Mouse sanders - any good?

[RichM]

I'm looking to do some touch-ups to the paint work on my narrowboat. (steel) The mouse style sanders look ideal in many ways as they can get into knooks and crannies. Could also use it for the woodwork inside. Though I'm not sure if it would be man enough for sanding down the paint on the exterior.

 

Something like this is what I'm looking at:

http://www.johnlewis.com/bosch-psm-100-a-compact-multi-sander/p1859079?sku=234247663&kpid=234247663&s_kenid=86c498d9-f8b1-4dcb-8d34-f53f7d7458f1&s_kwcid=402x978348&tmad=c&tmcampid=73

 

On the other hand I don't intend to sand down the whole boat, just need to sand it down to touch it up here and there. So I'm unsure.

 

Does anyone have any experience with these? I have also looked at random orbital sanders but they're too big & bulky and I can't see how it will get into some of the tight spaces.

 

Cheers

[cuthound]

Another alternative is the sanding attachment on a multi-tool, they have evenue smaller pads.

[HaulierP]

I'm looking to do some touch-ups to the paint work on my narrowboat. (steel) The mouse style sanders look ideal in many ways as they can get into knooks and crannies. Could also use it for the woodwork inside. Though I'm not sure if it would be man enough for sanding down the paint on the exterior.

 

Something like this is what I'm looking at:

http://www.johnlewis.com/bosch-psm-100-a-compact-multi-sander/p1859079?sku=234247663&kpid=234247663&s_kenid=86c498d9-f8b1-4dcb-8d34-f53f7d7458f1&s_kwcid=402x978348&tmad=c&tmcampid=73

 

On the other hand I don't intend to sand down the whole boat, just need to sand it down to touch it up here and there. So I'm unsure.

 

Does anyone have any experience with these? I have also looked at random orbital sanders but they're too big & bulky and I can't see how it will get into some of the tight spaces.

 

Cheers

Please don't be fooled by the Bosch name,most of these come from China as does half of the contents of John Lewis nowadays. I purchased

a great little sander from B&Q, its a JCB power tool in Bright Yellow and has great reviews as does all the JCB range.Not sure of its country of origin

but I can guarantee you will be well pleased with it.

[LEO]

Another alternative is the sanding attachment on a multi-tool, they have evenue smaller pads.

 

I was going to suggest that, 2 useful tools in one, buy the 'Blue' Bosch one from Screwfix.............

[Horace42]

 

Does anyone have any experience with these? I have also looked at random orbital sanders but they're too big & bulky and I can't see how it will get into some of the tight spaces.

 

Cheers

 

I have tried all types over the years. In the early days using sanding discs on electric drills and grinders - all hard to control and viscious. OK for cutting paint back to metal but not much good for rubbing down.

 

I have an orbital sander that works a treat - great for large areas like the roof - but heavy to hold and tiring for side panels. But need frequent pad changing because they clog up quickly. So do the newer type of high-speed vibrating sander - like the ones you are looking at - but great for small detail work and small areas. I prefer the orbital action type.

 

You can get wet-n-dry pads for keeping dust down - and they tend not to clog up so much. But be careful of your electric safety - a sensitive RCD earth-leakage circuit breaker in the supply cable is essential.

 

Other than that, it is good old elbow-grease with a hand held wetndry sanding pad.

I also have an electric 'file'. Great for small detail.

[Bobbin]

I have a TITAN sander and managed to sand the whole boat last year prior to painting with primer. It worked really well, and was not too heavy. I loosly tied the electric cable to the grab rail with lengths of string so that if I dropped the sander it would'nt fall in the water. I have a large sander that I use for jobs around the house but it would have been far too difficult to use on my boat.

[onionbargee]

Please don't be fooled by the Bosch name,most of these come from China as does half of the contents of John Lewis nowadays. I purchased

a great little sander from B&Q, its a JCB power tool in Bright Yellow and has great reviews as does all the JCB range.Not sure of its country of origin

but I can guarantee you will be well pleased with it.

Er...JCB are the amoung the cheapest and worst Chinese rubbish diy toy brand,( they have nothing to do with the high spec vehicle brand )

[bag 'o' bones]

Please don't be fooled by the Bosch name,most of these come from China as does half of the contents of John Lewis nowadays. I purchased

a great little sander from B&Q, its a JCB power tool in Bright Yellow and has great reviews as does all the JCB range.Not sure of its country of origin

but I can guarantee you will be well pleased with it.

Must have improved them then , I bought a small palm sander a few years ago and it was absolutely awful! The vibration was so fierce it was difficult to hold down and the sprung paper clips were really weak.

 

Should have took it back really, as it was not fit for purpose. Slung it in the bin in the end.

[HaulierP]

Er...JCB are the amoung the cheapest and worst Chinese rubbish diy toy brand,( they have nothing to do with the high spec vehicle brand )

 

If you check Practical Boat Owners forum you will see several posters rate them highly.

