Abranet with Festool Sanders

[segovia]

Has anyone used Abranat with a Festool sander?

John

 

[mbartlett99]

Yes, why?

 

[segovia]

Just wondering if it affects the functionality, I do like the abranet stuff. However, for a RX90 I expect it's a non-starter as Abranet don't do a 90mm disk.

J

 

[Distinterior]

Festool are bringing out their own version of a mesh based abrasive to compete with Abranet. I think its available this September alongside their release of the new cordless Sanders. There isn't going to be a mesh to fit the RO90 yet though for some reason..??

I got to try one of the new cordless Sanders yesterday and it is very impressive for a cordless sander.....!!

 

[Homers double]

There is a bit of a quirk using mirka abranet on festool sanders the hook and loop interface between sander and disk is not very good, I've got a ETS EC 150/5 sander and it the mirka disks slowly work there way off, as it goes I had a old Milwaukee r o s that packed up today so I've ordered the mirka deros, should get it tomorrow.
I was given some free samples of sianet disks by symphony coatings and they are no different to abranet in use but they didn't work loose so I'll be ordering from them when I need more.

 

[mbartlett99]

Whatever you use abranet on you'd be well advised to buy an interface disk - cheap piece of velco. The hooks on your sander velcro poke through and get worn away - just replaced two pads on the sanders and its not cheap at all.

 

[Alexfn]

There are some cordless tools i dont really understand the point of. Sanders are one of them. Sanding tends to take place for extended periods so the battery life on a sander is terrible. The high stress on the battery is going to leads to a shorter life. Then dust extraction.. Unless its also a battery powered unit whats the point?
I guess battery powered sanders must have a niche but must be a small one

 

[Distinterior]

There are some cordless tools i dont really understand the point of. Sanders are one of them. Sanding tends to take place for extended periods so the battery life on a sander is terrible. The high stress on the battery is going to leads to a shorter life. Then dust extraction.. Unless its also a battery powered unit whats the point?
I guess battery powered sanders must have a niche but must be a small one

I tend to agree with you Alex, especially if you have large flat areas that you need to sand on a regular basis.

Myself, I tried the cordless Festool sander on the edge of a solid surface worktop (30mm thick) that i'm in the middle of fabricating at the moment and it was really nice not to have a power cord and dust extractor hose getting in my way.

The dust extraction overall was far, far better than I had expected with the little bag fitted onto it. I tried the sander without the bag fitted, just to see how much dust was getting ejected out of the dust port and it was a lot. The design of the sander is such that the dust is blown out into the bag rather than relying solely on the suck of a seperate dust extractor.

Apparently, the batteries have a continuous 30minute run time and a 25minute charge cycle.

 

[Steve Maskery]

I like Abranet as an abrasive, but it is too thin to use on power sanders, I think. As MB says, the hooks get worn out almost instantly and a new disk is £40-ish. An interface disk saves the sander, but that itself gets worn pretty quickly. When I did my wainscotting I wore one out. That's just 30 square metres or so. It doesn't half change the economics of using Abranet, which lasts for ever of itself.
TBH I could do with finding a good trad sanding disk. Anyone got any recs? I have a few of the Brilliant ones left, but they are not really meant for wood, are they?

 

[Distinterior]

I stocked up on the Brilliant sanding discs a couple of years ago and still have quite a few to keep me going. I use them on wood occasionly but my main use for them is on Solid Surface type material (Corian) which they work really well on, as recommended by my Festool Technical Rep.

 

[AES]

If it's of any help to anyone, we have an excellent tool store just down the road from me (in Switzerland) and they have a separate Festool-only showroom (very swish)! During several visits over the last 6 months or so I've seen loads of hoarding adverts there for Festool's own "Abranet".

I've not investigated it myself, (I use Abranet with an intermediate foam disc) but having no idea when/if it will be released in UK, if anyone wants to try a sample, send me a PM with EXACTLY what you want and I'll happily buy some for you and post it on - at cost of course.

AES

 

[segovia]

Thanks, I'll keep a lookout for the Festool version.

 

[n0legs]

TBH I could do with finding a good trad sanding disk. Anyone got any recs?

Steve I use 3M Hookit, Mirka Gold or Mirka Basecut.
I've long since given up with anything cheaper and I recommend the ones above. The BIL has a bodyshop and his experience has borne out the cheap versus named stuff ten times over. It's quite sobering when I get a box every few months and he's buying in 10+ boxes a week.
Abranet/Autonet are my first choice, if they're about :lol:

 

[Steve Maskery]

Thank you, I'll take a look.
Just to be sure, these are OK for wood, are they, not just bodyshop work? I believe that the specs are different, are they not?

 

[n0legs]

Thank you, I'll take a look.
Just to be sure, these are OK for wood, are they, not just bodyshop work? I believe that the specs are different, are they not?

To be honest Steve I've never bothered asking that question, all I know is they make rough stuff smooth :lol:
I'll ask the rep next time I see him, well actually I'll get the BIL to do it. I'll post the answer up but I can say I have had no problems finishing over the surface they leave. I commonly use poly, acrylic, wax and oil without any issue I can detect.

 

[YorkshireMartin]

I use 125mm abranet on my rotex (with interface pad) and it's been fine. Slightly better performance than the festool abrasives (Rubin 2 in this case) at 120g.

Not much in it tbh but I do love abranet for hand sanding (with extraction).

 

[segovia]

I have now been able to use Festool Granat with my RX90 on a small job and I can't complain at the results so far. I'll stick to the Abranat for manual sanding with the pad and extraction hose attachment.

Thanks for the feedback.