Looking to sand between 4" aluminum deck railing balusters

[sailor55330]

Does anyone have a recommendation for sanding between deck railing balusters? My 1/4 sheet sanders are too big and I tried my HF mulit-tool with the stock sanding attachment, but it doesn't fit that well either. I saw that HF makes a "finger" sanding attachment, but it doesn't get very good reviews. Seems it has a tendency to "melt" from the friction. I guess for 6 bucks, it's not really much of a gamble. The balusters are 4" OC, so I'm really looking for something less than 3" wide

it seems like I've seen something out there that might work, but I can't find it regardless of how I search. This is one of those every couple of year projects that has to be done.

Thank you

[poolhound]

Try searching for 'file sanders' and you will find the thinnest sanding power tools. may be more than you want or need though.

[sailor55330]

Thanks---file sanders does turn up a lot of options, Those get pricey quick!

[poolhound]

You could make a custom sized sanding block. small enough to fit but with enough room to get some sanding motion. Yes its manual but the price is right!

[atgcpaul]

Could you somehow attach a block sander to a reciprocating saw?

[tfischer]

My multi-tool has a triangular sanding attachment which is less than 3". Sounds like you tried that though... maybe yours is bigger?

[capncarl]

File sander works out of the middle of the machine so you won't be able to do a flat surface unless you can do so from the outside edge, and the files are usually only 1/2" wide max.

[sailor55330]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. My multi-tool sort of fits between the balusters, but it has metal edges that if you contact the black powdercoated stiles, it leaves a nice, uniform ring about 1" from the bottom. I tried coating the edges with tape, but that didn't go so well. In the mean time, I'll keep looking. For now, it looks like I have a lot of hand sanding. Again, thanks for the replies. If I figure something out, I'll post.

[tfischer]

Hmmm... maybe a wide, thick rubber band around the multi-tool sanding head as a bumper?

[twistsol]

I ran across the following on the Lowe's site and thougt about this thread. Not sure if it would work for you or not or if you could just get the finger attachments .. And if so if they would work with your current sander.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_425384-353-1294VSK_1z0wcl4__?productId=3830539&pl=1

[mpc]

If your multi-tool sanding pad is anything like mine (HF unit) the sanding pad assembly is a metal plate bonded to a rubber pad to a hook-n-loop fastener system. On mine, the size of the metal plate and rubber pad are pretty much the same. The metal plate is needed when trying to sand with the edge of the sandpaper... but when sanding flat the whole plate isn't needed. What about filing off 1/8th of an inch all the way around the plate, leaving the rubber part tapered to the hook-n-loop portion. Now you've got a little safety space before hitting the columns.

If you have an air compressor - of reasonable size (not the small ones for nail guns) - an angle die grinder with a sanding disk is an option. Such disks are typically 1 to 3 inches in diameter and you'll probably wear through many of them doing the whole job. At least the sanding head is thin though - little chance of marking the aluminum columns. Something like this: HF sanding disk kit

mpc

[vaking]

try to search for "3d sander". I have a craftsman 3d sander and it is useful in tight spaces and odd surfaces.

[leehljp]

I had 80 spaces between the slats and bed posts in this link:

http://www.sawdustzone.org/filedata/fetch?id=801129

I placed one, lined it up, nailed it with Ryobi 16 gauge cordless nailer, added a spacer before the next. Not all were absolutely level. Even after assembly, most needed sanding to bring it level.
I have a Fein, the original multi-tool. It took care of it without a problem. I think I used 2 pads total. The space would not allow sanding pad to get totally between them, but the triangle allowed me to turn it to cover the space. I had to sand each spacer from both sides. Worked well. I am not sure how much difference in power and finesse the other multi-tools have, but the Fein didn't skip a beat in bringing everything into size and control was fairly easy.
Fein's pad does not have metal, but a thin hard nylon like base to its hook & loop pad.

Before I got started with the sanding, I kinda regretted not making sure everything was level to begin with, but I made up my mind that I had to do it and it took about 2 hours. As one friend said to me once: "My dad always told me - Son what you need to do is Just Get Started!". I never forgot that wisdom and I made up my mind to go and do it, but I had to just get started.

[LCHIEN]

I'm thinking since you have to do a lot of them and will repeat at a later date, a custom sander is in order. Cut a 2x4 to the proper width to just fit between the feet of the ballusters. You can cut sheet sandpaper to a matching width. Wrap the sandpaper around the 2x4 and fasten it at the ends. You can get as fancy as you like on this - either staple it, or use the retainers of the custom 2x4 sandblocks I described once here.

Now you can sand by hand but if you make a tilting angle bracket from some bent sheet steel you can fasten it to a saber saw or reciprocating saw to make it powered if you want.

[cwsmith]

I would think that whatever sander and method you come up with, there will be the challenge of not abrading the aluminum balusters. To protect them, I think I'd use a thin flat piece of steel, like a putty knife or old saw blade to act as a shield between the baluster and the sanding action.

Regarding the sanding itself, I think a lot would depend on how bad the condition is of the surfaces needing sanding. The multi-tool would be a lot better than 'elbow' grease, unless the surface is really good and you only need a few passes with the sanding block. The knife-like belt sander can be very quick, but if a lot of sanding is required, I'd be concerned with how even I can make the surface, given the narrow path of the belt.

Hope this helps,

CWS