Edited May 31, 2016 by HaulierP

[W+T]

As with all tools you get what you pay for nowadays, cheap are good, for waht you pay, they can last years, if used on a monthly bases on easy jobs, every day they will burn out. I have used so many power tools i would always buy a good brand, well know like Makita, Dewalt etc, all depends on how much stick/use you give them. Angle grinders, i have had two Makita in 12 years at a cost of around £70 each, they got some stick everyday near enough, then a cheap screwfix one, that lasted 6 months, palm sanders, i had a cheap one last many years, but barley used it until i did a boat then it burnt out, now a Makita and its done 10 times what the cheap one had done, three times the price but you can get parts and service items for these things easy.

.

So, for hobby work now and then any cheap one will do as they usually come with a warranty/guarantee for atleast 12 months. ll down to how much its used i reckon..

[chris667]

I have a Lidl one which is good for what it is. I think it was £15.

 

I also have a couple of Bosch drills (the green ones, not the blue ones). They are not nearly as good as the Bosch drills they replaced that were 20 years old. One of them has a knackered chuck already.

[dave moore]

I would be tempted to buy a multi tool. This gives you a small triangular sanding plate along with other very useful saw and cutting tools, all of which can be used aboard. Replacement discs are readily available too. I bought a cheap mains version from Lidl which is ok, then added a Bosch professional cordless one which is brilliant, though not cheap. As others have said, you get what you pay for, I've never begrudged money spent on decent tools and brushes. Hope this helps.

 

Dave

[Peter-Bullfinch]

I used a Bosch one recently to redo all our wooden cratch. It did a good job. I also have a multi tool and cutting small recesses in the wood for hinges made the job really easy. My multi tool was from Aldi I think.

[DHutch]

I am sure they are of use, but I must say while I have a large sander for speeding up big areas, for corners if all you are after is a key for the next coat, you can do a lot worse than hand sanding. If it needs to go back to steel due to rust, hit it with a needle scaler, rust converter, and then a high build primer to get back to the level of the rest of the roof. Or if its just one area, get it out with a screwdriver.

 

My understanding is that much of the JCB 'branded products' range is or at least was manufactured by Alba, I dont know if this extends to the powertools, but as said there are on a par with the cheaper end rather than the likes of Makita, Bosch Professional, Hitatchi et al.

 

 

Daniel

[HaulierP]

Must have improved them then , I bought a small palm sander a few years ago and it was absolutely awful! The vibration was so fierce it was difficult to hold down and the sprung paper clips were really weak.

 

Should have took it back really, as it was not fit for purpose. Slung it in the bin in the end.

Its a case of you get what you pay for in the end I guess.I have a small palm sander, JCB with the velcro type discs,

I have done the gunnels several times with it and its been ok,the OP is only doing small touch ups which is why I mentioned it.

[alex85]

I recommend Rockwell RK5151K and It has a cutting force of 35 Ibs that is enough for projects of all scales. You can secure sanding pads, blades, and other attachments with the help of the clamping feature that is added to this tool.

Read More: https://woodymanreviews.com/best-mouse-sanders/

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, alex85 said:

I recommend Rockwell RK5151K and It has a cutting force of 35 Ibs that is enough for projects of all scales. You can secure sanding pads, blades, and other attachments with the help of the clamping feature that is added to this tool.

Read More: https://woodymanreviews.com/best-mouse-sanders/

 

Do you have a discount code?

[AndrewIC]

Another “new member” spamming links to Amazon?

[alex85]

4 minutes ago, The Happy Nomad said:

 

Do you have a discount code?

No Bro

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, alex85 said:

No Bro

 

Fair enough,

 

Free tin opener then? In case that little key has gone AWOL.

Edited April 21, 2021 by The Happy Nomad

[MrsM]

I have had numerous sanders of all shapes and sizes. Don't generally find palm/mouse sanders particularly good but my go to is the DeWalt D26430-GB 300W detail sander. That said I mainly sand wood rather than steel. 

[blackrose]

Sanding mice seems a bit cruel to me, but I guess they're just rodents.

[LadyG]

I sanded most of my boat with a detail sander bought from Woolworths, it  is easy to buy 100 or do assorted grits, easy to  use two handed or one handed. 

I bought an orbital sander £40, which claimed it could use standard glaspaper sheets, but it needed the dedicated ones, which are fairly expensive, it must be somewhere on the boat, but I just use the detail one

[Ronaldo47]

A decade ago I inherited a "Festool" orbital sander from a deceased relative who had bought it to maintain his "Old Gaffer" wooden boat. Works really well, little vibration, quiet, light weight, but nowadays would cost upwards of £700.  I guess you do get what you pay for.  He had got a backing pad for using "Abrafile" sanding discs for fine finishing (120 and 240 grit ) , and they work really well. 

 

The Robert Bosch company sold their white goods division to a non-european company a decade or so ago. Our german-made frost-free freezer is built like a tank. The larder fridge we bought subsequently after the company had changed hands is pretty rubbish in both design and construction, and non-availability of spares has meant my having to make substitute replacement items myself. 

 

 

 

Edited April 22, 2021 by Ronaldo47
Comments on Bosch snd Abrafile added