With a supply of 3X and 7X 60 grit sandpapers from Norton and 3M, I sliced up several sheets and attacked the project with my only sander, a thirty year old 1/3 sheet Skil that sands by vibrating. Although the old Skil has been effective on softwoods, this job is to remove the distressed exterior varnish from the oak veneer front door. What became evident was that a piece of sandpaper cut well for about two minutes, becoming loaded or dulled by the old varnish and/or wood. Reviewing online forums, I learned that the Random Orbit Sander is considered far more effective than my old Skill. Before buying a random orbit sander, I wanted to ask you if it will speed up this job. Is the sandpaper for the random orbit machine better than the stuff I’ve been using? Will it also load up in two minutes, or is there something about the random orbit machine that keeps the sandpaper cutting better and longer?
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Replies
if your current sander is getting gummed up then an orbital sander will more than likely get gummed up just the same. may get a little longer life out of each pad but the issue isnt the sander, its the surface you are trying to sand. try removing the layer that is gumming up the pads by scrapping or with a chemical prior to sanding.
i have both kinds of sanders and they both work well for different applications. i do use the orbital sander a lot more than the oscillating one. tend to use the oscillating for finer grit.
Note that, for removing thick finish, an "open grit" sandpaper will generally resist clogging much better than regular sandpaper. It will, of course, not produce as smooth a finish, but if you take care and switch to the regular stuff for the last pass or two then you can get decent results.
Use paint and varnish remover to get the finish off, it'll end up being a better but easier job.