Do you need to smooth out a bump in your car? Are there scratches or dents in your car you need to fix? Do you want to give your car a new paint job? If you answer yes to all these questions you will need the best electric sander for auto body work to get the job right.
Whatever auto body work you need to do, good preparation is important in getting good results. Preparation is a huge part of ensuring a high quality paint job.
Sanding is one of the most important prep works you need to do with your car prior to repainting. An electric sander is used on the surface of your car before painting to make it smooth and ready for painting. Sanders are also used to remove old paint, buff, and varnish as well as polish your car’s paint.
There are a lot of electric sanders available in the market. There are manual sanders, too. Pneumatic sanders have long been used with cars. While they pack in a lot of speed and power they are not portable and can be difficult to use.
See Also: The Best Air Compressor for Auto Body Work
Electric sanders are fast becoming a popular option for car enthusiasts because aside from the fact that they are portable they can be used under any environment. Pneumatic sanders on the other hand can only be used in a dry and clean air environment.
Electric sanders are equipped with sandpaper of the right sized pad and grit needed for the job. There is a right sized pad and grit for prep prior to painting, for dealing with scratches and smoothing bumps.
Choosing the right electric sander is important when you want to do some polishing and sanding to give your car a good as new look or when you need to prepare your car for a new paint job. Here are some of the best picks.
Top 3 Best Electric Sander for Auto Body Work
1. Metabo SXE 450 Electronic Disc Sander
The right balance between durability, power and superb performance is what you will get from the Metabo SXE 450 Electronic Disc Sander. A leading brand in sanding tools, this orbital sander will help you get the job done in the fastest way possible.
The Metabo SXE 450 Electronic Disc Sander is a random dual orbit sander that comes with adjustable settings to allow extremely high stock removal. Its dust collection system together with punched sandpaper work to get rid of dust during the sanding process.
A user says this electric sander is comfortable to hold and easy to handle. He says it sands well with swirl marks kept to a minimum.
The Metabo SXE 450 Electronic Disc Sander comes with an 8400-22000 orbit speed per minute to make sure a huge amount of dust is kick up by the 6-hole and 6-inch loop discs and hook.
2. Goplus Random Orbital Polisher Electrical Sander
The Goplus Random Orbital Polisher Electrical Sander is equipped with a powerful motor that comes with precision cut gears that are heat treated. It features an external round sponge pad. It has a safety switch and an accessible speed dial making it ideal for home and commercial use.
This lightweight dual action electric sander comes with a D-type handle making it easy and comfortable to handle for light to medium polishing and sanding jobs.
A user says this electric sander really worked well. It is lightweight but has enough weight to properly handle polishing and sanding tasks. He says that this is the right electric sander if you are just learning to do detailing as it has a nice balance and feel so you will not be burning the clear coat.
The 6-inch Goplus Random Orbital Polisher Electrical Sander comes with a 5-inch pad with a no-load speed of 2000-6400 per minute. This electric sander kit also comes with an Allen wrench, an open-end wrench and two carbon brushes.
3. Mini Orbital Air Sander by Si Fang Air Tool
The Mini Orbital Air Sander by Si Fang Air Tool is a powerful and high speed universal electric sander. It is ideal for use with auto body works. You can use your choice of loop and hook sanding paper with this electric sander. It comes with 2 and 3-inch sanding pads.
This small and lightweight electric air random orbital sander is easy to grip and has low vibration. Various types of sandpaper can be fitted with the disc.
A user says he just loves this little beast. The discharge it produces goes away from the body. It comes with hook & loop pads with a good quality lock pin. It also has a flow adjustment valve and is super powerful.
The Mini Orbital Air Sander by Si Fang Air Tool features a double rotation method of polishing to ensure smooth and even sanding. It is also easy to shift from a 2-inch to pad to a 3-inchpad.
Types of Electric Car Sanders
Electric sanders make sanding your car a lot easier. One important thing to remember with electric sanders is you always need to keep it moving. Leaving the sander idle in one spot will over sand that spot and make it more prominent than the surrounding area.
- Orbital Sander. This is a powerful sander ideal for sanding old paint coats and smoothing edges. The sanding pad works in an orbital motion.
- Belt Sander. This type of sander uses an abrasive belt to smooth out a surface. This aggressive sander is great when you need to level rough surfaces and remove old finishes. It is also ideal to use when you need to polish soft metals and grind hard metals.
- Straight Line Sander. This sander is similar to sanding boards except that they have more power. It can quickly sand a large area making it an indispensable tool for auto body works. These are perfect to use to smooth out body filler and flat surfaces.
- Detail or Mini Sander. This is ideal to use when you need to sand small and tight spaces. It comes with a teardrop shaped or triangle sanding pad to easily get to hard to reach areas.
Sanding Auto Body Work
Before applying new paint on your car you will need to do some sanding. Here are some tips on how to do it right.
- Remove the primer to expose the metal of the car’s body. This is so you will not have any difficulties in matching the new coat of paint with the existing one especially when you have an older car with body paint which may not be compatible with the newer water-based car paints.
- Strip the existing paint using an electric sander with 1,200- grit sanding pad.
- Make sure that there are no remaining glossy spots on the auto body work. The primer and new paint will not stick if there are.
- If you are doing only a paint touch up or quick repair, use a 2,000 – 2,500-grit dry and wet paper to smooth the surface.
An electric sander is an important tool if you want to do your own auto body work. The Metabo SXE 450 Electronic Disc Sander is the best sanding tool to own because it is powerful, durable and gives the best performance. It has a high stock removal capacity and a reliable dust collecting system.
Paint preparation is an important process if you want to see professional results. You will need to use the best electric sander for auto body work with various grades of paper to get the sanding job done right.
