How to Use a DA Sander for Scuffing Paint

A dual action (DA) sander sands in both circular and elliptical patterns. The elliptical pattern reduces gouging when sanding materials with coarse grit sandpaper or sanding pads. This feature also makes scuffing paint for paint adhesive even, resulting in a higher-quality final coat of paint. Using a DA sander on larger flat surface reduces the amount of time required to scuff the paint, but you should not force the edge of a DA sanding pad into tight corners. This motion will gouge the metal and could cause the sander to kick should the grinding disc catch a raw edge.

Instructions

1

Pour roughly one teaspoon of dishwashing liquid into a plastic bucket. Fill the bucket half-full with clean warm water.

2

Wipe the painted surface with a clean rag soaked in the soapy water. Make sure you remove all debris from the painted surface. Small particles create deep gouges in painted materials during the sanding process. This mistake creates more work because the gouges require body filler and sanding to remove from the material.

3

Hold the lock button or place the wrench supplied with the DA sander onto the sander's threaded spindle. Turn the rubber backing pad clockwise to thread the pad onto the DA sander.

4

Secure a piece of 240-grit sandpaper to the rubber backing pad. If your backing pad uses the "hook and loop" method of securing a sanding pad, ensure the hooks of the backing pad and the loops of the sanding disc contain no debris before connecting the two pieces together.

5

Hold the sanding disc two inches from the surface of the painted material. Pull the trigger to activate the sander and with light pressure sand across the painted surface. Stop sanding when the paint has a uniform flat finish (no shine).

6

Wipe the scuffed surface with a clean rag to remove paint dust from the painted material.