter (Mar 21, 2011)

Can anyone comment on Festool abrasives vs. Mirka abranet? From what I've read here, Abranet is about the best there is for sanding latex paint.


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

mpminter said:


> Can anyone comment on Festool abrasives vs. Mirka abranet? From what I've read here, Abranet is about the best there is for sanding latex paint.


I have run Granat against Goldflex extensively. 

And Granat against most everything ridiculous I can think of:


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## mpminter (Mar 21, 2011)

vermontpainter said:


> If your plan is to end up with Festool equipment, I would get this set, which is extractrable, and this one, which is not. These two sets are the ultimate recycling program for those abrasives that have been broken in on power sanders, and both sets work well.


I'd like to be able to sand the entire wall, not just patches so that's why I wanted a pole sander. Also, Festool has a weird vac connection on all their stuff, so I'm not sure how I would hook it up securely to my existing vac. I'm not saying that the blocks you mentioned were a bad idea, but I just want to clarify what it is that I'm trying to accomplish. I appreciate the input!


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## jack pauhl (Nov 10, 2008)

I use Abracadabra on the Flex Edge pole sander. Its like magic without the hat and wand. If you go too aggressive, it will stop you dead in your tracks so go finer than normal. 180 works great for general new construction surfaces and 120 on repaints. The Abranet excels on repaints. Its actually stupid-good how well it works.


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## jack pauhl (Nov 10, 2008)

One pass down the wall over flat paint. It works like a wood file so its shaving paint off relatively quick. I always recommend taping base first on NC because of the amount of paint removed. Then dusting base afterwards. If timed correctly, we spray trim and doors, next day tape base on fresh paint then sand before any wall patch dust can make any contact with the base. Just helps with adhesion because this way there is no dust residue left behind. One other thing with the Abranet is how it shaves paint off creates considerably less airborne dust. Larger particles I suppose may be the result of that.


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## mpminter (Mar 21, 2011)

Thanks for the info Jack. I knew you were a big fan of Mirka products, and I have to say, you're a heck of a lot better than me about taking pictures of stuff! Do you think that the the Hyde would work for dustless sanding or are the holes in the abranet too small for the particles to pass through?


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## crazyson2001 (Jan 3, 2010)

Alright....I've seen enough to convince myself to try some of this Abranet stuff.

Looks like I need to order this:
Amazon.com: Mirka 9A-150-180RP 10 pieces. 2 3/4-Inch by 8-Inch P180 Abranet Sheets: Home Improvement

And then this "Interface Pad", which from my understanding keeps the Abranet from eating up the hook & loop on my sander:





Is this correct?

Too bad they don't make a size big enough to fit the Radius 360 sander


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## Paint and Hammer (Feb 26, 2008)

Ya, I've been down this road. 

Started with this.....









Then moved to this.... 




















Now I'm working with the Festool set up. (extractor with power sander....no pic)

I hear ya its not cheap, but.....a few thoughts....

The Hyde without a variable suction....doesn't work. The vac sucks the abrasive to the wall and it will 'stick'. Also the mesh will NOT give you a smooth surface. In this situation you will always have little grooves in the mud from where the mesh folds around to the clamp. I've tried pads to fix this....simply its not a great system.

Scott, are those available in N.America? 

The velcro pads work much better! Price difference in the handhelds is negligible. 

See if you can find an extractor with variable speed.


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

Paint and Hammer said:


> Scott, are those available in N.America?


That is what I was wondering


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## jack pauhl (Nov 10, 2008)

P&H, are you talking about HYDE mesh or abranet mesh re: the little grooves. Never tried the HYDE system so not sure what comes with it for abrasives.


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## Paint and Hammer (Feb 26, 2008)

jack pauhl said:


> P&H, are you talking about HYDE mesh or abranet mesh re: the little grooves. Never tried the HYDE system so not sure what comes with it for abrasives.


Hyde.

We might be talking about two completely different things.

