Hello,
I am a complete novice when it comes to machines and I am wondering now that it's time to sand the deck if it's possible to use an orbital sander to make the deck smoother to walk on?
Thanks in advance
I am a complete novice when it comes to machines and I am wondering now that it's time to sand the deck if it's possible to use an orbital sander to make the deck smoother to walk on?
Thanks in advance
Approximately 60 square meters can be added for sanding.
Is an orbital sander something that can be used otherwise?
I'm going to get a sander anyway for some other tasks. Even though it might be tough with the deck, maybe an orbital sander is a more versatile machine that still does the job for the deck compared to a sheet sander? I'm looking at Ryobi, either sheet or orbital.
Regards
Regards
Best answer
It somewhat depends on how "bad" the deck is. A belt sander can be hard to manage without causing unevenness or edges cutting down, etc., but if there's a lot to sand down, it can be effective.
An orbital sander will take forever and consume a lot of paper as it makes the surface flat but doesn't remove much material.
A random orbit sander is more efficient than an orbital sander and somewhat more forgiving than a belt sander, so I would go with that. Preferably a 150 mm diameter, then do a couple of passes with different grit paper depending on how worn/splintery it is. If it were my deck and it was really worn, I'd probably start with 80-grit or maybe 120, then continue with 120, and finish with 180-grit paper.
Buy one with variable speed control; it allows you to find the right setting for the best results. I would say that's one of the most important features.
An orbital sander will take forever and consume a lot of paper as it makes the surface flat but doesn't remove much material.
A random orbit sander is more efficient than an orbital sander and somewhat more forgiving than a belt sander, so I would go with that. Preferably a 150 mm diameter, then do a couple of passes with different grit paper depending on how worn/splintery it is. If it were my deck and it was really worn, I'd probably start with 80-grit or maybe 120, then continue with 120, and finish with 180-grit paper.
Buy one with variable speed control; it allows you to find the right setting for the best results. I would say that's one of the most important features.
No no no no no no no NO NO
That is my answer to whether or not you should use an orbital sander. At least if we're talking about the small handheld models.
After reading threads here in the forum where I've seen several people say that you can easily use such a sander, I thought "perfect, I've wanted one for a while so now I have a reason to buy one." I'm very happy with the machine itself, but I strongly advise against sanding your deck with it.
My deck is in quite bad shape, but even I understood that a handheld orbital sander would not, in a reasonable time, be able to sand down large dents nicely, so they simply have to stay. All I really want is to sand away that very dark oil that the previous owners laid on.
My deck is just over twenty square meters and I've spent many hours with that damn sander. First I used grit size 40 but if I had continued with that, I would have been buried with the sander in hand. I bought a bunch of packages with k24, and it went significantly better. In some places, it goes a little too well; the observant can see that some splinters have come off in spots. But they are so small that no one but me will notice.
What makes it take such time is that the boards aren't completely flat, so you can't just drag the sander over the plank and be satisfied. No, you have to angle it slightly and be careful to really sand away all of that damn dark oil.
If you have a deck where the planks are laid like a "sour old man," it goes relatively smoothly, but of course, I'm not that lucky.
So... It works, absolutely. But if you've planned to have any sort of free time at all the coming two weekends, I think you should rent a proper machine. That's what I’m going to do next time. If I haven't burned down the deck by then... Now, anyway, everything is roughly sanded on the deck, now I just need to do a round or two with some finer paper, but that will go significantly faster. I hope.
That is my answer to whether or not you should use an orbital sander. At least if we're talking about the small handheld models.
After reading threads here in the forum where I've seen several people say that you can easily use such a sander, I thought "perfect, I've wanted one for a while so now I have a reason to buy one." I'm very happy with the machine itself, but I strongly advise against sanding your deck with it.
My deck is in quite bad shape, but even I understood that a handheld orbital sander would not, in a reasonable time, be able to sand down large dents nicely, so they simply have to stay. All I really want is to sand away that very dark oil that the previous owners laid on.
My deck is just over twenty square meters and I've spent many hours with that damn sander. First I used grit size 40 but if I had continued with that, I would have been buried with the sander in hand. I bought a bunch of packages with k24, and it went significantly better. In some places, it goes a little too well; the observant can see that some splinters have come off in spots. But they are so small that no one but me will notice.
What makes it take such time is that the boards aren't completely flat, so you can't just drag the sander over the plank and be satisfied. No, you have to angle it slightly and be careful to really sand away all of that damn dark oil.
If you have a deck where the planks are laid like a "sour old man," it goes relatively smoothly, but of course, I'm not that lucky.
So... It works, absolutely. But if you've planned to have any sort of free time at all the coming two weekends, I think you should rent a proper machine. That's what I’m going to do next time. If I haven't burned down the deck by then... Now, anyway, everything is roughly sanded on the deck, now I just need to do a round or two with some finer paper, but that will go significantly faster. I hope.
Finally fixed an orbital sander. I was planning to fix one regardless of the deck sanding or not. Will report back with before/after pictures when I get around to it *** 
Got a corded Ryobi (has controls). It was 900 at Bauhaus. I'll report back on how it performed as well!
Good luck!
I think it will be good, even though it will take some time.
I think it will be good, even though it will take some time.
Hope you have a nicer deck than I do
My tip is that if you notice it's taking a damn long time, realize your mistake right away and rent a proper machine instead of spending countless hours being stubborn, like a certain other person here in the thread
My tip is that if you notice it's taking a damn long time, realize your mistake right away and rent a proper machine instead of spending countless hours being stubborn, like a certain other person here in the thread
Member
· Västra Götaland
· 82 posts
There are no decking boards that are flat.
I consider it impossible to sand flat; should you sand down the heads of the screws too?
I consider it impossible to sand flat; should you sand down the heads of the screws too?
No, but if you've laid them as a "frown" it's at least much easier to hand sand than if they're laid the other way.B Bernt_Karlsson said:
With a floor sander, you can get it flat in no time. Then, of course, you can discuss whether it's good or not, but regardless of how you sand, the deck becomes flatter than it was before.
You have to lower the screws, of course, unless you like changing the sandpaper every five minutes. I had nails on mine, so I happily hammered them down a bit extra while I went around with the sander.
Well, only if you want it flat. If you mention you want to sand a "wavy" floor when you rent, you can get a machine that’s soft on the bottom and follows the floor. It surely has a fancy name, and someone will surely mention it soon. Very good if you have an old crooked floor that you don't want to remove too much of, but it should work for decking too.T Trunk said:
There you go, you learn something new every day.Hep said:
But to defend my honor at least a little bit, they should also flatten the planks somewhat since there should reasonably be more weight on the tops of the planks. Maybe not much, but a little.