We've been through a lot of IR's over the years; the quality really dropped about 5 years ago or so, I think they switched from made in Taiwan to made in China. I like Hutchins. USA made, if you wear it out just mail it back to them and they'll rebuild it good as new for maybe half the price of a new one.
Guys check out 3M's line of tools at www.3mcollision.com. Very comfortable grip, smooth action, and priced very competitively, check out the self generating vacuum model, a nice way to keep your lungs and the shop a little cleaner. The 5/16 throw model is a great all around da
Hutchins or National Detroit are the best.Ive got an Ingersoll Rand 328B mudhog i love and 2 astro pneumatics that i did all the bodywork on my galaxie with.
THIER ARE DIFFERNT SANDERS...have a cheap Da...can lock...put 80 grit on...great for stripping...have ingersoll rand that was finer rotation...is palm sander...also have hutchins.da,,and boards...great sanders..just heavy...make an awesome orbital board..see they make sweet palm sander now...have the model 4500..heavy..my ingersol is like the model 500...think best for paint prep...finer orbit.. http://www.hutchinsmfg.com/
For the most part...if you buy a quality one, it will use less air (CFM). The cheaper ones are air HOGS....important if you have a smaller compressor!
I have 3 National Detroit sanders, a Rodac that I got from a garage sale that looks near new, and a Dynabrade industrial grade. One of my NDs is the "bondo buster" with the big pad for 7" paper. I did waste a drive gear on it after about 10yrs and that gear is phenolic. Almost as if it's meant to be "consumed" to save other parts. Both of my other NDs are more than 40yrs old and still work like new. The one I almost always reach for 1st is the Dynabrade. They come in different levels. Some are just over $120, some about $170, and then there's the industrial that's over $250. I got lucky on my industrial version and bought it used for $50 from a pawn shop. When you want smooth and flat finish quality it's the cat's ass. I learned to focus on VALUE vs PRICE. I'm fairly certain that when the day comes that begin to liquidate excess tools, all of my commercial grade top VALUE stuff will sell for very respectable prices. Names like Hutchins, Rodac, Dynabrade, Dotco and National Detroit are well recognized by pros. They know that they last a lifetime and that repair parts are easy to get and relatively cheap. Consider that value thing, and also consider how often you'll use the tool. Also consider hitting those garage sales and estate sales. I scored a $500 Dynabrade 25,000RPM 90deg die grinder for $35. Scored a $650 Dotco 1HP die grinder for $50. And best of all scored a Rodac air file and DAQ for $15. My last Rodac air file only lasted for 45yrs, but they're out of production and I can't get a lower gear drive for it. If I could it woulda been $40. Buy smart, buy value, treat it right, you'll actually MAKE money in the long haul. Just sayin...
I have used Dynabrade and Ingersol Rand, both did the job very well. The Dynabrade was lighter and fit my hand better so it got used more often. Hope this helps some.
I noticed that no one mentioned anything about an electric Da. I've used DA's for over fifty years. In 2006 when I was doing some design work on a not HAMB or auto related project the guy that I was doing the project for was an old Air Force painter. Over the years he's painted every kind of Jet there was. He brought into the shop a Porter Cable electric orbital sander and right from the get go I liked it. I went out and picked one up for under $100 and never looked back. I took my old air units that I have had for years and placed them on the shelf and that's where they set today. Ill never go back to air.
I've heard painters blame fisheye on oil blown from an air D.A. and assumed few used electric because air was needed to blow dust away...I dunno.
The problem with electric DA sanders (I have one as well) is that there's only 1 speed. Different grits like different speeds. 80, slower, 1200, faster, the others, something in between. I run my Dynabrade almost full tilt with lots of soapy water and a Trizac 3000 pad before buffing. I wonder how that would work with electric
3M makes a killer electric DA...but it's not 100.00 bucks, but it does work really really well. It's very powerful...and unless you have a monster compressor a da can sometimes eat up your airflow... It's a nice alternative for sure.
63 retired from the auto industry, 37 yrs in autobody the old guys before d/a,s we used jitterbugs still got mine back to why I,m writing da sanders will fuck you up as will all this "fun" stuff to do with these cars that we all love the ole guys said put those knee pads on......nope I,m tough guy well both knees at 55 JUNK... put em on ,eye protection ha .where is my glasses so I can get thru all the scar tissue in my eyes and the worst...the air tools they dont save all that much time any way cause ya finish by hand and in the ole days they did not have em......so pull up those pants and block it all, my hands and wrists are so crippled up I need to spend 15 min. loosen them up to play my guitar... thats way more fun than workin on ole cars just my 2 man ole guys bitch a lot!dont we
yea it will kill your hands had carpel tunel surgery, in pain and cant hold anything , I liked national Detroit, used lots of others when I had 5 men restoring boats we ruined a da almost every nite just bought a lot of them and repaired a lot of hubs and kept sanding
Just had the week off work to paint my car...blew up another HF junker. Bought a dynabrade, what a difference. Used Half the air and spun twice as hard.... Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I will stay away from Horrible Fright for sure. I did notice at Lowes there were several electric DAs with variable speed. They were all 5". Maybe it's just my Plumbing Trade background but 5" seemed like an odd size. Allso what's standard for adhesion? Hook Loop or Adhesive?
I find hook n loop best for water sanding, adhesive for general duty grits. I tend to use 12-1500 with water to "crack open" the 1st layers of custom work, then back to the trusty paint stick for final surfacing. A hard habit to break if you develop it, but you should NEVER sand with the edge of the pad. It may seem faster, more aggressive, but it digs crescent shaped divots that are way deeper than they seem. It's not always easy to flat sand with a DA, but in the hands of pro it's very hard to tell how the surface was prepared. Good luck, and check those pawn/resale shops! I just found 2 Dotco angle grinders and a Hitachi electric shear (not the kind that takes out an extra 1/4"), all for around $50 each!! I have duplicates and don't need more or they'd be in my tool crib.
Yeah, the same sticks as used to stir paint. You need the nice wide ones, and preferably the real wood sticks vs the composites that look like wood. They make an excellent surfacing tool and cover a very large area when used right. That coverage is the secret to flat surface quality and deep reflections.
When i was prepping my projects for paint i used an electric dual action sander it held up to 3 or 4 projects before the small pulley fatigued and broke. This happened to two that i owned but the units got the job done., good for the hobbyist ,80 bucks or so.
That's a good one, and you are right, no DA is touching this car. The car used to look like that but most of the surface rust has been removed to reveal the original 50 year old paint. A lot of people think I should paint it, but there is no way I'm covering that up.
I suppose you're talking about wrapping sandpaper around it or using it as a guide coat tool and not actually combining it with a DA in any way?
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