Pole Sander Sandpaper Tips
for Professional Painters
The pole sander is a great production-oriented tool — and one that every painter should have on hand. Load it up with two or three sheets of sandpaper and you can really cover some ground on surface prep.
One of the biggest frustrations with pole sanders comes when your sandpaper tears, especially if it's still a good piece of sandpaper. They always seem to tear at the ends where it connects to the clamp or when you hit some unforeseen nail or pin head on the wall, let alone when you're trying to get new sheets fastened onto the pole sander.
Well, a friend recently told me of his solution to this ongoing problem. “Put tape on the back side of the sandpaper.” My immediate thought was: That makes sense. Especially if something tough like duct tape is used!
Give it a try. Before you head off to work the next time, take three or four sheets of sandpaper and duct tape the backing. Then stow them away for the next pole sanding application. I think you'll find that this reinforcement makes a big difference and potentially adds hours of life to the sandpaper. Time on the end of a pole sander is not necessarily the most fun, so why not try something that can save on sandpaper and help you get through the task faster.
— Thanks for this tip go to Ron Franklin, Franklin Tool Company.
