Auto Restoration 101

An 8″ sander is a great tool that can save you a lot of time and work. I had a Mac Tools gear drive 8″ sander before I bought my National Detroit and it was always in need of repairs. Basically it was a piece of junk. If you are looking to get one, make sure to purchase a good one. They work great for sanding body filler and stripping old paint. A lot times they are called “mud hogs”. They run at a slow RPM but have a lot of torque for tough sanding jobs.

I bought my National Detroit 900 8″ sander in 1994 from a Mac Tools distirbutor. I remember paying over $200 for it. I think it was about $220. So now fourteen years later you can get the same one for less than what I paid! It has lasted all of these years without any need of repairs. It even gets used by my employees so it has really been used a lot. Just keep it oiled as needed.

I changed the pad on mine to a 3M Hook-It. It lets me easliy switch back and forth between 36 and 80 grit paper. By looking at the picture it’s obviously in need of a new one. What else can I say about a tool that’s been used practically everyday the last fourteen years and lasted that long?

Here’s mine. It looks pretty bad but it still works great!