Thread: Sanding varnished weatherboards - belt or 1/3 sheet sander?

Personally I would use both,

The belt to remove material fast and the 1/3 for finishing and getting into tight spots where the belt could do damage.

Beware of the edge of the belt which could cut into the edge of the timber where it laps.

As another thought, how about a scraper. The pull handle type.

Ya what would rip it off quicker? A fine wire cup/brush in an angle grinder, but you would have to test first and you would have to go in the grain direction not across. You will have to wear eye/face protection cause the wires do break off.
And then sand.

Initially I was going to agree with Rat52- but after a bit of quiet reflection I think that the belt sander may be too heavy and not really made for using vertically so you may find it too tireing- it depends on your upper body strength.

I hate useing tools above my head for too long so I would be going as light weight as possible, even thinking about using my cordless detail sander with an 80 grit paper on it to start the process and just using the 1/3 sheet for a final smooth.

What about a 150mm ROS sander with a 7mm orbit, such as the Milwaukee (Trade tools in Brisbane)? Would this be coarse enough?

I have seen painters use a angle grinder with a disc that looks like a sanding disk but isn't, seems to be some sort of lightweight metal disc with grit adhered to it. Might pay to check out some paint shops. Was very quick and left a pretty good surface ready for painting/varnishing

Something like this: http://www.tradetools.com.au/ProdVie...oduct=J3218-T2

I've got a really cheap grinder (crazy clarkes!) so If you can get the attachment I might use that. The more I think about holding 6kg up for more than 2 minutes the worse it seems! I did this customers garage door with the 1/3 sheet sander and it just uses metres of paper. I think I'll go and investigate the grinder option. Makita have a nice looking one: http://www.makita.com.au/product.asp?ContentID=sa7000c Its still 3.2kg though, whereas a 'normal' angle grinder http://www.makita.com.au/product.asp?ContentID=9553nbk . is only 1.4kg so maybe its time I upgraded my angle grinder, and then use a sanding disc on it. Of course it'll take longer with a 100mm wheel instead of a 180mm wheel.

Top choice is a panel beaters sander with 7" discs
or a long way to 2nd place is a ROS

Ok, here's what I did...

Bought a Makita 115mm angle grinder (cos I"ve been angling for one for a few years) and a backing pad and sanding disks. I also bought a decent dust mask and goggles which I've needed a reason to buy for a while.

Initially some marks from an overenthusiastic grinder, but with a bit of practice, developed a technique which left the surface smooth as, maybe not a babys butt, but good enough for an exterior surface - like all pleasures, its all in the stroking...

So, very fast surface removal - straight through the varnish and back to bare wood. Very messy, and a fair amount of work to control, but a 115mm grinder isn't too heavy to hold for longish periods of time.

The wall looks great, much better than just a surface sanding and varnish over old varnish. Customer is very happy, which is great too.

Well done, its good to hear about wins, its usually our stuff ups that we talk about.