VIDEO: 3M™ Random Orbital Sanding Basics: Preparing Your Random Orbital Sander For Use

Hi, I'm Dan with 3M. In this video, I'm going to talk about preparing your random orbital sander for use. In this case, we are going to unbox a 3M Elite Series Random Orbital Sander. In the box, you will find a random orbital sander, a wrench, and the instruction manual. To prepare this for use, you will need to provide a 1/4-inch fitting that matches the current tools used in your system, a little bit of Teflon tape and a wrench to install the fitting. I like to apply just a couple wraps of Teflon tape to the fittings and that will help prevent any air leaks. Thread it in by hand as far as you can and tighten, and then simply use the wrench to snug it up. You shouldn't have to overtighten this because it'll make it difficult if you want to remove that fitting at some other time.

This, right now, is ready for use. Next, we will unbox the Self-Generated Vacuum version of our Elite Sander. In this box, you will find a filter bag, the random orbital tool assembly, and the instruction manual. With the tool assembly, you will have a filter bag adapter, a wrench, an air fitting, and a hose seal along with the tool itself. To get this tool ready for use, simply remove the shipping plug. Again, you will want to add some Teflon tape to the fitting and this will help prevent air leakage around the fitting. It only takes a couple wraps. Doesn't take a lot. Thread that in by hand. Easier said than done, sometimes. Thread that in as far as you can by hand and then simply snug it up with a wrench. With a Teflon tape, you don't have to overtighten it.

The next step will be to attach the filter bag adapter, and it's important to note that the hose seal goes into the filter bag adapter narrow end first. Simply slide that in so it's seated firmly, and then you can thread the filter bag adapter into the hose attachment. Again, you'll want to snug it up so it's tight, and just to prevent any air leaking or dust leaking through the system, simply take the filter bag itself and slide it in to the filter bag adapter. And that tool is ready for use.

Once you have your random orbital setup ready for use, at some point you'll need to change your backup pad. So, I will demonstrate how to change your backup pad. In order to do that, sometimes it's easier to explain how this happens without the pad on. What we will be doing is placing a wrench in between the backup pad and the dust shroud and attaching it to the threaded nut on the inside of the pad. Again, that is not always easy to see, but simply place your tool, your wrench, into the tool. You may have to rotate your backup pad. Once you have the wrench seated onto the nut, you can simply turn the backup pad by hand, take it off and get prepared to put your new backup pad on. One thing that is important is to make sure that the washer that comes with the backup pad remains on the backup pad. Simply put that on, thread it on by hand, snug it up and your tool's ready for use.

Next, we will install the abrasive. It's fairly simple. In this case we have a Hook and Loop backing and a Hookit backup pad. I simply like to make sure that I center the abrasive onto the backup pad as best I can and just give it a little bit of a twist to seat the abrasive on to the backup pad. The next step for using this is to attach the hose to the tool. There are several different types of hose connections. The most common has a sliding collar. You simply pull that collar back, press it on and release the collar, and your tool is ready for use. If you have additional questions on this topic, please reach out to your local 3M sales representative. Thank you for watching.