The Hyde is a mesh that is held on in the conventional way of wrapping it around the head and clamps. (not like what you have in your pic)


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## jack pauhl (Nov 10, 2008)

crazyson, if you want to pole sand then grab the rolls. They are 4.5" by 30' which is 42 sheets cut 8.5 to fit the Flex Edge pad. That comes out to about $1.19 to $1.36 ea depending on where you buy and live. One mesh sheet will sand an entire 1800 sq ft house NC but I like to use two. I save all of the used mesh, they can be used for a long time after you wore them out on the walls.


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## jack pauhl (Nov 10, 2008)

Paint and Hammer said:


> Hyde.
> 
> We might be talking about two completely different things.
> 
> The Hyde is a mesh that is held on in the conventional way of wrapping it around the head and clamps. (not like what you have in your pic)


Gotcha, I checked out some other pics. That does look a bit aggressive.


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## jack pauhl (Nov 10, 2008)

mpminter said:


> Thanks for the info Jack. I knew you were a big fan of Mirka products, and I have to say, you're a heck of a lot better than me about taking pictures of stuff! Do you think that the the Hyde would work for dustless sanding or are the holes in the abranet too small for the particles to pass through?


HUGE fan. This mesh stuff changed how we paint on many levels. Any time preparation can be reduced, it's a good thing. Abranet removes runs and sags quick and smooth regardless if years old or fresh paint. You can wet sand with it too, which is how I remove fresh sags with super light pressure and some 320. 

Guess what I like most is how long the stuff lasts and how fast it removes heavy ugliness on repaints. An orbital sander is cool and all but many times I don't bother getting the sander out because the stuff is so effective sanding by hand. Sands drywall mud fast too and makes feathering to board nice and clean. John and I recently did a bunch of mudding on a flip and it makes a noticeable difference getting to your finish faster.

I ended up sanding all of the finish off these sagging poly'd doors so we could spray them white. I'd be surprised if I spent more than a minute or two on each side with the Ceros and some 120. Its just amazing stuff.

The mesh should would work fine on the HYDE


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## mpminter (Mar 21, 2011)

Paint and Hammer said:


> The Hyde without a variable suction....doesn't work. The vac sucks the abrasive to the wall and it will 'stick'. Also the mesh will NOT give you a smooth surface. In this situation you will always have little grooves in the mud from where the mesh folds around to the clamp. I've tried pads to fix this....simply its not a great system.


I have the hand sanding version of the Hyde, and it sits in the truck alot right now because of the grooves it leaves in the compound. I have also experienced what you are referring to with the tool getting sucked into the wall. I think I can reduce the suction by drilling some holes in either the vac hose or the tool itself, and the groove issue should be resolved by using a different abrasive.

I know I must sound like a real cheapskate, but I really have to watch how much I'm spending right now. I'm trying to find a way to improve the quality of the product I provide, reduce the impact my services have on a customer's home, and reduce the amount of labor that goes into clean up at the end of the job, all without breaking the bank. Believe me, if there was anyway I could afford it my job sites would look like a Festool commercial by the end of the week!


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

Here is Dale's (bikerboy) review on the Hyde Sanding kit.


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## Scotiadawg (Dec 5, 2011)

mpminter said:


> I have the hand sanding version of the Hyde, and it sits in the truck alot right now because of the grooves it leaves in the compound. I have also experienced what you are referring to with the tool getting sucked into the wall. I think I can reduce the suction by drilling some holes in either the vac hose or the tool itself, and the groove issue should be resolved by using a different abrasive.
> 
> I know I must sound like a real cheapskate, but I really have to watch how much I'm spending right now. I'm trying to find a way to improve the quality of the product I provide, reduce the impact my services have on a customer's home, and reduce the amount of labor that goes into clean up at the end of the job, all without breaking the bank. Believe me, if there was anyway I could afford it my job sites would look like a Festool commercial by the end of the week!


I have the same set-up and discovered I had to use 180 grit on new drywall mud or it left scratches. I thought it did a great job of dust extraction tho.:thumbsup:


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## mpminter (Mar 21, 2011)

Have you experimented with ways to cut down on the suction?


