Sanding with the Porter Cable 7335

[The Froon]

I hate to post this total greenhorn question, but I get to thinking about things and can't seem to let them go...so I need the forum to help resolve it for me.

When I have been sanding the old paint off of my deck (using a 5" Dewalt randon orbital palm sander) the work was extremely slow-going. I would inadvertently lift one side of the sander to increase pressure on the remaining portion of the pad in contact with the deck - this provided to speed up paint removal. I was careful to pay close attention to when that last layer of paint came off to then move to the next portion of painted deck. I spent many hours doing this...now I have the Porter Cable 7335 (awesome !), but I have retained my technique of applying an "angle of attack" to removing the old paint.

Question: Should I leave the pad totally flat to the deck, and just be patient with the time it take to remove the old paint, or can I in fact apply an angle of attack to spped the process?

My fear is that even though when I run my hand across the deck it feels fair, I may actually be imparting very slight dishing onto the deck. If in fact I am doing this, how do I resolve the dishing? Do I run finer grits across the deck with the pad totally flat?

Thanks,

Brian

[Idon84]

That's a good question. Something I have though about as well for sure. The first time, many many years ago, that I sanded a bottom with the rest of our sailing crew, the skipper and #1 were extremely ADAMANT about NOT putting an edge onto the sander. They wanted to keep the hull nice, fair and not lumpy. Of course they were racers looking for a silky smooth bottom.

I myself have put an edge onto my sander on my stern and created some low spots that I will have to fair in the future. My Bad!

I will be using a belt sander when it comes time to re finish my decks, but to answer your question specifically, I personally won't let any sander get on an edge when dealing with a surface that is easily visible. There are a few instances where I would, corners, crevices etc. and then I'm using my palm sander not the 7335. I think for me learning to change the paper more often and listening to some good music makes things go faster while keeping the sander flat. Putting an edge does seem to make things go faster but you will have some waviness because of that. How much is totally dependent on how close you are watching and keeping in mind that could happen. The 7335 will take a bigger bite & much faster than a 5" ROS for sure!

I have 2 5" Dewalt ROS and love them. Then I got a 7335 about 6 months ago. MY OH MY What a difference!

Good Luck

[The Froon]

Thanks Bryon; appreciate the response. I guess I just need to slow down and enjoy the dust storm of old paint removal.
Thanks,

Brian

[bcooke]

how do I resolve the dishing?

A long board. Its best not to create the dish in the first place.

As to whether you should use the edge of the sanding pad, I would guess that would depend on the application. On the bottom? sure. (sorry Mike) On decks that are going to be smothered in fairing filler, okay. On topsides that will be primed and painted?... maybe not such a good idea. Its a trade-off. Speed versus quality. Don't worry about quality though if the next process is just going to cover it all up.

Its also about technique and skill. As you use the tool more you may learn how to keep it moving and avoid creating excessive hollow spots. Totally eliminating them may not be an option but the severity of the dishing will be reduced with practice.

You might try going to a heavier grit too. 36 grit is not too much when trying to remove lots of material. Grits in the 20's are even an option.

It will never be as quick as you want though.

I think belt sanders can create a horrible mess if not not handled correctly either. Its not usually the tool of choice when sanding decks.

[Mario G]

Like the cars I restore, always keep the sanding pads flat no matter what size.

if its taking to long to strip you could try heavier grit sand paper or chemical strip. I much prefer the dust storms.

It is all in the prep so taking your time will mean a better result.

[bigd14]

I was sanding with the 7335 the other day and I noticed that the pad would stop rotating when I applied only a little bit of pressure, and now it acts more like a normal RO sander. It still rotates well with no load, but it seemed to have much more rotation under pressure when new (its only a few months old). I'm wondering if it is broken. Has anyone else had this issue? I was using 80 grit.

Doug

[bcooke]

I would try blowing the bearings out with compressed air. Dust gets into the bearings and it will start acting like that. Let it go too long and the bearings will freeze up permanently.

I never had an issue with dirty bearings with the dust collection on but when I stopped using dust collection I started having issues.

[Oscar]

Tried my new Ryobi palm sander today..... very effective, but dancing around like a bucking bronco....... :-(