Festool Sanding Paper worth it

[Keith Harrell]

No this is not another sander flame off
I have had a Festool 150/3 and a Rotex sander which I have used for years and have always used Festool paper. I have started to notice posts about others mentioning the benefits of other brand name paper for the Festool.
Is Mirka's Abranet as good?
I will also mention that I have not had problems with the Festool paper other than price.
Thanks

[Peter Pedisich]

Keith,

I have been disappointed with the way Rubin loses its bite quickly, and amazed at how Cristal keeps its bite through a lot of work. Cristal is one quality sandpaper.

Pete

[Kevin Stricker]

Rubin sucks. People think it last because it does not get clogged but you can wear out the pad in 5 minutes of continous sanding. 15 minutes of sanding with a Rotex and you will be polishing your workpiece with 80 grit paper. Brilliant II is good paper, it lasts a long time. Abranet is better than Brilliant II but is also more expensive.

[Jim Tobias]

I got festool paper first and still use it occasionally, but find myself reaching for the Mirka Abranet first. It seems to last longer to me. Not based on any scientific study, just my opinion.

Jim

[Mike Heidrick]

I agree with Kevin and Jim's assessment exactly. Grab the Abranet first but if a brilliant or cristal disc in the right grit is there it works great. I have good luck with rubin though too - lasts a lot longer than 5 min for me on my maple and walnut sign blanks.

[Chris Rosenberger]

I use Rubin the most & have been happy with it on new wood. I have used Brilliant, but was never happy with it. I recently started using the new Festool Granat paper. It is the best paper I have ever used. It lasts a long time & works for sanding old painted & finished surfaces. It does not load up with the finish.

[Gary Curtis]

I've heard that the Mirka brand is great. But isn't the hole pattern in Festool abrasives unique? I understand that the hole configuration makes the dust collection so good.

[Keith Harrell]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have been using rubin for work under 220 and brilliant for 220 and above. I just received some Abranet discs so I give them a try along with the other suggestions.
Thanks

[Jim Tobias]

The Mirka Abranet is porous over the entire surface so the dust collection is great.

Jim

[Keith Harrell]

I assume the lower abranet grids are good also like the 80. I received some 220 this week

[Lloyd McKinlay]

The September 2011 issue of Fine Homebuilding has results of a sanding disk test. Klingspor VD900 rated best overall and best value.

[Chris Fournier]

Well you can be pretty sure that Festool is not in the sandpaper making business. Someone else makes their paper and brands it as required. For this you pay $$$. I don't have a favorite abrasive paper supplier as there a re at least a dozen that I use and they're all good. I highly recommend that you look for a local industrial abrasive supplier. Buy your abrasives in quantity and you'll be pleasantly surprised at the price per piece. The bonus of buying bulk at a a great price is that you don't run your abrasives to death. When they stop cutting, you change them out and you move along at a much faster clip. Time is money.