# festool planex



## Zaden (Dec 6, 2013)

Hey guys just throwing around the idea of purchasing a the festool plane. I use red synko finish or green where I'm at just wondering what kind of finish it leaves on the soft mud. If you guys have any tips or suggestions for using one of these would appreciate it.


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## D A Drywall (May 4, 2013)

Hey Zaden, I use the Planex for finish sanding and I use CGC Machine Mud which is also very soft. I use a 240 grit paper from Festool and it does a great job. I was originally concerned about swirl marks but regular primer and paint hides it well. For me it has really sped things up sanding wise.


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## embella plaster (Sep 21, 2013)

I dont know what i can do about swirl marks from my porter cable so i am left going over everything with a sponge.and 500 watt light


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## D A Drywall (May 4, 2013)

The Planex is a different animal than the PorterCable. I just recently brought my PC to a job because the Planex was out at another job. I immediately noticed the power difference. I could feel that drive cable loading up and the RPM's slowing down. I switched to some Jost paper I got from Robert Seke and CSR Building Supplies and that did make a big difference for the better. Robert explained to me what causes swirl marks and scratches and I tested his theory and found it to be true.


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## D A Drywall (May 4, 2013)

Don't get me wrong I still go over everything with a light but the sanding sponge does less and less work


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## VANMAN (Jan 14, 2011)

Soft mud, then get ur hands on some 320 grit Abernet disks!:thumbsup:
No swirl marks with that disks! 
A sponge leaves more marks than them!


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## embella plaster (Sep 21, 2013)

I currently run a porter cable sander with a jost velcro attatchment and superpads at 180 then go over it all lightly with a sponge and light


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## gazman (Apr 29, 2011)

I use a PC with a Norton backer. Joest 220 for me. It is important to make sure that both the backer and the paper are centered. This will reduce the amount of swirls. You will still get them but it takes a led light to find them, they are insignificant ans are easily covered by the texture given to the paint by the nap of the roller. My foam block makes deeper scratches. 
If you are getting vibration through the head of the sander you WILL get swirls. Check the foam backer, sometimes they can start to delaminate and you can get a builb up of dust between the velcro and the foam. This will throw it out of balance and cause it to vibrate.


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## Aussiecontractor (Oct 6, 2014)

Yer nothing worse than swirls, spend time getting it centered and make sure no build up on dust pads works a treat and like embella I sand with machine and 180 and go over it with lights and a sponge to make sure it's 100%
I got taught to sand by hand so I like to finish of with my hand 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Zaden (Dec 6, 2013)

Thanx for the suggestions everyone. Ya I'm worried about it leaving swirls aswell. Any tips on running it such as speed settings or techniques. Hit edges first then down the center of flats and Butts what seems to work best. More I can learn here the less time I'm wasting with the learning curve lol. So tired of the pole sander. In the houses by myself and the footage ranges from 13,000 to 25,000 brdft.


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## Pytlik (Jan 14, 2013)

VANMAN said:


> Soft mud, then get ur hands on some 320 grit Abernet disks!:thumbsup:
> No swirl marks with that disks!
> A sponge leaves more marks than them!


Damn.... 320........  ......... I use 120-150............................


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## embella plaster (Sep 21, 2013)

Pytlik said:


> Damn.... 320........  ......... I use 120-150............................


Omg thats like sanding with rocks must work for you tho


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## thefinisher (Sep 2, 2011)

All PC's in our region... nobody likes the Festool here I guess. We use a hard mud (Ruco) so we sand with 150 grit. I always hit my screws first to cut the pad down a bit before hitting everything else. I always run the edges of the joints first then a nice swipe down the center. Of course you still have to cut in your corners with a sponge and make sure no swirl marks get in the bead or butts.


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## D A Drywall (May 4, 2013)

TF if you are using hard mud then you will really be amazed with the Planex.


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## thefinisher (Sep 2, 2011)

D A Drywall said:


> TF if you are using hard mud then you will really be amazed with the Planex.


 I did get a chance to demo one and wasn't really sold. It did have good power and suction with their vac but I found it didn't really contain much more dust than a properly set up PC. If you have the suction all the way up on the Festool then you cant move it around well at all along with the fact that it still kicks up dust when you put it on the board and when you lift it back off which is unavoidable. I run a company that does mostly all new construction so houses are sanded without a vac. The PC is cheaper and lighter and will sand 10's of thousands of boards before any trouble. However, if you are doing a lot of remodels or popcorn removal then I think it would be a solid investment.


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## Brian (Apr 9, 2014)

Zaden,

If you are in Canada I can hep out with the Festool Planex and Extractor. Please reach out if you need any assistance. If you are in the Toronto area we rent the Festool and Extractor for $56.00 a day.

thanks, Brad

[email protected]
www.csrbuilding.ca


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## Contractor Joe (Jun 7, 2015)

gazman said:


> I use a PC with a Norton backer. Joest 220 for me. It is important to make sure that both the backer and the paper are centered. This will reduce the amount of swirls. You will still get them but it takes a led light to find them, they are insignificant ans are easily covered by the metal buildings given to the paint by the nap of the roller. My foam block makes deeper scratches.
> If you are getting vibration through the head of the sander you WILL get swirls. Check the foam backer, sometimes they can start to delaminate and you can get a builb up of dust between the velcro and the foam. This will throw it out of balance and cause it to vibrate.


Exactly! The swirls are almost part of the job, reduction of them is limited.


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