Lyle, and/or others,

Sometime ago, Lyle of Ace Restorations posted a veritable stable of walk behind floor sanders on another web site. I'm looking for advice on purchasing a unit, type (ie: rotary, random orbital, etc.), reputable manufacturers, and necessary pads.

We will be using it primarily for buffing/defurring ipe' and mahogany exterior deck floors. I'd like to stick with the equivalent of 60 grit.

I used Jim Foley's Clarke Alto rotary last year with great results. Aside from being very heavy, the rotary action is a bit difficult to control. I can understand and appreciate the weight, but training help to use such a beast is of concern. If a random orbital is easier to use, I'm all ears. Thanks.

I like floor buffers. You can just use them with a pad for defurring or with a sanding screen. Never had an issue with circular marks in the wood.

Rick , the one you used on the Ipe works better on hard woods. I have a 75 pounder also for cedar and pine. After a couple of uses u can do it with one finger. There are some that weigh 75 lb's and weight can be added.

Rick,

May have told you this, but I also own a commercial cleaning company. We run orbital machines and have several. Basically there are two types: Floor stripping and waxing units are usually 175-300 RPM, some have two speeds, most you see are 175. Floor buffers,or burnishers, are 1500-2000 RPM, some are straight motor driven but most are belt driven. Buffers are more expensive. You can pick up used 175 RPM machines fairly cheap. They can look like hell and still have plenty of life, the motor brushes are replaceable, but we've run some used ones that you'd think are shot for a very long time with no brush changes. Most common head size is 17" nd that's the most common pad and sanding screen size, at least around here. They are all heavy and the heavier the better. On used ones look at the rubber wheels and the pad driver. You want wheels that are intact and not turned to mush from years of running in floor wax stripper. The pad driver needs to have some teeth left. They are plastic bristles. We run some that are worn down to less that 1/4" fine. You can get new pad drivers, but you can probably get a 150-300 machine with a decent one on it. Running one the first time is little tricky, but you get the hang of it fast. You don't work it, you just guide it.
There are a lot of brand names. Many made by the same company.

Rick, as D Jim & Alan said You would want the heavier one if you only have 1 machine. Get a 17" drive pad for defelting (Black stripping pads) & a 17" 60 0r 80 grit brush. D Jim has a name of the co. for brushes etc. He gave it to me too, got it bookmarked somewhere. I've had good luck buying used machines. Here is a pic. of a 51yr.old "WOODIE" You can click on image to enlarge full screen.

Here is the "Standup" fleet Rick was referring to.