Palm Sander Paper Won't Stick to Platen of 5" Sander

[Skeezix]

Eleven years ago I bought a Sander, Craftsman 5" Dustless Random Orbit Sander for $37 but I've only used it 5-6 times. The last time I used it was a few years to remove the paint from some 4x4 landscape timbers. I used 80 grit paper. I did not use excessive pressure, just enough to keep the sander on the wood. The "fuzz" on the back of the paper disks kept wearing off and after 3-4 minutes of use and although the grit side was still in good shape, they kept coming off the platen. So I got a new platen and put the sander back on the shelf. That was in 2016.

This morning I got the sander out, put a new Ryobi 80-grit disk on it and started to clean/roughen the surfaces of a 4-foot-long railing that I made for some 3-tread steps that I made in 2014. The paper would wear out and not stick to the platen. Paper still good but won't stick to the platen.

Why does the backing on the sanding disks wear off so quickly? I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Maybe using too coarse a grit??? I'm using Ryobi and Porter-Cable paper disks. Please help me out here.

 

[havasu]

I assume it is the glue back sandpaper, and not the velcro backed paper? If it is a glue back, be sure the sander face is clean, using rubbing alcohol. Secondly, the glue back discs won't stick if they are old, since the adhesive protection film gets air and the glue loses its tackiness.

 

[Snoonyb]

Agreed, the 1st time it happened to me, I defaulted to Velcro and never looked back.

 

[havasu]

Agreed, the 1st time it happened to me, I defaulted to Velcro and never looked back.

Just more pricey.

 

[Snoonyb]

Value your time, already spent.

 

[Skeezix]

I'm not sure what a "glue-back" sanding disk is. All of my Porter-Cable and Ryobi disks are hook-and-loop. I googled "glue-back sanding disk" and saw several disks that did not have holes in them. Are those the glue-back type?

I need the holes so I can at least capture some of the sawdust that occurs.

I'm thinking that the problem is the #80 grit paper. Even with light pressure, the grit digs into the sanding surface and vibrates on the platen, eventually weakening the hook/loops and causing the paper to come off of the platten. and that could be too rough for the sander. I tried again using #120 and those disks appear to work a lot better. What do you think???

 

[Eddie_T]

I wonder if spray adhesive would work with the peel-and-stick disks. My Grizzly bench sander uses them and I need to replace one. If I can even find my spares they are 10+ years old.

 

[havasu]

On a different note, I once had a oscillating palm sander explode in my hand (the attached pad and sandpaper portion) and ruined the wood I was sanding.