sander

[edl]

if you were getting a 3" air sander to prep auto body spots for repair (for example, repairing a hole in fiberglass on a vette), what would you get?

it is confusing as i see both die grinders and sanders being marketed for this

and then, of course, it appears there are rotary, dual orbit and random orbit (with various throws) - curious to know what has worked for other body guys out there

thanks

 

[d.mcfarland]

Orbital will give you a better finish 9 times out of 10 versus a plain rotary style sander.

Dealing with fiberglass you're going to be doing different techniques compared to metal. Keep that in mind.

 

[edl]

D.M. - good points - are their particular brands/models you have had success with in this small orbital air sander category? - i guess 3m is a pretty big brand - IR has a lot of models - anyone have real world experience?

 

[KenC]

IMO, prepping holes for repair requires a different tool and technique than prepping dents, gouges etc. Cleaning up the hole edges and shaping is die grinder or small disk territory. Sanding a gouge or surface damage is palm sander work.

For the latter it's hard to beat Dynabrade, but Airvantage has nice ones at a better price. Truth be told, for non pro use, there are a lot of knockoffs that work fine.