Palm Sander

[FredWanaker]

Have some interior door jambs and trim to sand before painting with a durapoxy finish. The paint that is on the jambs now is a softer latex that slowly softens when it is touched a lot. The durapoxy is a much harder finish so I'd like to get much of the old latex sanded down. I sanded the first door on saw horses using an old craftsman dual ******** sander that works well on horizontal surfaces, but I would not want to hold it vertically on a jamb. It also does not have a dust collector. Can anyone with experience with these make a recomendation what the best one out there is. I saw a Makita with collector for about $100 available locally but honestly I have no idea what works well to prep jambs and trim. I don't want something that is hard to control, or wants take off and tries to hit the drywall next to the trim. Battery or power cord. I have arthritis in my back, shoulders and neck so lighter is better to a point.

 

[Dave455]

I’ve been doing this job recently on an exterior frame.

Those old sanders are not great to be honest. I have a Bosch “half sheet” orbital sander and even that’s awkward to use.

A palm sander is definitely the way to go!

Absolute best is probably the Festool, but it’s probably better than needed for a door frame.

I have a Makita Palm Sander as well (corded), inexpensive tool, but to be honest it’s great. I’d get another! A friend has a Metabo and that seems as good.

Only advice I’d give is to get decent sandpaper in a variety of grits. If you do this you’ll only need a couple of passes with each grit.

By coincidence, I took a picture of the job in progress. Finished job looks great.

 

[MarvinBerry]

Last fall I picked up one of these hazard freight Bauer orbital sanders on sale for $20... it's shockingly just as good as any name brand I've ever used.

It's on sale again! I'll probably buy another!

2.8 Amp, 5 in. Random Orbital Palm Sander

Amazing deals on this 2.8A 5In Random Orbit Hd Palm Sander at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[FredWanaker]

Thanks - will look at all three. Festool, Makita and Bauer. which is better, square 4.5" x 4", or round 5"

 

[RTM]

If you are doing door jambs, I’m not a fan of the round ROS sanders, especially on the skinny faces.

ROS is usually 2 or 3 grits faster than the sheet sanders tho.

 

[Dave455]

Thanks - will look at all three. Festool, Makita and Bauer. which is better, square 4.5" x 4", or round 5"

The Festool is undoubtedly the best. The build quality is superb, they’re smooth to use, variable speed is a bonus, and the dust extraction works the best.

The sheet size is about 3” x 5” which I think is unique to Festool, but you can get sanding sheets from third party suppliers. It’s probably a perfect size for door frames, in fact I think it was probably designed for that job.

The downside of the Festool is the price…!


The Makita works just fine. It’s not the quality of the Festool, but it’s nice enough, and actually very effective. It uses 4” x 4.5” sanding sheets which are probably more common (quarter sheet) but you get more overhang sanding a door frame. I notice there are two versions - one with a velcro pad and one with just a clamp. I find the velcro pads to be the way to go!


As RTM says, the round orbital sanders tend to work much faster, but they’re no good for anything that has a corner you need to get into. I have one, but seldom use it as most things I sand seem to have corners..!

 

[FredWanaker]

thanks - I know which one I need now.

 

[dnschmidt]

Check this out. https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/a-game-changer-in-cordless-sanders.491576/

I've got a ton of sanders, mostly air but a lot of electric too, and this one is the pick of the litter.

 

[FredWanaker]

thanks. I decided on the rectangular one for the trim, to be able to get into corners.

Anyone know the Makita part number to convert from the bag to a shop vac hose on the B40556K?

Update - I found a link to the dust accessories https://www.makitatools.com/dust-management/dust-management-search?SelectedPrimaryProduct=BO4556

 

[tarbellb]

For corners, nooks, and crannies look into Multi tools with a sanding pad attachment

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

I bought the Bosch kit, included a 1/4 sheet and a Palm Sander. The Makita Kit was roughly the same price, I just prefer Bosch.

 

[Movin/on]

No message

 

[Movin/on]

NM

 

[txvwnut]

Heat gun and scraper will work wonders to get the paint off. Then you can hit it with the sander, I’ve done this with the trim work in my house.

 

[MarvinBerry]

For corners, nooks, and crannies look into Multi tools with a sanding pad attachment

Yes absolutely yes. The triangular sanding pads rule excellent detail sander!

That's actually about all I use anymore... the 5" round orbitals & multi tool detail. I have a couple of the square 1/4 and think I'm just gonna donate those to habitat.

I was against the round & Velcro pads for a long time mostly due to cost... it's easy enough to cut a full size sheet down & way cheaper... But the paper can rip easy if it's not clamped in tight... or ya wear though it...

Ease of use for the win. Yes more expensive but slapping a new disc on is way faster and I found they actually last longer. Maybe because the backing is way thicker but I don't blow through paper nearly as quickly YMMV.