Curtis Tankersley, Owner of Just Add Paint in Mechanicsburg, PA
SOLVING THE FESTOOL PROBLEM…
There is no doubt that Festool makes great products. Powerful HEPA Dust Extractors, capable of pulling the smallest, most volatile dust particles out of the air? CHECK. Quiet operation, suitable for even most noise sensitive environments? CHECK. Wide variety of sanders and a tool line to cover any job a general contractor might stumble across? CHECK. Sanding abrasives, perfect for contoured trim and the fine detailing needed for cabinet refinishing? NEEDS IMPROVEMENT.
I have been a Festool for owner for 10 years and tried every Festool product available, but have not been able to solve this missing link to the Festool puzzle. They have a full range of grits with varying hardness levels for many different types of projects. However, their contoured pads all lack the correct density to get inside the details and profiles required for fine finishing. If only there were a solution to make this system compatible with the fine detail end of my contracting business…
Enter Skylar Faria, owner of the family-owned Dixon Enterprises based in Lake Elsinore, California. Skylar also spent a massive amount of time obsessing about the problems of detail sanding, and created his own competing system. Surf Prep is one of the fastest growing sanding systems on the planet right now, and this turbo charged line of sanders may give Festool a run for their money. They are made from a composite material that is durable yet much lighter than its competition. They also have versions compatible with both electric and air-powered systems.
While the future is bright for this entire line of sanding products, the thing that caught my attention immediately was the sanding pad (aka abrasives among woodworkers). It has the FLEXIBILITY needed to squeeze into the most challenging of profiles, and also the DENSITY needed to maintain pressure on the substrate. It is an absolute game changing abrasive for those of us that have a high amount of fine finishing work (roughly 40% or our business) when we run into wood with any sort of curvature.
After talking with Skylar at a training class in Central Pennsylvania, I was ecstatic to find out this company was planning to release a version of their abrasive compatible with the Festool DTS400 and RTD 400 series of sanders. I expect to add the Surf Prep 3×4 Electric Ray to my arsenal of sanders in the immediate future. But in the meantime, Surf Prep’s Festool compatible abrasives will save me countless hours of hand sanding. I highly recommend giving the Surf Prep abrasives a try if you are a Festool user still teaching for the perfect sandpaper. It really is the missing link!
Skylar Faria can currently be found zig zagging across the US to introduce his Surf Prep products and sandpaper. At the same time he is providing some high quality woodworking training/education with a VERY knowledgable staff in tow. Keep an eye out for Skylar seminars and training in your area. For more information on this and related subjects:
Check out the Surf Prep Website: https://surfprepsanding.com
Louis Jasso from Elite Fine Finish: https://www.facebook.com/elitefinefinish/
Festool website: https://www.festoolusa.com
How to hire the right contractor for painting kitchen cabinets: https://www.justaddpaint.net/hire-contractor-paint-kitchen-cabinets
Great website for cabinet discussion in general: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PaintingKitchenCabinetsforProfit/
Great article, I love my surfprep and have been a big festool user, my only issue was when it came to using it with my CT26 festool vac. I ended up having to get a special adapter for the SurfPrep to use with the Festool 27mm hoses.
https://toolcurve.com/product/festool-hose-adapter-for-surfprep-sanders/
Picked it up from here but once I had that everything was great and I have been using my surfprep almost every day on the job.
Great point about the adapters. I’m pretty sure I needed one for my Midi’s as well. It is hard to imagine how we operated without a dustless sanding system, so many hours or dusting saved!
How to buy the tool sander
The Festool is available at many retailers these days, including Woodcraft and even Sherwin Williams (although they don’t always have them on the floor). The Surfprep sanders can be purchased through surfprepsanding.com . They have incredible customer service, and their foam backed pads are worth their weight in gold…