[SORTIE]

my boatyard requires that bottom paint sanding dust be contained. does anyone have experience with electric sanders with integral vacuum bags? I've seen them advertised in the back of Soundings magazine for paint removal purposes, but all I need to do is rough up the surface to give the new paint some purchase. seems like the way to go, but I'm wondering about efficient they are at keeping the dust away from the machine operator.

This post edited by SORTIE 11:36 AM 03/12/2008

 

[MakoMike]

SORTIE wrote:
my boatyard requires that bottom paint sanding dust be contained. does anyone have experience with electric sanders with integral vacuum bags? seems like the way to go, but I'm wondering about efficient they are at keeping the dust away from the machine operator.

They aren't that good, I would still wear a respirator.

 

[6to8ftSeas]

The dewalt random orbital sander has a dust collecting bag on it that fits a vacuum hose. you can hook it up to your shop vac if you get the adaptor to use a smaller hose on the shop vac. It works pretty good. I think the sander is like $70 or something.

 

[SORTIE]

seems to me the unit pictured in Soundings is not an orbital.

looked more like a drum, which would be easier to capture discharge from

 

[Koz54]

SORTIE wrote:

looked more like a drum, which would be easier to capture discharge from

Not necessarily Skip

. Just because you are discharging the material (dust) in one direction does not mean it will be easier to collect.

A dual action sander is the way to go, just choose one with a vacuum attachment and still wear a good respirator.

Dual action sanders comparison

The Porter-Cable 344 would be my choice

 

[SORTIE]

yah, I did some googling and pros advise the use of a rotary sander to avoid changing the contours of your bottom.

attachment to shop vac sounds like the ticket...much more powerful than those dinky little bags.

Porter 344 looks like a nice unit, at a good price!

 

[GradySailfish]

If all you need to do is "rough up" the bottom then quickly hit it with some 80 grit on a fairing block. That will give your next coat just enough "bite" for a nice adhesion.

That Porter Cable is nice, but I killed one really, really fast, but I'll see how PC treats me. Sounds like I'm going to get a new one from them. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I get a magazine in the mail called Autobody Tool Mart. It has DA sanders already hooked up to a vacum unit. Somewhat expensive, but in order to keep the shop clean I might just go for it.

 

[SORTIE]

GradySailfish wrote:


If all you need to do is "rough up" the bottom then quickly hit it with some 80 grit on a fairing block. That will give your next coat just enough "bite" for a nice adhesionAlex, that's exactly what I've done in the past, but there's no way to contain the sanding residue (and it gets all over you to boot)

 

[reelfisher]

SORTIE wrote:
GradySailfish wrote:


If all you need to do is "rough up" the bottom then quickly hit it with some 80 grit on a fairing block. That will give your next coat just enough "bite" for a nice adhesionAlex, that's exactly what I've done in the past, but there's no way to contain the sanding residue (and it gets all over you to boot)


You mean like this?????

 

[Fishbust]

Sanding....

I am presently using a Sears Orbital sander (5 hole paper) that I plug into my wet/dry vac (no special adapter needed) while building a kayak, my winter project, fiberglass over wood (african mohogany). Doing this work in my garage. It works very well. You still need to wear a mask and mono goggle because your face is so close but you won't hear complaints from the marina about a dust cloud either.

The little bag on the sanders are useless, ok enough for wood but not toxic paint and epoxies, you need the power of the vacuum to do the job.

This post edited by Fishbust 06:18 PM 03/12/2008

 

[GradySailfish]

I don't mean to be a pia, but next time you do that sanding don't wear that little paper mask you showed a picture of. That mask is fairly useless protecting you from the exposure of bottom paint sanding residue. Its nasty stuff and requires the use of a real respirator. You can get the 3M respirators from Home Depot for about 25 bucks, keep it clean and it will last you a while. Its pretty comfortable to wear as well.

VacumSander