Over the past twenty years, many advances have been made in sanding technology. The introduction of the orbital sander has meant that you can very quickly and very easily sand surfaces and get an incredible finish.

The unique feature of an orbital sander is it’s random orbit. The random rotation at around 25,000 rpm means that the sanding surface is constantly changing directions. This means sanding marks, or routes are not left on the surface, as is often the case with sand paper, belt sanders, or sanding drill-extensions.

The majority of orbital sanders use discs covered in sand paper. There are often a few holes in the discs that are used to extract dust and debris as sanding occurs. The discs are inter-changeable and come in a range of different grades of coarseness.

Different models of orbital sander have different features. When you choose your first orbital sander, there are a few features you will not want to miss-out on. The first of these is dust collection. This means all the debris and dust from the surface that is being sanded will be collected. A smoother finish will be achieved if a decent dust collection unit is included. A dust collector is usually a small vacuum attached to a bag, which can be emptied as and when required.
Another ‘must’ is to have an isolated switch, meaning the switch is contained behind a sealed unit, often rubber casing. This means dust from the sander will not be able to get into the switch and stop it functioning.

The final tip is to make sure whichever DIY shop you buy your sander from, sells the replacement discs for your sander, as they come in different sizes, with different mounting setups. Buying a cheap sander often means the discs can’t be replaced easily, and therefore you will end up buying a whole new sander as soon as the disc needs replacing.