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Random Orbital Palm Sander For Trimming Plexiglass?

Meat

Active Member
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Hi All,

Working on my rear window install. I have approximately 1/4" to 3/8" of material to remove along its perimeter where the plexiglass meets the rollbar. Can a random orbital palm sander with 80 grit paper be used here safely? I'd remove material to near the tape line then finish by hand with a sanding block. I've experimented on scrap and its effective at removing material, but the vibration put me off. But then any power tool will have some vibration. Has anyone used this technique, good or bad? Just trying to get through it without causing a self-induced disaster.

Thanks for your time and advice

Scott Davis
 
Tool

Random is ok for sanding out tooling marks but I wouldn't use it to remove that much. The tool is too easy to loose control. Make a new cut outside the line.
My preferred tool was a Saw Max.
An angle grinder with a 120grit paddle wheel will remove a lot of material too. Just be careful.
 
I use a cheap hand held belt sander from harbor freight with about 100-120 grit belt. Works remarkably fast and leaves a nice edge finish. You can get them in various sizes, mine is light enough to hold in one hand while grabbing the canopy with the other. Bonus is there is very little chance of cracking the canopy.
 
Belt Sander

+1 for the belt sander. #60 grit takes material off quickly. Finish up with hand sanding and an edge scraper.
 
Can a random orbital palm sander with 80 grit paper be used here safely? I'd remove material to near the tape line then finish by hand with a sanding block.
Yes, this is what I did, though I only had to take off maybe 1/8”. Went progressively finer on sanding disks then finished by hand. I think a random orbit is much more controllable than a belt sander, especially if you are doing this yourself. Just be sure to stabilize the plexi with your free hand while sanding.

Knock on wood, 10 years and 650 hours of flying later and no canopy cracks yet!:eek:
 
I considered a sander, but I decided to use a cabinet scraper. It was really easy to take off material and leave a finished edge. I had to learn how to burl an edge on the scraper, but it wasn't too hard to do. There are a few threads out there that you should be able to find if you are interested. One of the advantages of using the scraper is that I didn't get dust, just curls, kind of like using a wood plane. Sander or scraper will both get you where you want to go.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I appreciate the feedback and everyone's experience. Invaluable as I move on to the canopy. In the end I used a 9" sanding block with #60 grit and did it by hand. Just felt more comfortable and controllable that way. Took a couple hours of elbow grease. Job done. Building on....

Cheers,
Scott
 
I considered a sander, but I decided to use a cabinet scraper. It was really easy to take off material and leave a finished edge. I had to learn how to burl an edge on the scraper, but it wasn't too hard to do. There are a few threads out there that you should be able to find if you are interested. One of the advantages of using the scraper is that I didn't get dust, just curls, kind of like using a wood plane. Sander or scraper will both get you where you want to go.

What a great idea. Never thought about using a card scraper.
And you can repurpose an old drill bit to make the burnishing tool.
 
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