which sanding pads?

[ArlyA]

We have some large picnic tables we care for which are located at remote locations. The finish is starting to peel so they need to be scraped, buffed and refinished. For cleaning and buffing them I thought I'd bring my generator so I could use my 4.5 angle grinder to do that job with. We'd then blow them off with air compressor when done. What pads might we use? I thought about trying these soft pads in 120 grit.

FPPO 5Pcs 4.5" x 7/8" Nylon Fiber Flap Disc Polishing Grinding Wheel,Scouring pad Buffing Wheel for Angle Grinder, Polishing Tools (Grit 120)

 

[2manyrocks]

Those work out to be about $2.80 each at the price I saw. Normal orbital sander pads are anywhere from .40 each to maybe $1.80 each. At the rate you may be going through pads, I'd suggest you buy an orbital pad sander. The orbital action is going to be more efficient at sanding. The sander itself will be easier to control just using one hand.

I'd also recommend buying both 80 grit and 120 grit. Outdoor wood may need more aggressive sanding to clean up followed by the 120 to get it smooth. Orbital sander pads use hook and loop fastening so they will be much faster to change than changing pads on an angle grinder.

I only have used a corded orbital sander. Can't really speak to whether it would make sense to pick up a cordless version so you don't have to carry a generator or listen to the noise. But I would encourage you to look into a cordless sander if you already have batteries for a cordless drill or other tool.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've never tried what you showed a picture of.

For sanding flat wood and making it look nice, I use a 5 inch random orbital sander with the 3M disks from Lowes, which are sold in their paint department. For some reason, they do not have them in their tool area where all the other sanding stuff is. They are purple. You'll find that for outdoor projects, starting with the most aggressive disks that you can find will really speed things up. I think 40 grit is what I always buy from them when sanding the exterior of a house. You can always go over it with something finer, but I think you'll find that 40 grit on an outdoor table will do a pretty good job.

If you have something that you really need to remove a lot of material on, Shop Smith has the best flapper disks that I've found. I use them on cedar logs, and they are amazing!!!!

Never buy Gator or Craftsman, they are the worse!!!!!

 

[ljjhouser]

I would have trouble making the surface level with an angle grinder. I have also not used a flapper disk, but I doubt it would remove paint, - 40 or 60 grit usely does that better. Also, I like a flat sander. Like an orbital sander. I use an old Porter Cable 505. I might use paint remover first, then sand, then treat with an oil preservative like Penofin. I hat removing paint. Not very good at it.

 

[ArlyA]

The stain used here before is not being removed, just loose stuff ground off and surface abraided for the next coat. It's the stain type that's nearly like paint which I don't like but I'm redoing it after the fact. If you note another thread here was about poor performance of water based stains.

 

[ArlyA]

I would have trouble making the surface level with an angle grinder. I have also not used a flapper disk, but I doubt it would remove paint, - 40 or 60 grit usely does that better. Also, I like a flat sander. Like an orbital sander. I use an old Porter Cable 505. I might use paint remover first, then sand, then treat with an oil preservative like Penofin. I hat removing paint. Not very good at it.

Those sanding pads I showed are made for running flat, not on there edge like most are.

 

[Rockbadchild]

like ljjhouser said a angle grinder will leave uneven marks or dents, for logs id uses a angle grinder but for planks I always uses a belt sander or a orbital palm sander ... I really like palm sander they are really ergonomic to use.

 

[2manyrocks]

Back in the day, there were rotary sanders that left swirl marks in the finish and there were belt sanders that were faster, but also left sanding marks. Orbital sanders had and have the advantage of being faster than a rotary sander and the orbital action helps reduce obvious sanding marks on the finish.

The typical outdoor table at our local recreation areas would have a lot of weather checking and would have a lot of surface area to be sanded.

Depending on how bad the finish is, a belt sander might even be worth considering.

 

[ArlyA]

And I even own one (belt sander) maybe I can test it out on one table that's in the parking lot..

 

[Sebculb]

Angie grinders with flat sanding disks are great. I usually use a big 9" grinder but the 4.5" ones work fine. It is easy to leave gouges and low spots with the 4.5" grinders. Perhaps start on places you can't see and finish with the top.

Those scrubby pad sanding disks look intriguing, like they could work well. Flap disks work better on metal. Flap disks work better on metal. For the 4.5" grinders they sell these little flexible rubber cups that work pretty well for screwing down the sanding disks. The stiff plastic ones are fine but the rubber ones are better.

Here in the jungle rough cut fuzzy wood is all we get. Planers are all right but forget belt sanders and palm sanders are just for prepping before paint, and sanding between coats of varnish. Angle grinders is how we get anything done in one day. They do leave a circular pattern in the wood but Imyou can get used to that, and you can soften it with a quick pass from a palm sander. They do the job *fast* which makes any imperfections seem less terrible. 1/2 hour into the job with scrapers and orbital sanders you might find yourself reaching for the grinder and a 80 grit disk.