Just curious if anyone has heard of, used, seen, etc a surfprep sander.
I’ve seen them pop up in a couple of woodworking YouTube channels I watch. They do seem to be good for non-flat surfaces based on their YouTube infomercials. It seems like it would be great for sanding boards, although a little pricey for backyard builders. Again, just curious if anyone has any knowledge of them.
These are just thicker, softer pads fitted to regular sanders so the contact area will conform to a curved surface. Many RO sanders (Bosch, Festool) have pads like this available as an accessory. If you have a hook and loop pad on your sander, you can make a pad like this. Get a piece of medium density foam, cut to the shape of your pad, then apply the hook material on one side and the loop on the other. Stick the loop-side on the sander and the hook-side to the paper. They work OK with finer grits and for sanding rails if you’re careful. They don’t work with coarser grits because the pad isn’t hard enough. But keep in mind that sanding surfaces like bottom concaves is more a function of the pad size rather than how soft/hard it is.
I’ve made big pads like this for Milwaukee rotary sanders using 4" foam glued to a normal rubber backing pad. I use those for wet-sanding gloss coats (squirt bottle and sponge).
i use roto orbital sanders connected to vacuum cleaner for years, people laughed…funny to see that they became a new trick in surfboards production now… electric ro surfprepsander looks like mirka ones a lot. i buy soft pad interfaces at car paint shop, can find different thickness and density to conform all kind of curved shape.
Get a used porter cable 505 half sheet sander.
I like it more than my random orbit
i never use vibrating sander but i have a friend, an hobby woodworker, that only use this from shaping foam to sand finish. i will try one. i try belt sander but need much practice to control, don’t let the right to mistake.
I’m not looking to buy any new sanders. As a hobbyist woodworker I have plenty. I am also aware that you can slap a piece of foam onto any sander and achieve similar results. I guess I was more curious if the surfpreps were intentionally designed to aid in production of surfboards as the name implies.
I think maybe they “Surf” over whatever they’re sanding.
i’m no pro but for me you can’t beat a mirka sander with a soft pad and sanding screen for poly. A festool rotex with the same as well. Using an airpower mirka like autobody shops is weven better. Instant on and instant off makes a huge difference
The key ifs having enough airholes in the pad so the vacuums can do their job getting rid of the waste material and reducing surface heat
in my experience heat ruins more board coating especially finishes than sand throughs
for boards I think a big milwaukee or makita with its much larger suface area and weight is key for board coatings but the suface heat aspect is still a problem which is why technique comes into play so much like you have to do with a planer which is way different than how a carpenter uses the same planer on a door. gently letting the weight of the device do most of the cutting is their advantage you just has to keep moving them by manhandling the heavy sopinng wheels.
Absolutely right on the heating, especially as the paper loads up. Festool added more holes (from 8 to 12) several of years ago. Air sanders like Mirka are designed for automotive finishes where you can be sanding body filler one minute and prepping primer the next. With air, you can drop the pressure (and RPM) as needed. With electric sanders the only control is the paper grit and amount of hand pressure or tool weight.
On my Bosch pro roto orbital Sander (like festool Rotex) connected to a vaccum cleaner i move from origin 6 holes pad to multiair ventilate pad with 15 holes sanding disc, i can start sanding with upper grit with same efficiency than before with no sanding powder (on flats).