Power tool for sanding toe rail

[Tim R.]

Forget the dedicated sanders. Buy a Fein multi master and now you have a tool that will work well for this job plus many others.

[asdf38]

Originally Posted by treilley

Forget the dedicated sanders. Buy a Fein multi master and now you have a tool that will work well for this job plus many others.

I second the multi-tool. I bought one for general sanding and it's perfect for getting into tight spaces on boats and is probably he best sander for doing a narrow rail. On top of that you can slap on a whole variety of blades and scrapers. Fein is very expensive but high quality, other versions are $100 or less. If I were buying a plug-in I'd look at dremel's version first.

Personally I have milwaukee's M12 version along with the M12 Dremel and M12 right angle drill. I'm a fan of Milwaukee for having all these tools in one line sharing batteries. I believe the multi-tool comes with two batteries which will let you run continuously if you need too.

[mm2187]

depending on how much varnish you on the toe rail and the condition of it i find that a putty knife and a heat gun work very well. It does not take much heat for it to bubble then just run the putty knife over it. That being said use panters tape and a metal putty knife to protect the deck, you dont want to damage the paint.

[Barquito]

I just took mine off and sanded it in the comfort of my basement... only took a few months to get it off, and a few more to get it back on... no problem. Seriously, I'm launching Monday. My untainted advice would be to glass it over.

[captflood]

GREETINGS EARTHLINGS; Power tools when you can just cut some left over glass and scrape of the old stuff the old fashioned way without removing any wood. Power tools are to harsh and inflexible for a job that fine I use a Sandvik side scraper and sharpen the blades when needed make sure you know what way the grain is going and enjoy. AS ALWAYS GO SAFE.

[RossC32]

Thanks for the various replies so far. A number of people have suggested Citrustrip. I tried various paint strippers last time but they weren't very effective. Never tried Citrustrip so I'll check that out. Have other people had success with this product?

Also, I looked at their website and saw they have a 'paint remover wash'. Any body used this after the stripper?

I'll defintely check around for an available heat gun. I don't want to buy anything unless it works but if it does the job and makes it easier, I'll shell out the bucks.

Thanks again for all the feedback,
Cheers,
Ross

[jtopping]

The Admiral used a mouse sander, B&D from Home Depot this summer and got good results. Sand, very fine bronze wool, Cetol for finish coat. Used same process for the grab rails on the cabintop last summer.

[SawWhet]

Dremel Multi max is the tool of choice,start with 80 grit paper then 220 to finish off.
Note there are different model MMax units go with the heaviest duty unit --mine is on our boat or I could give you the model #(just finished cleaning up seat trim on our Ben 321

[baboon]

I took my teak toe rails down to bare wood 2 yrs ago. After trying a few options I had the best luck using a cheap heat gun (under $20 at big box store) and very good quality scrapers. The scrapers are available at better marine stores and woodworking shops, these are not the paint scapers you get at the hardware store. They will leave a very smoth surface that can be hand sanded to finish the job quickly. Carfull use of a small finish sander with fine grit paper worked too, the Black and Decker mouse worked very well. I found any power sander took too long on the old varnish, but also tended to take off too much material it got close to bare wood.

[Ritchard]

Ross,

See Cdn Tire this week for the Dremel version of the multicrafter tool on sale for $47.99. It makes an excellent detail sander, plus all the other cool things it does. It won't last as long as the superb Fein version of the tool, but costs about 1/8 as much.

Dremel Multi-Max Oscillating Tool | Canadian Tire