Pneumatic sander

[willpatten]

I need to sand down last years hard antifouling and am thinking about using a pneumatic orbital sander.
Anyone tried it before and know where I can hire one from - along with the compressor etc?

 

[dennyjc]

I need to sand down last years hard antifouling and am thinking about using a pneumatic orbital sander.
Anyone tried it before and know where I can hire one from - along with the compressor etc?

My advice would be to use an electric equivalent.
I have both the pneumatic and electric sanders
The pneumatic one uses more air than a 3HP compressor can supply so needs regular rests
The compressor will be very heavy and will likely trip a 16Amp marina supply when the motor starts up.

The electric one uses 650W and just goes on and on.
I used it once to sand down a 32' hull after it had been scraped
and can tell you that it turned my arms to jelly -
After just one day of sanding I could barely lift my arms above my head.

 

[TimBennet]

You can wet sand with an air sander which is the best thing for you and your neighbours.
It's also very much lighter than electric.

A DA airsander can be bought for about £25 or so, and use a 'net' sanding disk.

Any hire shop can let you have a compressor, either petrol or depending on your needs.
But look at the capacity and make sure the air reservoir is as large as possible. Most hire shop kit tends to be on the 'more than adequate' side.

 

[Keith 66]

To drive an air powered random orbital sander you will need a compressor that will provide a minimum of 16cfm preferably 20 or more.
Da's as they are known eat air!

 

[willpatten]

Excellent - Thanks all - going to try the Air option as want to use wet and dry