Festool RO125 for sanding clapboards
citycarpenter
| Posted in General Discussion on
I am interested in finding out if anybody has used the 5″ Rotex RO 125 from Festool.I have some cedar clapboards to sand and paint and would perfer not to see any swirl marks. I have seen painters use this tool on clapboard siding, I just want to be sure I make the right dicision before I apply for the home equity loan. Thanks in advance.
Replies
I've got one. It's pretty terrific.
But you'd be best to test it out on some scrap first. It can jump and run if you aren't ready. Takes a bit of getting used to. It is supposed to break in after 10 hours of use and be a bit less of a handful.
Get a vac to go along with it. Otherwise you are only getting a piece of its real usefulness. Even after reading about it, I was still surprised at how well the dust collection works.
And keep in mind that you can return it within 30 days if it doesn't meet your expectations.
How does this compare with the Paint Shaver Pro or the Porter-Cable paint stripper?
Don't know. I haven't used either of those. I suspect that from what I've gathered about the paint shaver, that it would be a better bet if that's what you are doing, stripping paint. I used the Festool to strip a door with several layers (75 years worth) of paint. It's not bad, but the pads get gummed up pretty quickly. And you can't assume that you turn it on, walk away for 5 minutes and return to a paint free surface. It's when you get to rough wood that the rotex shines. If stripping paint is the primary use, you might look at this one.
http://www.mcfeelys.com/product/570738/RAS-11504-E-Rotary-Sander'Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt man doing it' ~ Chinese proverb
The rotary mode of the rotex works well. The random orbit I find
more difficult to control. Outdoor work may not matter, the
swirlies are for interior worry.
Oil paint is much less of a build up problem than
latex. Latex is a real problem. I finally just stripped
it then sanded with the rotex. Also, use real low number
sand disks, they clog less. Dont press real hard it
heats up the work and it turns to gum.
I have not used their rotary stripper model but from
my use of the rotex it likely is much better than
the ro125 for this work.
Whilst Im at it, warning on the vac. It is a fine
vac and I love it BUT if you open the top to
check how full the bag is, BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT
HOW YOU LOWER THE LID AGAIN. There are two black
plastic legs that help locate the bag and they
WILL pierce the bag and you may not know it.
Oh, you WILL know it when you reopen later and
find the entire interior of the vac packed full
of paint dust and the hepa filter clogged.
This is a 60 dollar problem.
I nearly cut the legs off with a ax I was so
pissed. Cannot see why they bothered to put
them on.
I have the RO 125 and a few other Festool Sanders. The RO125 was m first and I bought it on faith that it would help with dust collection and offer a range of sanding options. I have not been disappointed. With my wife's urging we got the ETS150/5 next for finer work where the ergonomics worked for both my wife and me. However, the 125 is a great sander ... I became convinced when I had to sand a table top in the dead of winter with my garage door closed and there was no problem with dust using the Festool Vac. The thing about this Festool stuff is that is a system: the vac and the sander work well together. It may be more cost or time efficient for you to figure out way to use the sander with another vac, but the Festool stuff works so well together for me that it saves time, hassle, and for me that is what I need when I do woodworking. Time is life and there is never enough time....
Good luck
JR
Thanks for your usefull information. I feel alot more confident in making my choice.
I love mine! I have been sanding my clapboards for a few days now.
Here's a review I found.
http://nhwoodworker.com/sanders/sanders.html
"It is what it is."