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I have recently been appointed FSA at a Lowes store in Allen Park Michigan. I was ask if i could find out why the Varathane EZV sander was ripping the sand paper.

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My knowledge on the subject is minimal so was wondering if you could help.

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  • Here's one. I just took the one I rented back and got a refund because one of the disks kept flying off. The Velcro pad was worn out. Obviously Lowe's doesn't do any maintenance to these machines.
    – user39807
    Jul 25, 2015 at 21:23

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If the ripping is always happening in one spot on the floor take a really close look for any nails, tacks or even screw heads that might still be protruding. It only takes the slightest thing like this to rip the disc given that it's spinning so fast.

Carefully go over the floor either pulling the tacks out or using a punch to drive the heads of the nails a few mm below the surface.

If the floor is screwed down anywhere it will be a good idea to remove the screw, use a countersink bit on the hole and then replace the screw. Again this should be a few mm below the surface.

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  • Oh duh, I should have thought of that. Obvious answer much better than mine.
    – The Evil Greebo
    Nov 12, 2011 at 10:24
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Another issue DIY people do not do is operate the unit correctly. There is a pin that must be removed and reinstalled to lower the upright arm into the sanding position. Any deviation on the floor can cause ripping. High boards will catch an edge as will nails, screws and tacks. This is a heavy machine and not set up for the DIY-er. It is a good unit but takes practice in operating such as any professional equipment. This unit weighs in at 160lbs while most DIY units should weigh in at half that. In any project preparation is key and is 99 percent of the project.

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The Varathane ezV Floor Sander is one of the essayist floor sanders to use. you don't need to follow the grain of the wood and although it doesn't remove material as fast as a drum sander It does a reasonable job. It also gets close to the walls so very little edge sanding is required. Tearing sand paper. It can be caused by wear, cuts or tears in the hook and loop pads. it will happen if you try to go over a hole in the floor like heat register vents. Also keep in mind not all sand paper is created equal. cloth backed sand papers outlast and out preform paper backed sand papers. Another factor on sand paper performance is the amount of grit on the paper. I find you get what you pay for, There is a reason why some sand paper is cheaper than others.

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I own one of these machines, and after using another brand this varathane machine is better than the competition. When pads get gummy or dirty they will stick to the floor and sometimes tear. Also nails, screws, etc. are hard on sand pads. Also the quality of the pad may have some effect.

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Just a guess here - but that being a rotating floor sander, my suspicion would be that they're either starting it while it's in contact with the floor or they're putting it down too fast, so that the spinning disk is pushing the sand paper against the floor while pulling it laterally at the same time.

The sander should be tilted back before starting and LIGHTLY set down on the floor.

Those rotating sanders take a LOT of practice to get good with - they're harder to control than floor buffers, and those are tricky enough W/O destroying the wood...

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