The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Can anyone recommend this sander

I am getting ready to paint my truck and tractor this summer. Right now I am bumping out dents and stripping the old paint and rust. I will have to touch up some small dings with bondo. I will also need to sand between paint coats. Not planning on doing this for a living, so I don't need a high end sander. Check out this one and give me some feedback please. These are my first big paint jobs.

http://www.boschtools.com/Products/Tools/Pages/BoschProductDetail.aspx?pid=ROS20VSK

I've never had much luck with electric sanders around all that paint dust.

If you have a compressor, get air powered sanders.

I have severe back problems with two titanium rods, 13 screws and two plates in my lower back. I have NO air powered, electrical or whatever sanders. I do everything by hand. I do lots and lots of sanding. I also start with 80 grit. Not the normal 30 grit with powered sanders as a lot of people use. After the entire chassis, cab fenders, etc are sanded in 80, I go and do it all over again in 220, then AGAIN in 400. Nevermind the filler, glaze, primers, etc in the process.

The idea is to FEEL the work and leave a good substrate on which to build on that is straight and solid. You have two camps.. one says you need to strip down to the bare metal. The answer to that camp is sandblasting. I do that myself ALOT. I want to see gleaming bare steel on every square inch of my restorations. If I don't see that myself, I can only assume there is something under those many coats of paint that will come back and bite me later.

The other camp says, just rough up the current paint and substrate and smooth it out, cover it with modern coatings, and you are good to go. Very valid and a good way to go as well.

Neither of those methods require powered sanders. As an amateur restorer, you can do much more damage than good that way. Learn to feel the curves and how each substrate behaves. The reason powered sanders are used in auto body is for expedience by the professionals. If you are in a hurry, do it by hand. If I can do it, anyone can.

Thanks Dave. After reading your post, I think I'll do it by hand. You just saved me some money I didn't need to spend. Sorry about your back. Mine used to flare up but nothing like what you have. The only thing that knocked me down was a case of sciatica a couple of years ago, but my chiropractor and acupuncturist got rid of that for me.

You will have a very desirable talent in the end if you know how to feel the work and get it right by hand. Spend that money on grinding equipment. The four tools I use every day are:

1) Makita 4 inch grinder with thin metal cutoff discs. I use the thin cutoff discs for grinding most of my welds.

2) Makita 4 inch grinder with 120 grit flapdisc. This finishes up the grinding I did above.

3) Air powered 3 inch die grinder. You can get all kinds of really good steel grinding rasps that will get you into tight places. I have just 3 profiles I use a lot. Once is a thin cone shaped that starts off at about 1/8" and ends up at about 3/8". That one is great for tight places and dressing holes. Another is a straight bit that is about 3/8" all the way with a conical shape at the top, and the other one is flat at the top so I can get in close. I have many others, but those 3 seem to work the best.

4) Dremel Tool to get REALLY close into things. I use it a lot for finalizing things. You can get 1" metal cutoff discs for it that I use a lot, and a few rounded very small grinding rasps.

Dave, Yeah. I use power for taking rust off. I like using wire wheels. I know the grinding cone you are talking about. Have used those at time. I have some pretty small but stiff wire wheels for my die grinder that can get into small spaces. The only places I can't get into with the wheels, I resort to my small spot sand blaster. Those flap wheels do a good job too.

I was thinking of the orbital sander for paint work. I have all my patch panels done and just have some dents I have to use my stud puller because it's at the back of the cab and you cant get to them because of the double wall.

Thanks for the info.

My parents got me a Dremel when I was about 19 for Xmas. It had really limited use so being ME, I kept it in perfect condition all these years (I'm 55), and now FINALLY, they have the same kind of metal cutoff wheels made for the Makita 4" but only 1-1/2 inch for much nicer finesse work. Between that and the Carbide tipped rasps, a person can now get in really close and make things look virtually perfect. I am excited when I go to the Dremel site and see all of the new accoutrements. Working on the Cab, I am using my Dremel now more than ever! Truth is, I let my wife hang on to my CC so I don't go nuts. OR... is it that she insists on keeping my credit card so I don't go nuts?

Your right, the Dremel is great for close-in work. The pieces are expensive for what is there, but very cheap when they get the job done so nicely. I really like the new fastening mechanism for the cutting disks. I think they call it EZ Lock.

Dennis

The only problem I see with that orbital sander is it uses the hook and loop system for the sanding disc. Nice they can be removed and put back on ect... but they are also more costly. I looked around for quite a bit to find one that uses PSA stick on discs. I bought a Milwaukee 6021-21 orbital sander through Home Depot.

John

Yeah, I agree with John.. the PSA sticky paper saves a lot of time and really works well if you get decent paper. If its like 100 years old and has hieroglyphics on it, its likely to spin off the minute you turn it on.

Yeah you can get a 100 disc roll for like 20 bucks of 80 grit.
John

Get the right tool made for the job, a 6"DA (dual-action) sander, airpowered. A selection of 80 thru 320 grit pads for it. And get an air powered board sander - 80 grit is what I use.
You are finishing metal getting ready for paint, take your job seriously.
I'd also get a 3"DA, they are one of those items that after you purchase one you wonder why it took you so long.
These tools are basic to get your project into primer, you'll need a few others for finishing.
You can find these tools, used in very good condition on ebay for a bargain. You can buy used with some confidance since they are durable tools and seldom wear out, stick to name brands.

I have been using the same old National Detroit jitterbug sander for about 40 years. If it ever wears out, I'll probably buy a used one on eBay. I also use a National Detroit DA sander. Bosch is not the respected name it once was. They have lowered themselves to peddling Chinese stuff. For those of you who like to sand by hand, I have been seeing this sander in Europe for a long time.
http://www.wurthusa.com/web/en/website/produkte_1/bodyshop/flex_sanders/flex_sanders.php

It is finally available in the US.

Those look really useful! Thanks for the link. I found these a few years ago and really like them. Especially for AD trucks. The curves make it harder to use conventional long boards. This really did the trick for me.

http://www.tcpglobal.com/autobodydepot/afssanders.aspx