Seems to me that this subject needs a full RESET!!!: -Please Allow me to explain myself; I have used several Random Orbit Sanders for many years. The first one I bought and still have, is a Swiss-made Bosch PE-12 AE variable speed with 3mm orbit and an un-coupled, free rotating bearing pad, that means that the 125mm pad only rotates by the excentric oscillation of the platter shaft. That "sander" was used for sanding many relatively small jobs, with occasional polishing of a couple of midsize car windshields that had some scratches from having used the wipers on a layer of dry volcanic ash... As a sander, this type and size of sander is a slow and underpowered one, with less than 350 effective watts of power. I also used several similarly sized Random Orbit "sanders" from brands like DeWalt, Milwaukee, Ryobi etc. ... ALL of them have the same lack of serious power.
While the orbit size has a definite impact on sanding power, if the motor lacks serious torque, it will slow you down too much when attempting to tackle larger jobs. As larger jobs, I mean like sanding the entire top of a Dining table of 9 by 5.5 feet, or the top and sides of a large 9 ft concert piano. While the 300 to 400 watt, 125mm, 3mm random orbit "sanders" can polish those surfaces, it will be a slow and tiring task. Enter the newer FORCED rotation Sanders with dual action: you can either use them as a purely "Random" mode polisher or finisher sander, or turn them into the FORCED Rotation mode... With a larger than 6.5 mm orbit AND above 700 Watt motor, now we are talking serious business, like going through that same large dining table, and not only finish sanding or polishing it, but truly sanding the worst scratches out of it; more or less the same sanding rate of a medium (750 watt, 3" X 21") belt sander, but like having TWO useful and serious tools in one: the sander and the finishing/polishing ones on a single tool. As far as I have seen, in my country I have only three models available: The Festool Rotex, the Bosch 6" and the Makita BO6050, which I ended up buying... Let me say that the powerful Makita has displaced my older Bosch for 95% of the times. On another even more deeply-scratched car glass windshield, the Makita took about a third of the time and half the effort (because it weights more) than the old Bosch PE 12 AE... and I would never attempt such a time consumming task again with a lesser machine. A few days before the pandemic started, I had the opportunity of briefly using a MIRKA DEROS corded sander, but comparing it directly to the Makita BO6050 showed it lacked power, but felt easier to control (you need to learn how to tame the brute force of the Makita, but a little practice will do, especially by using the side handle, which takes some time to master). Dust collection appeared a little better on the MIRKA, but by not much. Recently, I have read some testimonies that are very credible, about the lack of reliability of the MIRKA DEROS speed control electronics, and, because the steep price of both the Festool and the MIRKA puts them out of my reach, and knowing that the Bosch is powerful, but has some reports of the new model having problems with the plastic rivets that attach the pad to its centerpiece shearing and separating the pad from its center; I feel the Makita will be with me for a long time. In respect to my old Swiss-made Bosch PE12 AE, I have to recognize that it has been very reliable... most probably because of its old age, when tools were definitely better built. But I am bored of its lack of muscle, and I am 100% sure that I will NEVER return to the anemic, 125mm, 3mm orbit, free-bearing rotation of the pad "sander", regardless of brand or prestige. My sincere advice to all of you: Leave those underpowered "kind of random orbit sanders" unless your time is not important and your jobs are all smaller ones. Next in my list of "to-do" jobs for my new sander, is to tackle a long wooden slats stair, that needs some heavy sanding to remove the old varnish which probably has many coats on it, and the wooden floors on two bedrooms. All in all, about 230 square feet of wood floor per room. Let´s see if the 700+ watt forced rotation sander polisher is enough for that... I´ll report.