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## Scotiadawg (Dec 5, 2011)

mpminter said:


> Have you experimented with ways to cut down on the suction?


no, that has been a problem too, just haven't taken the time to try and wrap my head around the idea. My vac has only one suction speed and no way to reduce it. I did try to add more hose but of course that didn't work.


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## Paint and Hammer (Feb 26, 2008)

mpminter said:


> I have the hand sanding version of the Hyde, and it sits in the truck alot right now because of the grooves it leaves in the compound. I have also experienced what you are referring to with the tool getting sucked into the wall. I think I can reduce the suction by drilling some holes in either the vac hose or the tool itself, and the groove issue should be resolved by using a different abrasive.
> 
> I know I must sound like a real cheapskate, but I really have to watch how much I'm spending right now. I'm trying to find a way to improve the quality of the product I provide, reduce the impact my services have on a customer's home, and reduce the amount of labor that goes into clean up at the end of the job, all without breaking the bank. Believe me, if there was anyway I could afford it my job sites would look like a Festool commercial by the end of the week!


Not at all....I'm a huge fan of Red Green. :thumbup: I'm also a huge fan of spending frugally....that's not cheap, that's just being responsible. 

As far as reducing suction, wonder if you could use one of the straight attachments, cut it down so its not as long, put holes in that? Thing is, you have to cut it WAY down....minimum. Once you find the magic suction - that shouldn't have to change. 

The Mirka handsander is $30, plus some paper ($30). Bag for your shop vac ($50-80).....could have a working system for $100-$150. 

Keep watching craigslist for something used.

Amazon.com: Mirka 91500 2 3/4-Inch by 7 1/2-Inch Grip Faced Abranet Vac Block: Home Improvement


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## Scotiadawg (Dec 5, 2011)

Good idea with the holes in the suction tube ! I'll give that a try next time. Thanks !!


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

RCP said:


> Here is Dale's (bikerboy) review on the Hyde Sanding kit.


So, does the Hyde not go on a pole? And, are those hose connections taped together?


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## Schmidt & Co. (Nov 6, 2008)

My Festool cleaning kit handle has a thumb switch that opens part of the handle, thus reducing suction without having to adjust the vac suction. Maybe you could find something similar that fits your vac?


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

I don't know if I would go down the road of drilling holes in vac hoses to try to reduce suction. It seems that could create a great opportunity for dust to escape under suction, which starts to defeat the attempt at being dust free.


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## Scotiadawg (Dec 5, 2011)

vermontpainter said:


> I don't know if I would go down the road of drilling holes in vac hoses to try to reduce suction. It seems that could create a great opportunity for dust to escape under suction, which starts to defeat the attempt at being dust free.


Exactly right! What was I thinking ?:blink:


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

Scotiadawg said:


> Exactly right! What was I thinking ?:blink:


Sometimes modification for modification's sake is just backwards motion. 

We have a bunch of vacs. 8 total. 7 of them have variable speed. #8 does not. We call it DGAS (dont give a...) and we use it for just bulk dirty jobs...water sucking, huge debris, dust piles etc. I am sitting here trying to think of what it would be like to use DGAS as our primary unit for all finish tasks...


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## jack pauhl (Nov 10, 2008)

Schmidt & Co. said:


> My Festool cleaning kit handle has a thumb switch that opens part of the handle, thus reducing suction without having to adjust the vac suction. Maybe you could find something similar that fits your vac?


I'm with you on those thoughts.... our local sweep shop has tons of parts to pick through. I found this one for another vac but seen much smaller parts like this.


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## Scotiadawg (Dec 5, 2011)

jack pauhl said:


> I'm with you on those thoughts.... our local sweep shop has tons of parts to pick through. I found this one for another vac but seen much smaller parts like this.


Ah ha ! One of my GCs has a handle like that on his vac hmmmm:whistling2:


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## Paint and Hammer (Feb 26, 2008)

In all fairness, the point of modifying was the challenge of, "can something be retrofitted to do the task without spending money". 

