Sanding tips

wendalls, Sep 19, 7:34am
Hello. newbie sander playing with power tools here. ive just potentially wrecked sander one because there is no velcro left on the machine. stickability gone. ive found another sander and wish to avoid the same. Am i moving it too much or does it just happen?
Also if i wish to restain my wood a darker colour do i need to lightly sand or completely sand it for ok result. Its a dining suite with fiddly bits. Cheers
shanreagh, Sep 19, 7:46am
Can you not just replace the used sand paper with a new piece? If you are buying a sander that is throwaway after one use then perhaps you need to check and buy one where you can replace the sand paper. Much more economical.

Have you got an unobtrusive area on your table that you can sand back hard and another where you just pull the polyurethane off, then apply the new stain? I think if you can, going back to the original wood is to be avoided as it will be a big job and has the potential to look awful and patchy if you don't do a good job. If you can just take the poly off then apply new darker stain I think that would be preferable.
wendalls, Sep 19, 8:08am
i tried replacing it. im not quite that dumb lol. the sander had two rotating heads with it. velcro has hook and loop different sides right. The loop side on the sandpaper will not stick to the hook side on the rotating heads leading me to believe that they need replacing in some way. The spare head in the box must have been wrecked or well used by my ex who i have inherited it from. The other sander which is still working well is inherited from his Dad.
thanks for the tips. Ive already gone too far on the top and its pretty much back to wood. I will make sure i do it properly to avoid patchiness thanks.
Im not sure how id go about just removing the polyurethane but probably too late.
zak410, Sep 19, 10:50am
Completely sand to bare wood.
Any remain of varnish will stop the stain to soak in the timber, giving a patchy stained finish.
ianab, Sep 19, 11:28am
The velcro pad on the sander should be a replaceable spare part, if it's a brand name machine at least. Probably need to order one through a decent power tool shop though.
wendalls, Sep 19, 3:05pm
thanks people. im sure it should be replaceable given its easily removed. i was wondering if i was doing something wrong in my technique to destroy it.
jkp58, Sep 19, 3:15pm
do not press hard let the sander do the work. The big mistake is to press to hard causing the velcro pad to wear quickly
zak410, Sep 20, 3:10am
A scraper is a much better tool to remove varnish, then sand for finishing.
sand paper clogged up too fast otherwise.
hammer23, Sep 20, 4:03am
Do this,proberly cost you about $80.00
trade4us2, Sep 20, 6:09am
With an orbital sander, keep the sandpaper flat on the wood, don't tilt or use the edge. Don't press too hard or the paper will get hot and melt the velcro.
I gave up on my orbital sander and used a flap disk on an angle grinder.
wendalls, Sep 20, 12:41pm
aha. thought that was the case.
pauldw, Sep 20, 2:38pm
Norton make a stick on replacement velcro pad for 125mm sanders. About $16.
ang_ck, Sep 22, 11:51am
What is the area size you are saying? If it is big area, you need to sand with a vacuum cleaner. Or else, you are going to get clogged sandpaper and melted velcro.

if it is a large area, I could be wrong, but a cheap sander from Bunnings might not do the job. In my opinion, you pay for what you get, cheap sander cannot last the distance you need to sand.

it is easy to say do not press to hard, but it also depend on the sandpaper grit you are using. I have no problem with P40 grit removing all the top layer with little pressure on sander.

What is the brand of the sander? If it is a festool, replacement pad is easy to find.