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Tue Jul 27, 2004 12:16 am

I have decided to try to strip what is left of the paint on my 56 with a d/a, and just have the hard-to-reach areas sand blasted, instead of having the whole body done, The only problem is my d/a will only run for about 3 minutes or so before I have to stop and let the compresser catch back up, Instead of buying a new compresser, I am thinking about buying a nice 5" electric orbital sander, like a bosch or dewalt. Has anybody used one for body work, I have just always thought of them for woodworking or home projects, but I really don't see why they would be any different than an air d/a. I just bought some other goodies tonight, a air flanger/punch, body saw, and auto darkening welding hood, so I am kind of in the tool buying mood :D Anyones experince or suggestion of an alternative sanding method would be helpful, Thanks

Tue Jul 27, 2004 9:05 am

If your compressor will only run for three minutes with a DA its probably way to small for any practical garage use. I just stripped my Ghia with a DA and my rather small 5hp 25 gallon Crapsman kept up just fine.

Personally I would just buy a new compressor. It may cost more now, but it will be well worth it in the long run.

Just my $.02

Tue Jul 27, 2004 9:07 am

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=68748&highlight=electric+da+sander

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=55281&highlight=electric+da+sander

Tue Jul 27, 2004 9:19 am

The compressor is old, but is a petty good one, it has a 15 gallon tank, single cylinder, 2hp, an old 2hp, better than the new ones, It is very quiet, and I live in a pretty crowded neighborhood, and can work all night and not wake up the neighbors. It may just be a crappy d/a, but I painted my truck a while back, and my buddy had his compressor and d/a, and wasn't much better, Thanks for the help. keep em coming.

Wed Jul 28, 2004 5:42 am

You should look at the CFM useage on the DA. I just bought one and thats what helped me make my decision. Harbor Freight $15 for a cheap no name, but it inly uses 4cfm. The other sander they had, which was smaller, used 18cfm! I thought it was a misprint but it was in several places.
The $15 one works great. Just as good as the $300 ones from work.

Wed Jul 28, 2004 8:39 pm

I use a Craftsman electric jitterbug sander because my compressor is too small for most air tools. I find that it works OK, but auto body work is a lot harder on a sander than finishing furniture and such. I've gone thru several cheaper sanders, but the Craftsman seems to be holding up fairly well.

However, when I want to strip to bare metal, I use a 5-inch 20-grit disc on my electric drill. It's much faster than the jitterbug sander, and the drill doesn't turn fast enough to worry about removing metal or heating things up.