If there is suction you won't have any leakage...its sucking. What I see happening is all the little holes will collect dust then when you turn it off and put it down the dust will shake loose leaving a small mess. 

I think trying to modify connections is the toughest part. Because it moves you are going to have tape constantly coming off. My crystal ball can hear a resounding, "screw this"!!


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

Paint and Hammer said:


> In all fairness, the point of modifying was the challenge of, "can something be retrofitted to do the task without spending money".
> 
> If there is suction you won't have any leakage...its sucking. What I see happening is all the little holes will collect dust then when you turn it off and put it down the dust will shake loose leaving a small mess.
> 
> I think trying to modify connections is the toughest part. Because it moves you are going to have tape constantly coming off. My crystal ball can hear a resounding, "screw this"!!


You have inspired me, I think I am going to perforate a hose and measure for loss!


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## Scotiadawg (Dec 5, 2011)

vermontpainter said:


> You have inspired me, I think I am going to perforate a hose and measure for loss!


I still like the handle hole thing, think Ill "borrow" one from my GC:whistling2: and give it a go.


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## Paint and Hammer (Feb 26, 2008)

vermontpainter said:


> You have inspired me, I think I am going to perforate a hose and measure for loss!



Cool...let us know.....and try to keep the media under a gig. :thumbup:


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## JoseyWales (Jan 8, 2011)

I use a Festool 125 orbital sander with a Festool Midi vacuum...

That sanding video from bikerboy looks like work!...No comparison to my effortless festool for drywall mud..I use 120 for ICG all purpose drywall compound which is a little tougher than the light top coats that most mudders use..

I patched a wall yesterday with a 2' high and 10' long patch of mud and it came out looking flawless.

I use the yellow Joest Superpads.

http://www.slingers1858.co.uk/Joest-Superpad-P-150mm-P120-P400.html

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jost-Superpad-P-5-Inch-150-Grit-Sanding-Discs-Abrasives-/230647039508



I also own a Porter cable drywall sander for large jobs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Xm5tvyWfcmg


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## JoseyWales (Jan 8, 2011)

there...just leapfrogged the zip wall thread...


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## TERRY365PAINTER (Jul 26, 2009)

The abranet system is the bomb one pass 
With the mirka block sander . 180 grit 









Before


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## jack pauhl (Nov 10, 2008)

The stuff is amazing. Not sure I mentioned that in my previous replies.  I've removed stuck dried paint between the door and jamb like your photos many times and it handles that heavy paint build up with ease. Gotta give props to Sarah in the UK at TDS for turning me on to the system and our local Mirka rep has been awesome to work with. Good customer service people leave a lasting impression.


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## mpminter (Mar 21, 2011)

That's it, you've convinced me. I'll be getting a roll of 120 and a Flex Edge pad and I'll also be trying the Abranet on the Hyde hand sander. I'm thinking that with a little experimentation I should be able to deal with the excessive suction issue. I'll post a review of my system once I work out the bugs.


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## Paint and Hammer (Feb 26, 2008)

mpminter said:


> That's it, you've convinced me. I'll be getting a roll of 120 and a Flex Edge pad and I'll also be trying the Abranet on the Hyde hand sander. I'm thinking that with a little experimentation I should be able to deal with the excessive suction issue. I'll post a review of my system once I work out the bugs.



Which Hyde sander you referring to? If its the one in my post #15, PM me, I'll send you mine. I won't be using it again.


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## TERRY365PAINTER (Jul 26, 2009)

I have used the Hyde sander it workers pretty good ! I haven't 
Try it with abranet paper though waiting for a roll to come in the mail . I also have to check and see if the connections from the Hyde connect to the festool.


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## mpminter (Mar 21, 2011)

I had an idea to control the suction on a shopvac, but I don't know if it will work. I would appreciate input from anyone with electrical experince. Could a dimmer switch be mounted to the side of a shopvac and the power wired through it? You could be able to control the amount of current going to the motor, and thus the speed. It would be like having a throttle on your shopvac. Would this work?


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