Proper Use of a Floor Sander

[Gutter Squad]

Do any of you use a floor sander (orbital)? I've got a 14" Powr-Flite floor scrubber/sander that I picked up last year and never used.

I've got a couple questions:

1. If I run this on a deck, am I going to get swirl marks from the circular motion of the driver?

2. What grit should I use?

Thanks

[acegot]

Yes you will get circular marks. We sand redwood & cedar with circular(17") floor sander 1st with 40 grit then 60 grit. Then to finish we use 60 to 80 grit with an orbital floor sander.(12x18) The 60 grit circular scratches sometimes arn't to bad & depending on the customer that may be OK. On softer decks we can often times go from the 40 grit circular to the 60 grit orbital & its fine. You can cut with 36 on an orbital, just takes longer to do the same amount of cutting. Havent sanded PT Pine so I really dont know how hard it is. IF Pine is more like yellow cedar you would need to do the 3 step sand to remove the course sand marks. Hope that gives you an idea of what to expect.

[Beth n Rod]

I wouldn't necessarily use it for sanding a deck floor but I have heard of others who have used them for defurring a deck after stripping.

Rod!~

[James]

There are many ways to use floor machines. From the weight of the machine to the type of pads and the type of wood its used on. Soft or hard.

[MudDuck]

There are many ways to use floor machines. From the weight of the machine to the type of pads and the type of wood its used on. Soft or hard.

Could you be any more vague...LOL...not giving away any secretes today huh Jim?....LOL,,,,You left out "Grasshoppa"

[Richard]

We have a couple vibrating floor machines that we use on most decks prior to staining. It makes it a lot easier to get a great finish on an older deck. Partialy our climate. people up here have a tendancy to neglect their decks a little more due to the fact that we can't use them as much. Takes out some warping, defurs, and just an overall better finished product. Also helps with the profit margine. We'll start with anything as rough as 20 if needed and finish with 60. I'd post a pic of one but not that inteligent.

[PressurePros]

We use the vibrating ones as well. Lyle's explanation as to an orbital was accurate.

[Gutter Squad]

Anybody have a good place they like to get the sanding discs from?

[Richard]

We get ours from a rental supply house.

I'm curious to see what other responces U get.

[acegot]

You can also get paper at flooring supply wholesalers.

NATE, Don't know if you've used a maintainer with sandpaper before, but it can be pretty tricky unless your a real master of the machine because of the resistance. Just a heads up. I personally have sanded approx. 60 thousand square ft of decking, heck may be 100k. All I know is I dont count sheep to sleep.

[acegot]

Here are some pics of a job we just finished. Cut with maintainer, finished with 12x18 orbital 60grit. Sealed with A-Clark toner, cinnamon. (cedar toner/redwood toner mix)

[Beth n Rod]

How did you like working with that sander?

Beth

[Beth n Rod]

Lyle,
Noticed that one was redwood, how does it do on pt lumber that is cupped?
Drum sanders work ok, but dang if it doesnt take a while to level the wood.

Rod!~

[acegot]

How did you like working with that sander?

Beth

& Rod, I like on jobs that arent too cupped, cause its easy to use(when you master the machine), effective & faster cutting than an orbital (12x18)& an EZ8 drum(most of the time). This job was boards were pretty uneven so there was quite a bit cutting in areas. Normally I would use my American 12 drum. (big, heavy 220v, but kicks the crap out of any deck including AL. Yellow cedar. I could have cut that deck above in 45 minutes instead of 4hrs. Guess I wanted a challange on this one.

[acegot]

Lyle,
Noticed that one was redwood, how does it do on pt lumber that is cupped?
Drum sanders work ok, but dang if it doesnt take a while to level the wood.

Rod!~

Yea it takes a while. As I mentioned above I havent sanded pt lumber. And As I mentioned above. the only machine that will make fast work of heavily cupped boards is an American 8 or 12 (or equivilant brand) I have an American EZ8, which is probably what you are referring to, but it just doesnt cut it. Overall the 17" maintainer is more effective in cutting, IMO.

I took my sanders to help out a friend & competitor (Matt C. Fireand Rain)on an Alasken Yellow Cedar deck for some experimentation. ( Wish I would have taken my Am. 12.) The AYC was cupped pretty bad. We tried the ez8(36grit), then the 17" maintainer(36grit), the maintainer was more effective in cutting. It still took alot of time, but got it done. Finished with the orbital 12x18 with 60grit. I got a little impatient so cut about 300 sq.ft. with my high speed secret. I wont get in to that , Matt might want to elaborate. Sorry we didnt take any pics of AYC, guess we were to busy!
I know pt lumber is softer tha AYC, but dont know where it falls in. I could imagine it cutting similar to old growth conhrt. redwood that hasnt seen direct light. That stuff is pretty hard.
Another way that is real effective & can be done for speed is put 20grit on the 17 mant. U cut most of the cup out without putting 20gr. marks in the center of the of the board which is the hardest place to get out the courser scratches. Hope that sheds a light on my experiences.
It all comes down to if you going to do alot of sanding on cupped boards, invest in a large(heavyduty) drum sander, they KICK BUT. I'll post apic when I dig mine out of storage.